Hormone Inbalance

About three-quarters of all women experience symptoms like hot flashes due to hormone imbalance in menopause. At the Endocrine and Psychiatry Center in Houston and Katy, Texas, the team led by Rakesh Patel, DO, are hormone experts who can diagnose and manage hormone imbalances of all types. If you’re having hot flashes, mood swings, restless nights, or other signs of hormone imbalance, call the office nearest you or click the scheduling feature to make your appointment now. 

What is hormone imbalance?

Hormone imbalance means that there’s a problem within the endocrine glands that secrete hormones (chemical messengers) into your bloodstream. 

A hormone imbalance occurs when your endocrine glands produce too little or, less commonly, too much of specific hormones that your body needs to function normally. 

Hormone imbalance can lead to numerous disruptive symptoms, health issues, and complications. 

What are the symptoms of hormone imbalance?

Women experience hormone imbalance during perimenopause, which starts in their 40s. Perimenopause leads into menopause, which occurs after 12 consecutive months without menstruating. 

During perimenopause, the endocrine glands excrete less and less female hormones (estrogen and progesterone). This leads to symptoms such as:

• Hot flashes
• Mood swings
• Night sweats
• Weight gain 
• Reduced libido
• Hair thinning
• Brain fog

Although men don’t experience menopause, they begin to lose testosterone around age 40. This may cause a testosterone imbalance (low testosterone) and a variety of issues like gaining weight, hair loss, mood swings, and sexual dysfunction. 

There are also other types of hormone imbalance, including diabetes, which happens with insulin hormone imbalance, and hypothyroidism, which happens with thyroid hormone imbalance. 

How is hormone imbalance treated?

Treatment of hormone imbalance depends on what hormone you lack (or have excessive amounts of), your co-existing health issues, and other factors like your personal wishes. 

For menopause-induced hormone imbalance, the Endocrine and Psychiatry Center team may recommend hormone replacement therapy. There are a wide array of treatments to restore hormone balance, including tablets, implantable pellets, topical creams, and many others. Lifestyle changes can also be very helpful in navigating menopause.

Similarly, with men who have low testosterone, both testosterone replacement therapy and lifestyle changes can help you restore hormones and overcome symptoms.

If you have diabetes (insulin imbalance), your treatment depends on the type of diabetes and your health. In the early stages of Type 2 diabetes, you may be able to manage your condition with weight loss and diet changes. If you have Type 1 diabetes or late-stage Type 2 diabetes, you’ll need blood sugar monitoring (a continuous glucose monitor) and insulin injections or a pump.

Whether you need hormone replacement, weight loss, lifestyle changes, or another approach to stabilize your hormone levels and become healthy, the hormone specialists are here to give you the personalized care you need. 

Click the online scheduler or call the nearest Endocrine and Psychiatry Center to book your appointment today.