What Causes A Hormone Imbalance
There are a variety of factors that can cause a hormone imbalance, including illnesses such as thyroid or other endocrine gland conditions, diabetes, eating disorders, cancer treatment, hormone therapy, environmental toxins, a nutritionally poor diet that is rich in refined foods, and certain medications.
For women, a hormone imbalance often occurs in relation to the female reproductive system polycystic ovary syndrome , birth control pills, pregnancy, breastfeeding, hysterectomy and menopause can all cause issues.
There may be a genetic tendency, says Dr. Eccles, but most commonly an imbalance is related to lifestyle and less healthy lifestyles that are more often associated with hormone dysregulation .
Blood Tests For Hormone Levels Q&a
Here at the Marion Gluck Clinic, we place a focus on giving you the very best experience and precise, personalised care. We are often asked questions about the blood tests that are required for treatment at the clinic. We sat down with Dr Ghazala Aziz-Scott, one of our hormone doctors, to help answer your most frequently asked questions about blood tests for hormone levels and hormone balancing therapy.
Where To Get Hormone Testing Services
If you are experiencing health problems and hormonal imbalances, itâs time to look into what is going on with your hormones. Specialist hormone therapy clinics and experts can help you determine whether you have a hormone imbalance and the right treatment options to take.
This will help you to understand exactly whatâs out of whack and how you can start getting back to balance so that your hormones no longer suffer.
Don’t Miss: How Much Does Hormone Replacement Therapy Cost
Why You Want To Test These Hormones If You Have Acne
Progesterone that is too low compared to estrogen is a very common issue that can lead to acne as it increases androgen activity in the skin. This ramps up acne production.
A low progesterone to estrogen ratio is a clue that an estrogen dominance type treatment & supplement plan will work better for you.
Testosterone, DHEAS, and DHT are androgens and these can directly lead to acne, so one or all of them being high is something to look out for.
High androgens are a clue that an androgen based treatment& supplement plan will work better for you.
Note: Androstenedione is also an androgen that frequently shows up as high for women with acne, although androstenedione seems to almost always be high when found alongside a low estrogen/progesterone ratio and is likely caused by this imbalance. That means this kind of acne responds better to an estrogen dominance type treatment than an androgen based treatment.
Cortisol levels are useful to know to determine if stress is a big root cause of your acne.
Luteinizing hormone and prolactin are useful for knowing whether or not you should take certain herbs as treatment. In particular, Vitex chasteberry should not be used if your LH is high but good if your prolactin is high.
Insulin resistance can be a root cause of androgen based acne, so particularly if you have high testosterone or are diagnosed with PCOS, getting your insulin tested can definitely be useful.
What If I Am Breastfeeding Can I Still Test My Hormones
It depends on the goal. When a baby is no longer breastfeeding exclusively and menstruation resumes, testing is relatively accurate. I like to check estradiol in my patients who are breastfeeding more than 6-12 months to track estradiol and effects on bone mass. For a baseline, the most accurate would be 6-8 weeks after breastfeeding stops.
Follow me on , or to learn more about how to balance your hormones and reclaim your health.
Recommended Reading: Does Viagra Help Low Testosterone
Natural Remedies And Lifestyle Changes That Can Help A Hormone Imbalance
If you take the holistic route bio-identical hormones are best and work quickest, says Dr. Eccles. Bio-identical hormones are described by Harvard Medical School as hormones made from a plant chemical extracted from yams and soy identical in molecular structure to the hormones women make in their bodies.
Like HRT, bio-identical hormones come in the form of drugs, such as tablets, and creams and gels that a doctor will prescribe a combination of. ;This form of treatment should always be monitored by a skilled doctor to get the hormone levels right for each individual, as well as testing to monitor treatment levels, advises Dr. Eccles.
While many women have reported positive results from using natural products natural doesnt necessarily mean safe, and some over-the-counter complementary remedies such as St. Johns Wort can negatively interact with certain medicines. The NHS doesnt offer or recommend bio-identical hormone therapy so its a personal choice. If you choose to go ahead with natural alternatives to HRT find an established practitioner who will be able to provide tailor-made doses.
When To Test Insulin
If youre trying to get to the bottom of a PCOS diagnosis, you will need to evaluate insulin. If you have a family history of diabetes or your clinician suspects insulin dysregulation, this is a test they will likely order.
Typically, insulin is tested while fasting along with blood glucose. Because of this, the test is commonly done first thing in the morning.
It is recommended that biotin be stopped at least 72 hours before testing.
Fasting insulin is a good place to start, but you may need to do a glucose challenge as well. Finding out what your insulin looks like after you eat can also be helpful. Your doctor will help determine the right tests for you.;
Read Also: What Does Estrogen Do For You
Hormonal Imbalance In Children: Does It Exist
Yes. Hormonal imbalances in children typically occur around puberty. This is when the sex hormones are first produced, signaling future growth in the body. Children whose bodies produce few or no sex hormones often have a condition known as hypogonadism.
