Hormonal Changes—we will all go through them!
By Dr. Lisa Polinsky
No matter who you are on the planet you will be guaranteed to go through hormonal changes at some point in your life – it’s part of our human physiology. Male or female, old or young, menstruation, puberty, pregnancy, peri-menopause, menopause, andropause - hormones play a role in our energy, our vitality, our sexuality, our creativity and often our basic ‘joie de vivre’ or Joy of Life. For many people these transition times are manageable and they simply ride through with ease, yet for others these times can be fraught with a wild ride of hormonal ups and downs. Women have hormonal variations via their menstrual lifecycle and/or pregnancies, however men experience their own cyclic variations and can suffer from challenges at points in their lifetime as well.
Common Peri-menopause / Menopause / Andropause symptoms may include:
- Fatigue
- Anxiety
- Brain Fog
- Feeling Hot / Cold / Nightsweats / Hot flashes
- Low libido
- Exercise Intolerance
- Weight gain
- Muscle Mass loss
- Malaise / Depression
- Hair loss
- Loss of skin elasticity
- Dry skin / thin skin
- Low motivation
- Disrupted Sleep
Lab testing (serum, saliva, dried urine) may be helpful to determine which hormones are
impacted and may include:
- Thyroid testing (TSH, Free T4, Free T3)
- Cortisol (adrenal hormone)
- Estrogen/ Progesterone and metabolites
- FSH / LH
- Testosterone (Free and Bioavailable)
- DHEA
- “Dutch Complete” https://dutchtest.com/info-dutch-complete/.
this is an in-depth hormone assessment beyond what is available through Lifelabs - there are male and female Sample Reports.
What next? When we have an understanding of what is happening to your hormones then the treatment plan includes a combination of lifestyle, supplement and possibly individualized hormonal prescriptions. Note that even though Naturopathic Physicians are unable to prescribe testosterone or DHEA hormones, there are a number of herbal combinations that can help balance where these are needed.
Did you know?
- Beer consumption in men may result in unwanted increased estrogen levels
- Peri-menopause for women may result in both increases and decreases in estrogen and progesterone
- Inflammation through diet, stress, lifestyle, may worsen an unbalanced hormonal pattern leading to increased pre-menstrual symptoms
- Menopausal hot flashes are not experienced through all cultures in the world
- The health of your adrenal gland function (related to your sleep, energy, stress tolerance, blood sugar balance, blood pressure regulation) and overall level of stress may amplify underlying hormonal symptoms
- Women suffering from hot flashes may benefit from this yin tonic nutrient - 15 Gogi berries 3 x day
If your hormones are feeling out of balance recognize that your body is always speaking to you in the language of symptoms. Consider taking action steps to reset hormonal equilibrium.