Our bodies develop throughout our lives. Hormones are instrumental to many of these changes, from childhood to adulthood. Moreover, these complex chemicals regulate so much of our bodies, including mood, blood pressure, sleep, and metabolism.
When your hormone levels are out of balance, it can affect many parts of your body, including changes in your appearance. To better understand how this works and why it happens, let’s explore the causes of hormone imbalances, how they affect appearance, and the treatments available.
If you live in the Las Vegas, Nevada area and you’re enduring the effects of hormone imbalances, Dr. Staci McHale and the award-winning staff at New Beginnings OB-GYN can help you get things back to normal.
Menopause is a common reason for hormonal imbalances as your body is shutting down reproductive functions and reducing the amounts of estrogen it produces.
However, hormone imbalances can also happen because of stress, injuries, tumors, pituitary gland problems, eating disorders, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and certain medications. Autoimmune conditions can also affect hormones, such as type 1 diabetes, Graves’ Disease, and Hashimoto’s disease.
Many of the physical changes you went through during your teen years were because of the amount of estrogen, testosterone, and other hormones your body produced. Imbalances can directly affect many of those changes.
Your weight can shift rapidly from hormone changes, leading to gaining or losing pounds depending on the cause.
Changes in hormones can also result in drier skin, as well as acne appearing on your face, chest, or even your upper back.
You can become depressed and anxious and see a decrease in libido due to shifts in hormonal levels.
Several things cause imbalances, so treatments vary. Conditions that decrease hormone levels can be managed with hormone replacement therapy, synthetic hormone pills, and synthetic growth hormone injections. We may prescribe medications, radiation therapy, or surgery for patients with high levels of certain hormones.
Other treatment methods can address the underlying conditions leading to imbalances, such as treatments for diabetes or thyroid medications. Supplements are available even out hormone levels, and lifestyle changes can also help, including increased exercise and reduced stress.
Hormone imbalances can affect your appearance, but you can make changes to correct them and we can help. To address problems regarding hormone levels, make an appointment with Dr. McHale and New Beginnings OB-GYN today to get started.
