Hormone Imbalance and the Effects of the Endocrine Glands

People can suffer from a hormone imbalance when their body does not produce enough or to much of a hormone. Hormones act like chemical messengers that go through the body to the different organs and tissues. The endocrine glands are what produce the hormones. There are several different endocrine glands in the human body. The major ones are the pancreas, thymus, pituitary gland, adrenal glands and the thyroid. Women and men will make the same hormones except when it comes to the sexual hormones. In a male the sexual hormones are made by the testes and in women they are made by the ovaries. Hormones can dramatically effect the body and small fluctuations can have dramatic impact on a persons body.

When a hormone problem goes untreated it has the possibility of creating serious problems including diabetes. There are an estimated six thousand endocrine gland disorders that can occur from a hormone imbalance. Hormone imbalances can effect men and women through different stages of their life. The purely clinical definition of a hormone imbalance is chemical messengers that regulate the systems of the body and do not function properly anymore. When a hormone imbalance does occur it can mean that one of the endocrine glands is either producing to much of or not enough of the required hormone.

There are many things that can cause a hormone imbalance. In women it is usually to much estrogen and not enough progesterone. Some things that have been known to cause this hormone problem are stress, using makeup to much, animal products that are not organic, lack of exercise, sedentary lifestyle, lactation, obesity, genetics and birth control pills. Obesity tends to be the biggest contributing factor in a hormone imbalance and becoming pregnant is the biggest factor associated with a lifestyle change.

Many symptoms of a hormone imbalance are experienced by both women and men. The most common symptoms of a hormone imbalance that are experienced by both sexes are fatigue, skin problems, gaining weight, mood swings, lack of a sex drive, and reduced memory. In severe cases of hormone imbalance we have a hormone allergy that can cause arthritis, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Some secondary symptoms include dryness in mouth and eyes, urinary tract infections and abnormal heartbeat.

There are treatments for a hormone problem. The main treatment is hormone replacement therapy. There are risk associated with this and people who have had blood clots, breast cancer, liver disease and endometral cancer are at a higher risk. There are two different types of hormone replacement therapy that are available for women. The first is replacement of estrogen and the second is replacement of estrogen and progesterone. You should always consult a qualified professional for the correct dosage and medication when taking hormone replacement therapy.

There are also several different forms of drug treatment for a hormone imbalance that do not include hormone replacement therapy. These are primarily designed to treat premature menopause hormone imbalance symptoms.

The first option is Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor and Serotonin Norephinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor. Women have been treat successfully for hot flashes and depression with these drugs.

The next is Medroxyprogesterone acetate and megestrol acetate which have treated hot flashes with success.

Clonide is another drug that has proven to reduce the severity of hot flashes.

Gabapentin is used to treat hot flashes that occur when one is sleeping.