Hormones: They Will Make or Break You!
Hormone (n): A chemical substance produced in the body that controls and regulates the activity of certain cells or organs. Many hormones are secreted by special glands, such as thyroid hormone produced by the thyroid gland. Hormones are essential for every activity of life, including the processes of digestion, metabolism, growth, reproduction, and mood control.
I wanted to share my personal experience when it comes to hormones, in hopes that my story might provide some insight or hope to someone else that might be struggling out there.
As many young women are, at 16 years old I was put on birth control pills to hopefully regulate and lesson the severe side effects of my menstrual cycle. Very quickly, I began to feel irrational, unable to control tears, constantly sad, and for absolutely no reason!
Flash forward ten years, having switched birth control six to eight times, all while never feeling "normal" nor having regular, less painful periods like the pills were supposed to be doing for me, the doctors decided to implant an IUD. This device would ideally regulate my period, lessen side effects, prevent pregnancy, but did NOT contain the hormone, "Estrogen", which was apparently what was causing my emotional issues.
Flash forward another two years, I decided to make a career change. My life went from extreme overactivity (walking on average 25,000 steps per day), to having a more normal caloric expenditure, and I RAPIDLY began packing on the pounds. Now, for someone who's life is consumed with exercise, dieting, nutrition, and healthy cooking, keeping my weight in a comfortable range should be easy right? WRONG!
The pounds just kept creeping on! Absolutely none of my clothing fit. I found myself migrating to Frank's dresser for loose t-shirts and comfortable sweatpants as I noticed significant weight gain on my hips and thighs. Despite my low calorie, low carbohydrate, high protein diet and consistent exercise, nothing would give! INFURIATING! Using my scientific education and my experience working in a medical office, I KNEW there HAD to be an underlying reason, and I was determined to figure it out.
I was able to get my general practitioner to sign off on a hormone panel due to "inability to lose weight as I was desperate to find an answer, and of course a few days later the doctor’s office called back and everything was "normal". In pure frustration, I drove over to the office to request a copy of the blood work and guess what I found?!? My estrogen level was 1,305!!! A normal "high" estrogen level being about 430 and up to 800 when women are doing taking fertility drugs, but mine was 1,305 and everything was apparently "normal"?! And I thought I had an IUD with no estrogen?!
According to Healthline.com, the potential side effects of high estrogen are:
- bloating
- swelling and tenderness in your breasts
- decreased sex drive
- fibrocystic lumps in your breast
- irregular menstrual periods
- increased PMS
- mood swings
- headaches
- anxiety and panic attacks
- weight gain (especially around the hips/thighs)
- hair loss
- cold hands or feet
- trouble sleeping
- sleepiness or fatigue
- memory problems
Now it was all starting to make sense. Flash forward a week later, I saw a new gynecologist who explained the feedback loop of estrogen and progesterone. She enlightened me that because the IUD only contained progesterone, my body was most likely trying to "compensate" and was making extreme amounts of estrogen, which if you didn't know can be very harmful to the body and potentially cause cancer. I had the IUD removed immediately, and within a few days started noticing differences. It has been about two months now, and my moods are drastically improved, my head no longer feels like it's in a "fog", I am sleeping better, my workouts are better than ever, and the weight is slowly but surely coming back off.
Moral of the story: listen to your body! Don't accept "normal" when you feel like crap! Find the help you need and demand an answer! Hormones make your body work properly in many ways, but when they aren't working together and in the right levels, they can absolutely break you!