Estrogen dominance vs. low estrogen

Did you realize there were so many hormones?  We talked about Cortisol and Insulin, Pregnenolone and DHEA – now, let’s talk Estrogen and their close cousins!  We’ve all heard of estrogen.  Let’s talk about estrogen dominance vs. low estrogen today because both conditions can cause problems.  When this hormone (along with testosterone and progesterone) are not at the appropriate levels, sleep can be an issue, we might have low energy and mood swings, plus menstrual issues.

3 main ‘Estrogens’

There are three main ‘estrogens.  Again, I won’t get technical because going that deep down is for the doctors.  We just need to understand how our hormones work so that we recognize the symptoms for what they are.  That way, we know what to focus on to get them ‘fixed’ – or at least in the right balance.  Once we know that, we can make important / informed decisions, with the help of our doctors.

Those 3 main estrogens I mentioned are called Estrone, Estradiol, and Estriol.  Most likely you’ve never even heard of these individually.  You might just know the term ‘Estrogen’.  All you really need to know about these estrogens is that they have varying strengths in our bodies – depending on what’s happening in our bodies.  And, estrogen is synonymous with being a woman.  Our hips, thighs, and boobies are because of this hormone.

Estrogen Dominance vs. low estrogen

I’m sure you’ve heard of estrogen dominance.  Dominance means there is too much.  When there is too much estrogen in our bodies, we can have the following issues and none of them are fun:

• Cancers of the breast and uterus
• Endometriosis
• Fibroids

If we have too much estrogen and not enough progesterone, this is when we see these problems.  This is known as high estrogen low progesterone.

Different roles Estrogen plays

• Menstrual cycle (of course!)
• Pregnancy
• Helping our brains work properly
• Making sure the following are working properly:
  • Bladder
  • Heart / blood vessels
  • Intestines (for digestion)
  • Immune system
  • Bones
  • Boobies
  • Skin and hair – this is why I go on about hormones – they really do affect how you feel and look.
  • Pelvic muscles

And, if you are experiencing no periods or if you are on birth control (these contain hormones), you might never feel right.  Further, you may never ‘look’ right.  If you are suffering from adult acne, this imbalance of hormones could be the problem and this is why I say you don’t need to spend a lot of money on skin care – IF you know what’s happening.

Progesterone

Did you know Progesterone helps us to stay calm?

And, this hormone is the one that helps us get ready for being pregnant after we ovulate.

Functions of this hormone are many:

• Making sure our breasts, heart, thyroid and nervous system are in tip top shape.  Yay!
• Ensures our brains are working properly and that we aren’t moody.  Double yay!
• Helps with our anxiety (known as progesterone anxiety) and making sure we can sleep (progesterone insomnia)

Basically, estrogen and progesterone are buddies.  If one is ‘off’, so is the other.  Low progesterone in women means estrogen can’t do its job and this is when we see heavier periods and migraines.  Your breasts might also be achy.  Lowering estrogen levels would be ideal.

Low estrogen

Low estrogen in women can cause the following problems:

• Sex hurts
• You might get more bladder infections
• No periods – while this sounds great, it isn’t.  We were meant to have periods.
• Mood swings / feeling crazy
• Hot flashes – terrible (if you’ve ever experienced this, you know what I mean)

So, this is the difference between estrogen dominance vs. low estrogen.  Neither is good – it’s important to have them in balance so that we feel well.  You’ll definitely know when you are out of balance with these hormones and this is where estrogen dominance vs. low estrogen comes into play.