Symptoms of Hypothyroidism

Like estrogen dominance, the signs of hypothyroidism can be many and varied.  Oftentimes they sneak up on you and at first you pass them off as just fatigue or a sign that you are starting to feel older.  Eventually, however, the symptoms become more obvious.  Some of the most common symptoms of hypothyroidism, or low thyroid function, include:

• Fatigue
• Sluggishness
• Weight gain
• Pale, dry skin
• Cold hands and feet
• Constipation
• Hoarse voice
• Puffy face
• Heavy menstrual periods
• Dry, coarse hair
• Brittle fingernails
• Muscle aches and stiffness
• Joint pain, stiffness or swelling
• Elevated cholesterol level
• Depression
• Foggy thinking
• Low basal temperature (temperature measured under your arm first thing in the morning)

If you are familiar with the symptoms of estrogen dominance, you will recognize many  symptoms that are the same.

The Connection Between Estrogen Dominance and Low Thyroid Function

This is not to say that there are not women out there who truly suffer from hypothyroidism, because there certainly are; but if your thyroid function has been tested and the tests come out “normal,” it may be that an excess of estrogen and a lack of progesterone could be the culprit.

Estrogen and the hormone produced by the thyroid gland work in opposite ways.  The thyroid hormone is meant to help regulate the metabolism of the cells in the body but estrogen encourages the body to store fat in preparation for pregnancy.  Unopposed estrogen can get in the way of the thyroid hormone and block it from doing its job.  Your body may be producing a normal or near normal amount of the thyroid hormone but because of the excess estrogen taking up its receptors it  can’t function properly.  The result?  You suffer from the symptoms of hypothyroidism but the the thyroid hormone levels appear to be within the normal range when they are tested.

Hypothyroidism and Natural Progesterone Cream

If you are suffering from the symptoms of low thyroid function, you may discover that using a natural progesterone cream may make a big difference in your life.  Many doctors are  learning that women who have been taking thyroid medication show marked improvement when they begin using a natural progesterone cream.   The cream helps restore estrogen levels to normal and symptoms improve or are eliminated in a surprisingly short time.  In fact, some patients need to reduce the amount of thyroid medication they are taking after using progesterone cream for just a few weeks.  Other women have been able to eliminate the thyroid medicine completely.  If you take prescription medicine  for hypothyroidism and decide to try a progesterone cream, discuss the situation with your personal health care provider so your medication can be monitored.

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1. Why Transdermal Hormone Creams Work the Best
2. When to use Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy
3. $113 Million Hormone Therapy Settlement

So what do the folks at BodyLogicMD do? They start by running a series of blood and saliva tests in order to determine a woman’s hormone ratios. Then they work with women to teach them how to alter their diets, exercise routines, hormonal supplement regimes, and overall lifestyles in order to reduce the amount of estrogen entering the body from foreign sources.

Women who had previously been suffering from the symptoms of premenopause, menopause, and estrogen dominance – including weight gain, hot flashes, insomnia, PMS, and fatigue – have seen significant results.

If you are suffering from estrogen dominance you should be prepared to make a committed change to your lifestyle – not a temporary change. The harder you work to avoid environmental hormones the better the liklihood of your success – and overall health and happiness!

Related posts:

1. Detoxing from Environmental Estrogens
2. 21 Quick Tips to Balance Your Hormones Naturally
3. Foods to Avoid to Balance Your Hormones

You gain weight around your middle, you feel weak and depressed, and your body is rife with aches and pains.  You crave sweets and suffer with poor digestion, skin problems, low blood sugar and low blood pressure.  You get infections easily.  You’re anxious, irritable, have mood swings and are so tired you can barely function even though you had sufficient sleep.  Sound familiar?

If it does,  you’re probably suffering from adrenal fatigue syndrome.  Adrenal fatigue syndrome, though not yet openly recognized by some of the traditional medical community, is growing to epidemic proportions in the 21st century.  It has been estimated that up to 80% of Americans will be affected by adrenal fatigue at some point in their lives.  Although the condition is not as serious as actual adrenal diseases such as Addison’s or Cushing’s, adrenal fatigue can impair your health and well being.

So why are we writing about adrenal burnout in a guide about estrogen dominance?  Because the two conditions are closely intertwined.  Read on to find out how.

What is the Purpose of Our Adrenal Glands?

The adrenal glands are orange, walnut-sized endocrine glands that perch like tiny triangles on top of each of your kidneys.  Their job is to produce a variety of hormones, including steroid hormones such as adrenaline, estrogen, DHEA, testosterone and cortisol.  These hormones affect many different aspects of  your bodily functions. If the hormones being produced are  out of balance, your health is compromised.

One of the main purposes of the adrenal glands is to handle your body’s reaction to stress.  When the body signals it is feeling any sort of stress, the glands initiate the production of two hormones – adrenaline and cortisol.

Adrenaline is the fast acting hormone pumped into your system when you are faced with sudden stress, like danger, exercise or excitement.  It throws your body into immediate ‘fight-or-flight’ mode by increasing blood sugar, accelerating your heartbeat and  rushing blood to your brain and skeletal muscles.  Adrenaline is potent but short acting.

