Female Hormone Imbalance

Cortisol is the main adrenal hormone and is made from progesterone. When under stress, you produce higher cortisol, which decreases your progesterone level via the "cortisol steal." Additionally, DHEA, produced by the adrenal glands, is a precursor to sex hormones, including estrogen and testosterone. Thus, the more you’re under stress, the more female hormone imbalance occurs as your progesterone and DHEA levels drop. Additionally, the cortisol steal can lead to estrogen dominance, which can create a host of female issues.

Signs of estrogen dominance:

• Decreased sex drive
• Irregular or otherwise abnormal menstrual periods
• Bloating (water retention)
• Breast swelling and tenderness
• Fibrocystic breasts
• Headaches (especially premenstrually)
• Mood swings (most often irritability and depression)
• Weight and/or fat gain (the abdomen and hips)
• Skin problems
• Menopausal symptoms
• Cold hands and feet (a symptom of thyroid dysfunction)
• Hair loss
• Thyroid dysfunction
• Sluggish metabolism
• Foggy thinking, memory loss
• Fatigue
• Trouble sleeping, insomnia
• PMS

Female hormone imbalance can also be caused by or exacerbated by gut inflammation amd liver toxicity. GI pathogens, microbiome imbalance, food sensitivities, heavy metals, and environmental toxins can all disrupt the delicate balance of estrogen and progesterone

At Quin Functional medicine, we often use the DUTCH test to assess both adrenal function and reproductive health, including the balance between estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. The DUTCH test also tells us if you are metabolizing or “breaking down” estrogen correctly. If your liver is not metabolizing estrogen effectively, you can develop severe hormone imbalance symptoms, and even increase your risk of estrogen-related cancers like breast, uterine, and ovarian cancer.

If adrenal insufficiency, suboptimal estrogen, and suboptimal progesterone are left untreated, it can be difficult to become pregnant and carry a baby to full term. Estrogen levels must be high enough for ovulation to occur, and progesterone is crucial to maintain a pregnancy. Our modern stressful lives can leave women frustrated with infertility due to hormone imbalance. Most often, imbalances of estrogen and progesterone are a symptom of a deeper problem that can be corrected. With the proper functional labs, insight can be gained to help correct these imbalances and help women not only become pregnant but enjoy a healthy pregnancy and baby. The more we can correct imbalances and hidden underlying dysfunction in a woman’s body before she becomes pregnant, the healthier her child will be.