In boys, hypogonadism stops the body from producing the muscle mass, body hair, and voice changes that are associated with puberty. The sex organs don’t develop as they should, and the arms and legs will experience an excessive amount of growth compared to the trunk. Boys may also develop breast tissue. When girls have hypogonadism, they don’t develop breast tissue, start their menstrual cycle, or experience the growth spurt that’s typical of puberty.
Hypogonadism can occur either because the gonads are not producing the right hormone levels; or, because the pituitary gland and hypothalamus aren’t signaling to the gonads to produce hormones at all. Though hypogonadism is a common cause of developmental and growth problems, there are other causes that may be causative. Always speak with your healthcare provider to gt the proper diagnosis of any abnormal development in children.
Your Stop For Complete Hormone Testing For Women
Now you know the 12 most common Hormone Testing for Women, While there are some symptoms, such as hot flashes, that you can almost always associate with a hormonal imbalance, others make it more challenging to connect the dots.. Its important for you to get a baseline reading of each of your hormone biomarkers. Not only that, but you need to get tested regularly to track any changes that lead to a hormone imbalance.By keeping a close eye on your hormone biomarkers, as you go through life, you can detect the impact of disruptions or discomfort from changing hormone levels. Make sure that you not only get routinely tested but to also discuss the results with your doctor.If you need help understanding your hormones, wed love to help. We offer these key Hormone Testing for Women as part of our;selection of;1,500 lab tests, and we provide explanations on each biomarker.You can select your lab tests,;order directly online, choose a convenient;patient service center;near you, and review your test results typically in 1 to 2 days after your blood is collected.Take charge of your health and get tested today at;UltaLabTests.com/Shop.
Don’t Miss: How To Safely Increase Testosterone
The Best Way To Test Thyroid Function
The standard thyroid test, done by your doctor, usually only includes Thyroid Stimulating Hormone , and if that is in the normal range then you are told that your thyroid is fine. But TSH is only the message from the brain to the thyroid, so the TSH test is not actually testing thyroid function, and while the TSH levels are important, if you have the;symptoms of low thyroid function;then it is important to get a;comprehensive thyroid test.
Also, the reference range for TSH is very broad which is what most doctors look at, but the optimal range is between 0.5 and 2.5, or even less than 2.
Free Thyroxine And Free Triiodothyronine
Thyroid binding globulin is a protein that transports thyroid hormone & makes it so your body can’t use it. When thyroid hormone is bound it is measured via blood test as Total T4 & Total T3.
Your cells use Free T4 & Free T3. This is why we measure both of these markers in addition to TSH.;
Your T4 is inactive and T3 is active. T3 is involved in your mood, menses, metabolism, and gut motility.
Recommended Reading: Which Iud Has Less Hormones
What Should The Patient Expect When They Visit The Hospital For A Test
Bring a fully filled-in request form . ;It is important to make sure that the patients name, date of birth, and date and time of collection are written on the container if urine or faeces has been collected.
Most samples can be taken in the family doctors surgery.; However, some hormones last such a short time in the sample that the test must be taken in hospital. ;Most blood tests in hospital are taken in a phlebotomy unit without having to make an appointment, although some, such as a glucose tolerance test, may;require an appointment.
Dynamic tests are more detailed and usually involve resting in bed while blood samples are taken over a period of time.; An overnight stay is not usually needed and patients should come with details of their medicines and prepare as instructed, for example, without having eaten breakfast.;
Any queries about the details of individual tests should be discussed with the patients doctor.
Adrenal Testing With Blood
The reason that blood testing is so poor for assessing adrenal function is that it is only practical to do one sample in a day but cortisol and cortisone levels fluctuate throughout the day, and this is very important when assessing adrenal function.
A blood test for cortisol is normally done in the morning, and if done through a doctor will only assess total cortisol and not the bioavailable free cortisol. It is possible to also test cortisol binding globulin which will help to assess the free cortisol level, but it still only gives one snapshot of your cortisol levels.
I would only recommend blood testing as part of an overall blood test just to give you a bit of an idea of your morning cortisol, and only if cortisol binding globulin is also tested.
Read Also: Do Testosterone Supplements Really Work
What Day Is Best For Testing
It depends on your goals. For fertility, check estradiol and FSH on day 3 of your menstrual cycle. This is a measure of egg quality and drives progesterone levels. For peak estradiol, check on day 12 of your cycle. I use that for bone mass. For progesterone and to check ovulation, I check day 21-22. If you dont know what day, aim for estradiol and progesterone on day 21-22 as most lab data are standardized for those dates before menopause. If your cycles are very irregular, test day 21-22 after a period.
Understanding Results Of Your Thyroid Function Test
To understand the results of your thyroid function test better, you can check out below the normal ranges for TSH, T4, T3, TPOAb, TgAb, TRAb.
However, self-diagnosis, especially, in this case, is not a good idea. If you need help with the interpretation of your test you can schedule a consultation with me.
Recommended Reading: Is 5mg Of Melatonin Too Much
Testing Your Hormones With Urine Testing
Urine testing is like saliva testing, except it usually tests more hormones.
It may also be slightly more accurate especially if collected over a 24 hour period, and is more stable if its a dried urine test .
But, its also more expensive. And you also need to do it through a natural practitioner who offers it.
