Are Your Estrogen + Progesterone Levels Off? Here’s How To Tell

Symptoms of sex hormone imbalance can present in a multitude of ways. Absent periods, irregular periods, long cycles, short cycles, heavy/painful periods, PMS, anxiety, depression, weight gain, mood swings, breast tenderness/swelling, acne, headaches, insomnia, fatigue and cravings can all be due to imbalances in our hormones. Hormonal conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis and fibroids also have hormone imbalances at their root. The underlying causes of endometriosis and fibroids are unknown but estrogen can make the conditions worse. 

In order to know if your hormones are out of whack, you have to know what to look for. Let’s start by reviewing some of our main hormone players that I cover in my Hormone Balancing Guide and Cookbook and what it looks like for them to be in or out of balance.

Estrogen and progesterone are the two primary female sex hormones, however the other hormone that can be a major player in sex hormone imbalances is testosterone. We’ll go through each in detail below.

Estrogen

When estrogen is in balance:

When estrogen is produced in the proper amounts, it makes you feel happy and motivated by stimulating serotonin (happy neurotransmitter) and dopamine (motivation/pleasure neurotransmitter), increases sex drive, enhances your sensitivity to insulin which is important for metabolism and weight management, and benefits your bones, muscles, brain and skin!

When estrogen is too high, below are some of the signs/symptoms:

• fibrocystic breasts
• weight gain
• heavy or irregular periods
• painful periods
• breast tenderness and enlargement before the period
• water retention before the period
• headaches/migraines especially before the period
• mood swings and irritability before the period

Progesterone

When progesterone is in balance:

When progesterone is produced in the proper amounts, it reduces inflammation, builds muscles, promotes good sleep, calms your nervous system and makes you more resilient to stress.

Low progesterone symptoms:

• Heavy or irregular periods
• mid-cycle or premenstrual spotting
• short luteal phase
• PMS
• menstrual cramps
• irritability
• hair loss
• anxiety
• poor sleep

Estrogen and progesterone are like yin and yang. Not only do we want them both produced in the right amounts, but also we want a healthy ratio of estrogen to progesterone. When estrogen is too high relative to progesterone, it is referred to as “estrogen dominance.” You’ll notice that many of the low progesterone symptoms are similar to the high estrogen symptoms because these go hand-in-hand.

Most often, estrogen dominance is due to excess estrogen which is caused by either higher production of estrogen by your ovaries or impaired estrogen metabolism, or both. Estrogen metabolism is the removal or detoxification of estrogen from your body. The liver and gut play crucial roles in this process so a healthy liver and beneficial intestinal bacteria are key for getting rid of metabolized hormones. Estrogen dominance could also be a result of normal estrogen levels but low progesterone levels. Low progesterone does not cause acne if the estrogen levels are normal or elevated. Excess progesterone makes one more prone to acne if estrogen is normal. 

Estrogen dominance is the most common hormonal imbalance I see in my practice.

Here are some common causes of estrogen dominance (high estrogen relative to low progesterone):

• Excess body fat (> 28%) – hormones play a role in your weight loss efforts and contribute to estrogen dominance because body fat produces more estrogen. PCOS is also associated with estrogen dominance and obesity
• Stress – because stress decreases progesterone which counterbalances estrogen
• Constipation and inadequate dietary fiber intake – because regular bowel movements are crucial for helping your liver and bowels get rid of estrogen
• Decreased liver function – because your liver is the main site of hormone detoxification
• Exposure to environmental xenoestrogens – because these chemicals increase your body burden and put a strain on the liver to detoxify
• Nutrient insufficiencies – because you need a variety of micronutrients for optimal hormone detoxification and elimination
• Excess alcohol intake

What about testosterone?

Although testosterone is thought of primarily as a male hormone, it is an important hormone for women, too. Testosterone is produced by the ovaries and adrenal glands and spikes around ovulation. Testosterone helps women maintain muscle mass and bone strength, enhances sex drive and provides an overall sense of vitality. Just like with estrogen and progesterone production, the Goldilocks principle applies – we want testosterone to be not too high, not too low, but just right!

Low testosterone symptoms:

• fatigue
• depression
• low libido
• brain fog
• joint pain
• difficulty building muscle

Low testosterone can be caused by high estrogen, which suppresses the hormone that stimulates testosterone production. It can also be due to adrenal dysfunction – read more about that here.

High testosterone symptoms:

• hair loss
• acne
• oily skin
• increased body and facial hair
• feelings of aggression
• sleep disturbance

The most common cause of elevated testosterone levels in women is PCOS. Blood sugar dysregulation and high insulin (or insulin resistance) are found in women who have PCOS. 

Keeping testosterone at optimal levels is all about supporting your body’s production of the hormone so it can work in tandem with other sex hormones (like estrogen and progesterone) as well as neurotransmitters.

This post was medically reviewed by Dr. Kimberly Langdon, M.D., a university-trained obstetrician/gynecologist with 19-years of clinical experience. Learn more about Hello Glow’s medical review board here. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor.