Estrogen Deficiency

So, I’ve talked a lot before about progesterone deficiencies because that’s something I have experience with personally. And so while I don’t have personal experience with estrogen deficiencies I wanted to try to balance it out with just doing some research and sharing what I’ve found. 

But take all of this with a grain of salt, I'm no expert and I’m not pretending to be. 

This is simply to get your wheels turning if you’re experiencing any of this. You don’t have to struggle, solutions are out there for you. 

Alright let’s start with the importance of estrogen. At puberty it helps with the growth of our breasts, pubic and armpit hair as well as helps start our wonderful menstrual cycles. 

As you get older it keeps your cholesterol where it’s supposed to be, protects your bones (for both men and women), and it impacts your brain, heart and skin. All things I would have no idea had anything to do with estrogen if I hadn’t been told that. 

When we think of estrogen we think of the reproductive system and menstrual cycle. Our ovaries are what produce the largest amount of estrogen in our body. It is also made in our adrenal glands as well as fat tissues. 

A lot of things can influence how much estrogen our bodies make. We can have too much estrogen because of things like birth control pills or estrogen replacement therapy. 

Next let’s go into the symptoms of an estrogen deficiency (and it’s worth noting it’s normal to experience some of these at different points in your cycle when your estrogen levels are naturally lower):

+ hot flashes

+ irregular periods (common to have light or nonexistent periods)

+ depression and mood swings

+ breast tenderness

+ increased UTI’s

+ fatigue

+ trouble concentrating

+ weight gain

+ hair loss

+ insomnia

+ dry skin

+ vaginal dryness

+ night sweats

+ loss of libido

Estrogen is an important part of how our bodies function. “It builds bone, strengthens muscle, slows aging, raises libido, enhances insulin sensitivity and boosts serotonin.” 

It can be common for women going through menopause or peri-menopause to be low in estrogen. 

But if you’re young and therefore shouldn’t be experiencing menopause you might not be ovulating, which is the key event in menstrual health. 

If you’re experiencing irregular cycles, anovulatory cycles, or other hormonal imbalances I hate to say it but hormonal birth control is not the answer. It is not going to “balance out your hormones” it’s going to shut off ovulation and therefore stop estradiol (one of your natural estrogens). 

If you’re reading this and think “this is me!” don’t stress out. I love the book Period Repair Manual for hormonal imbalances as well as Lara Briden and Alisa Vitti’s websites. While I’m not in a position to recommend treatment there are lovely women out there like Lara and Alisa who can. 

Have any of you dealt with too little estrogen? What did you find helped you, or are you still searching for an answer? 

Too Much Estrogen?

Today I just wanted to share some gathered information I had on having too much estrogen, what that means, how it presents and what you can do. 

Excess estrogen is normally caused by a higher production by your ovaries as well as your body not being able to process and get rid of estrogen properly. 

Symptoms:

+ gaining weight unexpectedly, trouble loosing it, find weight sitting around hips, bloating

+ tender swollen boobs as well as fibrocystic breasts

+ heavier periods

+ mood swings

+ low libido

+ headaches

+ hair loss

+ poor memory

+ trouble sleeping

+ feeling exhausted

+ a normal cycle that becomes irregular, as well as shorter cycles

+ cold hands and feet

If you want to get test your estrogen levels it’s suggested that you test midway through luteal phase because you can test your progesterone level as well. Your estrogen level should be no higher than 270 pg/mL or 1000 pmol/L. 

Your doctor may prescribe some sort of hormone therapy, but if you’re curious about what you can do at home it most focuses on what you can do and eat to help your body flush out estrogen better. 

1. take care of your liver

     - drink less alcohol

2. eat more fiber

     - keep things moving

3. take a probiotic

     - keep your gut health in check

     - also avoid antibiotics for this reason

4. manage your stress levels

     - go outside

     - journal

     - meditate

     - whatever your techniques are

I don’t have a ton of experience with high levels of estrogen personally beyond having low progesterone and therefore more estrogen that progesterone, but I think it’s worth talking about. 

Think you might have an irregular cycle but not sure? Learning how to chart your cycle is a great way to not only learn about your cycle, but to gain a better understanding of what’s actually going on. And it might help you get answers faster. 

I’ve created a Chart Your Cycle course for those new to charting. If you’re curious and want to learn more, click here. 

Balancing Your Cycle With Supplements

The best place to start in the realm of balancing your cycle, before you head into the world of supplements is to make sure you’re getting all the yummy nutrients you can from your diet. 

You can’t have a shit diet and then expect to fix all your problems by taking a few supplements. And this goes beyond cycle problems.

For me, this means cutting out as much processed junk and sugar as I can. I’ve noticed those are two big triggers for how I feel in general, but also how my cycle goes. 

Another trigger for a lot of people is dairy. People love their cheese, and can’t imagine giving it up, but it might be causing your cycle issues. I’ve heard from a lot of people who have done an elimination diet to find what their triggers are. The big one right now is Whole 30, or you can just keep a food journal, track what you eat and how you feel after. That's what I did when I originally went vegetarian. 

Going along with nutrition, drink mo’ water. I’m just as guilty of this one as the next person, but I see such a drastic change in my cycle depending on how hydrated I am that month. 

Now, the thing I want to say before I get into this is, you’re going to want to look into different supplements in the context of what you’re trying to heal. There aren't 'fix-all' magical pills out there. You're going to want to dig in first and figure out what it is that's actually wrong. Is it too much estrogen, not enough progesterone? 

I first want to start with Vitex because this is what I’ve taken to heal my progesterone deficiency. I was experiencing short luteal phases and a lot of premenstrual spotting. Vitex cleared that up for me. It’s also said to help with PMS and breast pain. 

Next on the list is magnesium. Before I tried Vitex I had some magnesium that I would rub on the bottoms of my feet. And I still have it. Magnesium is said to be great for a number of different hormonal issues such as PCOS, amenorrhea, PMS, migrants, fatigue and general period pain. 

Another one I hear come up quite a bit is zinc. I also tried this one but didn’t see a drastic difference before Vitex. Zinc is said to help with PCOS, acne, PMS, endometriosis and general period pain. 

Tumeric is next up on my list. I’m sharing this one because I’ve been looking into it for Michael’s joint pain, and it turns out that it’s also good for heavy periods and period pain. 

Both iodine and iron are supposed to help with PMS and period pain. And finally a good probiotic can help with an excess of estrogen, PMS, endometriosis, digestive issues and yeast infections. 

Now, there are so many other great supplements and natural treatments out there when it comes to cycle and hormonal issues. I definitely recommend looking into it if it is something you’re interested in. 

A great book that I love to reference is Period Repair Manual by Lara Briden. It’s one of those books I’m constantly reaching for to answer a question, and if you’re struggling with any imbalances I recommend adding it to your bookshelf. 

And I think if you suspect you have a hormonal imbalance and aren't already doing it you should definitely start charting your cycle. [And if you're interested, I have a great course for those new to FAM and the sympto-thermal method. You can check that out here!]

Have you had success with a natural remedy for a hormonal imbalance? Share it below. 

Hormonal Birth Control Doesn't "Regulate" Your Cycle

There’s something I hear time and time again, and it's something along the lines of:

“I have to take hormonal birth control to have a regular period."

OR

“My doctor wants me to get back on the pill to regulate my cycle."

And I’m here to let you in on a secret that definitely shouldn’t even be a secret:

Hormonal birth control does not regulate your menstrual cycle. 

Think of it this way, instead of “regulating” your hormones it replaces them with synthetic hormones. 

That “period" you think you’re getting, on the dot, every 28 days is actually a withdrawal bleed, not your real menstrual period.

The withdrawal bleed was actually a marketing tool created back in the day to help society accept the pill as more “natural”. Because if you’re bleeding once a month, it has to be natural right? And there are hormonal options that make women just not have a period at all. 

The pill works by messing with our endocrine system, which controls everything hormonal in our bodies. I first started recognizing the important role of our endocrine system when I read the book “WomanCode” by Alisa Vitti. 

Regular cycles, with ovulation and periods (which you don’t have on the pill) have been shown to play an important role in heart, bone and breast health. Which isn’t surprising since the pill alters 150 different bodily functions. 

You can’t tell me that something that impacts that many things in our bodies isn’t messing something up.

The pill packs a punch of around four times the corresponding synthetic estrogen and progesterone that naturally occurs in our body. This is a level that is actually quite lower than the first hormonal birth controls marketed to women, but what on earth are we doing putting that much in our bodies? Even the “lower dose” hormonal birth control options are still much more than our bodies create normally. 

Here’s another one for you, hormonal contraceptives are ranked by the WHO as a class one carcinogen, putting it right up there with tobacco and asbestos, which most of us try pretty hard to avoid as it is. 

Yes, I know a lot of people out there in the world smoke, but they are well aware of the danger of what they are doing. I guarantee there are countless women out there right now taking hormonal birth control unaware of the potential negatives because it is seen as just another thing women do, like shaving our legs. 

There is so much good that comes from having a natural cycle, and understanding that cycle. 

Being on the pill masks health issues or hormonal imbalances, which in turn makes it harder for the practitioner to figure out what’s really going on. It’s like putting a bandaid over a festering wound and then saying “whelp, that’s fixed now I can just ignore it."

A few other great books that talk about the dark side of hormonal birth control that I love are “The Pill: Are You Sure It’s For You?” and “Sweetening the Pill”. 

And a book I love that talks about a benefit of knowing your cycle (completely unrelated to birth control or the physical side effects of hormonal birth control) is “The Optimized Woman” which goes over the four phases of our cycle and our strengths and weaknesses in each of those phases, and how to make the most out of each phase. 

My point here today is that hormonal birth control isn’t the “cure all” it’s touted to be. And I think knowing all the information makes for a more well informed group of people making decisions that really do impact their bodies and minds. 

Stress + Your Cycle

Stress is a real pain in the ass. It has plenty of negative effects and is all around not good. 

Effects on your body:

+ headaches

+ muscle tension/pain

+ chest pain

+ fatigue

+ change in libido

+ upset stomach

+ sleep issues

Effects on your mood:

+ anxiety

+ restlessness

+ lack of motivation/focus

+ feeling overwhelmed

+ irritable

+ sadness/depression

Effects on your behavior:

+ eating too much/not enough

+ outbursts

+ drug/alcohol use

+ social withdrawal

+ exercising less

But how can it mess with your menstrual cycle? 

I can see from that list a whole host of ways it can interfere. 

If you’re in a rut of chronic stress or have recently experienced a very stressful event (think the loss of a job or loved one), your hormones can be suppressed, which can cause your period to be delayed or stop altogether. 

When you’re stressed your body secretes the hormones adrenaline and cortisol, which can suppress estrogen and progesterone production, which we know are necessary for a healthy cycle. 

Your body reacts to stress and being in a state of “fight or flight” by sending signals to your body saying "now is not a good time to get pregnant." 

I’ve seen it before in my own cycle. In a time of stress, my body will delay ovulation until things have calmed down a bit. 

And if you’re trying to conceive, stress could be playing a role in your difficulty getting pregnant. Because if your body is sending around the “not a good time to get pregnant” signal that’s no bueno.

Your PMS symptoms can also be exacerbated by stress. Think acne, irritability, fatigue and so on. Yay.

Being stressed is not another thing to stress about, there are easy things you can do to help de-stress. 

The three main things I found that help reduce stress are diet, exercise and sleep. 

If things aren’t going great we can find ourselves reaching for comfort foods that might not be nourishing our bodies how they need to be. Plan out your meals before you go shopping. What are some nutritious recipes that get you excited about cooking and eating them? Some people find meal prepping before the start of the week makes eating healthier easier. And if you have a busy life being able to grab your lunch quickly from the fridge on your way out the door is going to help a lot. 

Exercise can be the last thing on our minds when we’re stressed. “I don’t have time for that!” But there are plenty of easy ways to fit a little movement into our days. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator, go for walks even if it’s just 10 minutes. Some people find attending a workout class works better than having to come up with a workout routine on their own. 

And along that same line can we talk about yoga for a second? Not only is it exercise but it does so much more for the mind as well. Plus you can pop on a video from YouTube and do a quick 15-minute routine in your living room. I also like doing a few yoga stretches before bed or even in bed. Just this morning I did about five minutes of stretching to prolong the whole getting out of bed thing. 

And when you find yourself restless at night, unable to sleep but exhausted, it might be worth looking into a natural sleep aid to help get you back on track with sleeping. You can try melatonin or something like Bach Rescue Sleep Liquid Melts (not sponsored, Michael loves them). 

A few other things that can help you de-stress and sleep better: meditation and journaling before bed (as well as those yoga stretches). I can’t begin to talk about how beneficial meditation and journaling has been for me. I can tell a huge difference between when I’m consistently doing both and when I’m not. 

Neither of them have to be fancy. Find a meditation app like Headspace or currently I’ve been enjoying meditating to the music on the Calm app. And just grab an old notebook and write down what you’re feeling, what happened that day and anything that comes to mind. Get it out of your head  and onto paper, and I promise you’ll feel so much better after. 

Some people like to work through things on their own (hello that’s me), but consider opening up to a friend because you’d be surprised how many people are stressed or anxious and it can help to have someone to just talk to about it. 

In the end listen to your body. Pay attention to how you’re feeling, when you need to take a break, step back and breathe. And it’s so important to make self-care a focus. Give yourself ten minutes a day of “me” time and maybe a  bit more time on the weekend to focus on yourself. 

Stress is a pain and you can definitely stress more about being stressed, which can spiral out of control. Just being conscious of it, and willing to take the time work through it goes a long way. 

What are some of your ways you deal with stress? Beyond the things I talked about today I also enjoy running, being out in nature, bubble baths, deep cleaning my apartment and having at home spa dates with myself.