“I can’t lose weight… It must be my hormones.”
“My menstrual cycle is abnormal… It must be my hormones.”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me… It must be my hormones.”

Not a week goes by without a patient coming into our office having already pinned their symptoms on a hormonal problem. And guess what? They’re usually right. Because the big three—sex, thyroid, and stress hormones—wear so many hats, there’s a good chance at least one of them is misfiring, leaving you struggling and confused.

What the Heck Are Hormones Anyway?

The endocrine system works like a symphony to balance hormones (Source: Larisa Birta via Unsplash)

Hormones—such as estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone—are chemical messengers secreted by organs and glands, including the adrenals, thyroid, ovaries, and testicles. Together, they help you sleep, ease your stress, control your sex drive, burn and store fat, and more. Like a symphony, your entire endocrine system works in harmony to control the level of hormones circulating throughout your body—and if there’s even a slight imbalance, your health can fall flat.

But while you may be correct in thinking “It’s my hormones,” there are plenty of other conditions that can mimic the symptoms of a hormone problem. So, let’s look at the five telltale signs that it really is your hormones impacting your health.

The Top 5 Signs You Have a Legitimate Hormone Issue

1. Abnormal Menstrual Cycles

Long, short, heavy, or light, an abnormal menstrual cycle is…well…abnormal. Though it is relatively common, with up to 5 percent of adult women frequently missing periods over an extended length of time, it’s often a sign of a hormonal issue that should not be ignored. When there’s a happy balance between the hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal, ovarian, and thyroid glands, most women will menstruate once monthly. Irregular cycles, missed periods, or painful and intense PMS symptoms are signs that hormone levels are either lacking or too high.

2. Inability to Burn Fat

A hormone imbalance can affect your ability to burn fat (Source: pixabay)

Some people just don’t eat right or exercise—and, alas, they wind up overweight. Other people stick to a strict diet and practically live at the gym, yet they’re overweight, too. What gives? When we restrict our calories, our metabolism compensates by decreasing our metabolic rate with leptin, the metabolism-regulating hormone. When leptin is high, metabolism is high; when it’s low, our metabolism rate plummets. In the face of this threatening situation, the thyroid and leptin hormones decrease, and stress hormones increase, effectively shutting down your fat-burning ability—known as metabolic adapation. Any attempt to slim down without the proper hormone balance will be in vain.

3. Loss of Libido

Believe it or not, 32 percent of women and 15 percent of men lack the desire to have sex on a regular basis—and for many, they simply don’t bring their hormones to bed. While age certainly has a lot to do with the misfires, a hormone imbalance can occur as early as in your twenties. Whether it’s a decline in DHEA (the “master hormone” that makes estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone), a rise in cortisol (the “stress hormone”), or other hormones like insulin and ghrelin getting in on the act, hormone issues are a huge plot point in the story of low libido.

4. Infertility

Got the sex drive, but can’t get pregnant? Check in with your hormones. For women, the menstrual cycle, egg development, ovulation, and pregnancy all rely on delicately balanced hormones. And the same goes for men and their sperm production. From low progesterone and “low T” to a thyroid disorder or PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) diagnosis, a hormone imbalance can make it impossible to conceive.

Misfiring hormones can cause skin problems (Source: Isabell Winter via Unsplash).

5. Skin Complaints

Chances are you’ve seen evidence of the acne-hormone connection during puberty, but skin problems can persist well past the teenage years when you have a disorder. Blame your oily cheeks on the boost of DHEA, your redness on excess testosterone, and your chin zits on elevated estrogen.

There Will Be Highs and Lows

So, you were right. It is your hormones. But don’t you want to know why? Look for our next post (next week) about the highs and lows of hormone levels, and how you can balance them out.