What happens if estrogen is too low

Your monthly cycle goes away, and your fertility goes with it. These lower hormone levels cause a number of health issues throughout your body:. But hold off on the celebration. Symptoms can linger for a lifetime. And the continued low estrogen levels lead to more serious health concerns.

The rate of bone loss speeds up, increasing your risk of low bone density, osteopenia and osteoporosis. You also have a higher chance of having a heart attack, stroke or other heart-related issues. If you love coffee, sugar, salt, cigarettes or alcohol, your risk for bone and heart issues are even higher. Symptoms can be managed in a bunch of ways.

But first, you need to visit your doctor to diagnose menopause. Your symptoms, age, and medical history may be enough to make the diagnosis. But women of all ages can experience low estrogen.

Girls who haven't reached puberty and women in perimenopause or menopause are most likely to feel the effects of low estrogen. Hot flashes and night sweats: Low estrogen affects your hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls your body temperature. When you're lacking estrogen, that part of the brain causes you to be very sensitive to small increases in body temperature. To remove this excess heat, you have hot flashes or sweat excessively. Fatigue or insomnia: Hot flashes at night night sweats can wake you up and interrupt sleep.

Estrogen is also linked to serotonin, which is produced by your brain. Serotonin makes melatonin, a sleep hormone. So, if you have low estrogen, you may have low serotonin. And these are reasons why you may have trouble sleeping. Difficulty focusing or concentrating: Because you may not be sleeping well, it's not surprising that you have difficulty concentrating or focusing. Mood swings: Because estrogen affects your menstrual cycle, it makes sense that it's presence—or lack thereof—factors into your mood just think of your monthly mood cycles.

When you have low estrogen, your hormone levels are out of balance, leading to mood swings. This can be aggravated by poor quality sleep see above. Depression: Estrogen hikes serotonin levels explained above , which help fight off depression.

But if you're estrogen deficient, you have low serotonin levels, and in turn, you have difficulty combating depression. Brittle bones: Your bones may break more easily or fracture. Heart disease. Estrogen made by the body seems to protect against heart disease. It may do this by raising the level of HDL good cholesterol in the blood.

After menopause, the risk for heart disease rises sharply. Talk with your healthcare provider about ways to protect your heart health. Hormone replacement therapy HRT can reduce some symptoms of menopause. HRT may be done with a medicine that has estrogen, or medicines that have estrogen and progesterone. HRT may also help prevent osteoporosis in some women. But it may increase the risk for other health conditions, including heart disease, breast cancer, blood clots in the legs or lungs, and stroke.

The combination of hormones may be effective in balancing estrogen levels in some women experiencing symptoms. Doctors tend to prescribe combination HRT for women who are approaching menopause or are experiencing post-menopausal symptoms. Side effects from HRT may include bloating, headaches , and vaginal bleeding. Women can take HRT orally, topically, vaginally, or have pellets inserted under the skin. In some instances, women may have an injection. The dose given varies according to the individual.

Usually, doctors prescribe the lowest dose that relieves symptoms. Not all women can use HRT. For example, HRT may not be suitable for women who have had a history of a stroke , heart attack , or high blood pressure. It is essential that any woman who is considering HRT speaks to her doctor about the risks versus the benefits. Sometimes, doctors prescribe just estrogen to treat some women with estrogen deficiency; for example, women who have had their ovaries removed.

Sometimes, a doctor will prescribe estrogen therapy to treat bothersome symptoms at menopause. There does not appear to be many scientifically proven methods for increasing estrogen levels using natural remedies.

However, a few lifestyle and diet changes may help. Because being extremely underweight can cause reduced estrogen levels, maintaining a healthy weight may help. Extreme amounts of exercise can also cause a decline in estrogen production; so cutting back on exercise may help increase estrogen levels.

Some studies have been conducted on the benefits of soy for treating low estrogen symptoms. There is conflicting research on the benefits of soy for increasing estrogen levels. However, this small study indicated that soy isoflavones might reduce menopausal symptoms caused by declining estrogen levels.