What Happens When Your Hormones Are Unbalanced

Our hormones are responsible for more functions in your body than you may realize. When any of these chemical messengers are out of whack, it can wreak havoc on your physical and mental health.

At The Riegel Center, hormone specialist Christopher Riegel, MD, understands how bad you can feel when you have unbalanced hormones. Dr. Riegel offers customized hormone replacement therapy plans to restore your hormone levels, your vitality, and your overall health.

An overview of hormones

Your endocrine glands produce hormones, chemical messengers that travel through your blood and communicate with your muscles and organs. These messengers tell your body what to do and when to do it. They also play a role in your metabolism, sexual function, and reproduction.

A hormone imbalance describes having too much or too little of certain hormones. Even a small imbalance in your hormone levels can cause symptoms severe enough to disrupt your quality of life. An imbalance can be the result of:

• Stress
• Tumors
• Trauma
• Diabetes
• Thyroid disorders
• Use of certain medications (including birth control)

Men are prone to hormone imbalances due to testosterone loss (low-T) that occurs as they get older or because of injuries or underlying medical conditions.

Women are at special risk for a hormone imbalance as they age and transition to menopause, the time when periods stop for good. Pregnancy, breast feeding, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) can also cause an imbalance in your hormones.

Signs that your hormones are unbalanced

Because your hormones play a role in many of your body’s functions, you can experience a wide range of symptoms when you have a hormone imbalance. Both men and women may have symptoms starting as early as their late 20s through their 50s.

Symptoms of a hormone imbalance may include:

• Blurry vision
• Hot flashes
• Mood swings
• Dry, thinning skin
• Unusual sweating
• Low sex drive
• Persistent fatigue
• Muscle weakness
• Joint stiffness and pain
• Unexplained weight gain or loss
• Mental health issues (depression and anxiety)

A hormone imbalance in women can also cause irregular periods, heavy periods, acne, and skin tags. Women may also experience vaginal dryness and vaginal atrophy that makes sex painful.

In men, a hormone imbalance can cause erectile dysfunction, loss of muscle mass, breast tenderness, and slowed hair growth on the face and body.

Getting help for a hormone imbalance

We recommend that you seek treatment for any symptoms of a potential hormone imbalance that interfere with your physical or mental health. The Riegel Center offers on-site hormone testing services to identify hormone imbalances, so you can get started on a treatment plan.

Dr. Reigel specializes in hormone replacement therapy that supplements your natural hormone to rebalance their levels. We offer bioidentical hormones that come from plant-based materials and are structurally similar to the hormones your body makes and Dr. Riegel personalizes a custom formula just for you.

Depending on your needs and health history, we can determine which delivery method for supplemental hormones will work best for you, such as creams, patches, pills, and pellets.

Once you start your therapy, you should notice a difference in the severity of your symptoms soon after. Our staff continues to monitor your hormone levels through regular blood testing, and we can adjust the dosage of your hormones as needed.

If you have symptoms of a hormone imbalance, schedule a consultation online or by calling The Riegel Center today.