Cortisol, on the other hand, has longer lasting effects to help the body cope with ongoing stress.  It helps convert fats and proteins into glucose so there is enough to meet the increased demand brought on by stress.  When you experience continued stress, the adrenals  continue manufacturing cortisol.  In turn, persistently high levels of cortisol cause bone and muscle weakening, hamper metabolism and digestion, and increase the risk of heart disease.  The result is adrenal burnout and your adrenal glands become exhausted.

The Connection Between Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome and Estrogen

In the early stages of adrenal burnout,  the body continuously tries to reduce stress by releasing more and more cortisol.  The process of making cortisol uses the same building blocks as progesterone, so in order to make more cortisol, your adrenal glands  prohibit the production of progesterone. Low progesterone then causes an imbalance in the estrogen/progesterone ratio, leading to estrogen dominance. Then estrogen dominance interferes with the release of cortisol from the adrenal glands, making free cortisol unavailable to fight stress.  It’s a vicious circle.

Who is a Candidate for Adrenal Burnout?

Anyone whose body is under stress, whether it is physical stress from illness or emotional stress, can suffer adrenal burnout.   People are busy working, parenting, and trying to cope with financial problems and social obligations.  We  worry about how we are going to get it all done.  We compound the problem by eating poorly, by not getting enough rest, and through daily exposure to environmental toxins.  Is it any wonder that so many people are succumbing to the effects of chronic stress?  You could be one of them.  Here are the signs to look for.

What are the Symptoms of Adrenal Exhaustion?

Symptoms of adrenal burnout include:

• Chronic fatigue
• Depression
• Allergies
• Recurring infections
• Muscle weakness
• Back pain
• Sleep disturbances
• Dizziness
• Headaches
• Low blood sugar
• Low blood pressure
• Cravings for sweets and salt
• Difficulty concentrating
• Sensitivity to cold
• Hair loss
• Tendency to gain weight around your middle
• Decreased sex drive

What to do if You Suspect You have Adrenal Burnout

You can confirm whether or not you have adrenal fatigue syndrome by taking a simple home saliva test.  The tests are affordable and easy to take.  You can get a test kit from a number of online sources or at many pharmacies nationwide, with prices starting at about $150.

If you find you are suffering from adrenal burnout, and your quality life is being affected, there are steps you can take to correct the problem.  For more information about treating adrenal fatigue, see the insightful post  How to Treat Adrenal Fatigue.  And remember…don’t worry, be happy.  It’ll cut down on stress and is an important step towards relieving adrenal burnout.

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1. How to Heal PMS

Progesterone is a hormone  that plays a vital role in our bodies.  It is classified as a steroid, or sex hormone.  Steroid is a generic name for many hormones, or body regulators, made from cholesterol.  For years conventional physicians did not recognize the important role it plays in protecting our health and well being.

Let’s take a look first at what progesterone does for us.  Progesterone is a building block for other hormones and is produced in both males and females.  It is the most protective hormone our body manufactures and is the natural counterpart to estrogen.  Progesterone has three major functions in our bodies:

• To promote the development and survival of the embryo and the fetus
• To act as a building block for other steroid hormones
• To provide a wide span of important effects on many parts of the body

So you can see, progesterone is a crucial player in our systems if they are to function normally.  At times, however, our body fails to produce enough progesterone to balance out the estrogen.  If that happens, numerous problems can arise.  Infertility and early miscarriage are two of the most tragic results, but there are a number of other problems which can occur as well.   The list is long and diversified.  Here are just some of the symptoms you might experience from progesterone deficiency:

• Accelerated aging
• PMS
• Infertility
• Miscarriage
• Arthritis
• Anxiety
• Hair loss
• Bloating and water retention
• Breast cancer
• Decreased sex drive
• Brown spots on the backs of your hands
• Cold hands and feet
• Carbohydrate craving
• Dry eyes
• Early onset of menstruation
• Fat gain, especially around the abdomen, hips and thighs
• Prostate Cancer
• Hot flashes and night sweats
• Vaginal dryness
• Water retention
• Hypoglycemia

And the list goes on and on.  It’s quite an eyeopener to realize just how many things this little hormone can effect.

Causes of Progesterone Deficiency

So what causes people to become progesterone deficient?  There are various reasons for this.  One of the most common reasons for women is that, for one reason or another, they fail to ovulate when they should.  During the first two weeks of her monthly cycle a woman produces estrogen.  When ovulation occurs, it signals the body to throttle down the estrogen and to begin producing progesterone.  If ovulation doesn’t occur, progesterone doesn’t get produced and estrogen continues to flow.

There are other things that can upset the progesterone/estrogen balance as well.  One of the biggest culprits is called xenoestrogens, man made chemicals that have saturated our food and water supplies.  These xenoestrogens have hormone-like effects and help create an overabundance of estrogen in our bodies compared to the levels of progesterone.  Other perpetrators include stress, poor diets, liver dysfunction, lack of exercise, and use of some medications like birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy.

There are solutions to the problem.  Visit a naturopathic physician for a confirming diagnosis and advice.

Related posts:

1. Xenoestrogens and their Role in Estrogen Dominance
2. Low Thyroid Function and Hormone Imbalance