Your hormones control virtually every aspect of your life — emotions, appetite, energy level — so when they're out of balance your world is flipped upside-down! One of the biggest problems is that the majority of hormone imbalance symptoms are common among the 30-plus demographic. But what are these symptoms and how can they be treated? Fox News Magazine went to Dr. Rashel J. Tahzibboard, a certified family physician and a diplomat of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine at the Holtorf Medical Group, to find out.
Q: What are hormones and what are some of the symptoms of a hormone imbalance?
A: Hormones are chemical messengers secreted by our endocrine glands that affect virtually every single aspect of our health including the way we look, act and feel. Hormone levels decline as we age. They can also decline due to environmental toxins, stress and inflammation. When hormone levels are not balanced, we don't feel well and can suffer from a variety of symptoms.
Common symptoms of a hormone imbalance include:
- Dry Skin
- Insomnia
- Hair loss
- Anxiety
- Loss in libido
- Weight gain
- Fatigue
Q: When does a person experience hormone imbalance?
A: The answer is at designated stages of life like adolescence, peri-menopause, menopause, and andropause (male menopause). Or at any time during our life the body can — for a number of different reasons such as toxin buildup, microbial imbalance, and emotional or physical stress — develop a hormone imbalance.
Q: How is a hormone imbalance diagnosed?
A: Unfortunately, standardized routine blood tests don’t adequately test for or reflect hormonal imbalance, especially thyroid imbalance. Specialized testing is necessary and should be read by a bio-identical hormone specialist to appropriately diagnose and treat hormonal imbalance. If the right tests are not done and the imbalance is not identified, the problem can go undiagnosed and untreated. As a patient, you may have even been told that the problem "is in your head" or is due to your "nerves," when in fact it’s in your hormones.
Q: What type of therapies are there to treat a hormone imbalance?
A: Hormone therapies come in a ton of different forms, from patches to creams and pills to supplements and injections. Hormones are secreted by the thyroid gland, which is the major regulator of the entire body. If this gland is not producing enough hormones, many problems can arise.
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