An example of this is the DUTCH test. This is a great test. If you can afford it and can find someone who does it and knows how to interpret it for acne patterns, then Id recommend this.
For the most part though, a basic saliva test that tests the hormones I listed will do a great job. I find myself recommending this the most.
Treatment For A Hormonal Imbalance
There are many different treatment options for hormonal imbalances. The treatment you ultimately be given will depend on which hormone exactly is unbalance as well as the underlying cause of the imbalance. Sometimes, a life event might cause such a fluctuation in your hormones, such as menopause. In that case, your treatment would be short term one. However, if you have a genetic disorder that causes a lifelong hormonal imbalance, you will need to pursue a more prolonged course of medications.
Hormone therapy is a common treatment for hormonal imbalances. Women who are witnessing uncomfortable menopausal symptoms may choose estrogen therapy. Testosterone therapy is a common choice for men with low testosterone levels or adolescents facing delayed puberty. Taking thyroid hormones can help individuals with hypothyroidism. Such hormone replacement therapies may come in the form of pills, patches, or even injections. Your doctor will help you choose the appropriate dosage by checking your hormone levels test results. This is how he will determine the right amount of supplemented hormone you will need to recreate the balance.
Bioidentical hormones can be produced by pharmaceutical companies using different doses. Examples include bi-estrogen which is 50 to 80 percent estriol combined with estradiol, or tri-estrogen which is 10 percent estrone, 10 percent estradiol, and 80 percent estriol.
You May Like: Does Taking Estrogen Make You Gain Weight
Why Don’t Doctors Test Your Hormones
Another important aspect of hormone replacement therapy is to understand that most physicians do not specialize in hormone replacement or hormone management.;
Much of the conventional world focuses on the management of chronic medical conditions such as hypertension and high cholesterol and little emphasis is put on treating lifestyle conditions such as energy, libido and so on.;
Hormone imbalance frequently results in symptoms that manifest as changes to energy levels, changes to libido, changes to mental clarity and so on but these symptoms tend to largely be ignored by conventionally trained physicians.;
This treatment paradigm has lead many patients to seek out second opinions and other doctors in an attempt to start feeling better but many are left empty-handed.;
If you suspect that you have a hormone imbalance in your body then it may be best to seek out physicians who are specialized in anti-aging medicine or functional/integrative medicine as these Doctors tend to have more training on hormone replacement therapies.;
The reason for this has to do with the fact that conventional physicians often receive the majority of their post-residency training from pharmaceutical companies which tend to promote their own medications and they tend to leave out the discussion of bio-identical hormones.;
Is There Anything The Patient Needs To Do To Prepare For Having Tests Taken
The doctor will advise the patient on how to prepare, because it depends on the particular test. ;Most preparation is obvious once it is understood that hormones keep the body working and levels change to meet various demands such as fasting, eating, thirst, smoking, exercise, posture, time of day, stage of the menstrual cycle and medicines.
Read Also: How To Help Estrogen Levels
What Are The Signs Of Hormone Imbalance In Men
Many concerns surrounding a man’s bodily changes can be answered by fluctuations in the male hormonal makeup. If changes are being identified, it may be a good idea to see whether there are any deficiencies or overabundance in the body’s chemistry.
1- Low Testosterone: This is also known as Low-T and is defined by the American Urology Association as testosterone in the blood accounting for less than 300ng/dL .
Signs of Low-T include:
- Hot Flashes
- Trouble Concentrating
2- Increased Estrogen: An increase in estrogen production in a mans body can cause a condition called gynecomastia. This is where you begin to develop breasts. Increased estrogen levels can also cause problems with your prostate organ that is in charge of producing one of the fluids that make up semen. Obesity can increase the production of estrogen in a mans body.
3- Low Cortisol/Adrenal Fatigue: Men suffering adrenal fatigue often have difficulty focusing mentally and are excessively tired.
4- Hyperthyroidism/Overactive Thyroid: Signs of high levels of thyroid hormone in your body include:
- Rapid Heart Rate
- Increased Sensitivity to cold
When To Do Adrenal Testing
Feeling tired and worn-out, craving salty foods, and struggling with mood swings? It means your adrenals need your attention.;
If you ignore the signs, with the time you may develop adrenal fatigue, or adrenal gland disorders such as Cushing’s syndrome, or Addison’s disease. In other words, adrenal dysfunction may affect your energy, sleep, mental focus, and quality of life in general.;
You May Like: How Does Testosterone Affect Males
What Is The Best Way To Medically Treat A Hormone Imbalance
How a hormone imbalance is treated depends on the condition and the practitioner. Options include medication, creams, pessaries, the pill and hormone replacement therapy .
Regular HRT medication contains synthetic hormones but there are natural options. As an expert in natural medicine, Dr. Eccles believes that the best way is to use bio-identical hormones since these;do not appear to have the long-term downsides and risks that we can see with synthetic hormones.
While many of us prefer natural methods and some of us swear by them, the jury is still out on their efficacy. The NHS currently doesnt offer bio-identical hormone therapy, stating that its not known how effective they are in reducing menopausal symptoms.