How Is Low Sex Drive Diagnosed
Diagnosing low sex drive may be complicated because thereâs really no ânormalâ level of sex drive. If youâre bothered by your lack of interest in sex, doctors may start by asking you questions about your symptoms and medical history. In some cases, doctors may then perform a blood test or other screening tests to look for low levels of sex hormones like testosterone, which may be the cause of low libido. For women, doctors may perform pelvic exams to check for physical problems that may cause a decrease in sexual desire. You may be referred to a counselor or therapist to find any psychological or relationship issues that may lead to low sex drive.
What Does It Mean To Have Low Estrogen
Estrogen is an important hormone that spurs your sexual development and helps maintain your reproductive system. It plays an essential role in other body systems, too. Estrogen levels rise and fall throughout your life, often in sync with other hormones that control important body processes, like your menstrual cycle. The ever-changing highs and lows associated with estrogen levels are normal.
Having estrogen levels that are consistently low is different. Consistently low estrogen may mean that youre going through a natural change, like menopause. Sometimes, low estrogen is a sign of a condition that slows your sexual development, which can make it harder to become pregnant.
How Can You Test Your Estrogen Levels
Yes you can your doctor will test your estrogen levels through a blood test. A blood sample will be taken from a vein in your arm. Your doctor may test your oestrogen levels if you are experiencing symptoms such as:
- Irregular periods
The best thing to do is to consult your doctor if you are experiencing any of these symptoms. They will be able to send you for a blood test to determine exactly what is wrong. Once you are given a diagnosis, you will be able to begin receiving the right treatment to make you feel well again.
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Signs Of Low Estrogen Levels
In addition to the most widely experienced symptoms outlined above, there are a number of signs that one might not normally equate with low estrogen levels.
As opposed to more evident symptoms, medical signs are measurable criteria that are usually assessed by a physician to help identify a diagnosis of hormonal imbalance.
- Vaginal pH testing exceeding 5.0
- Microscopy showing vaginal or bacterial fungal growth
- Abnormal electrocardiogram results
- Estrogen tests proving low estrogen levels
- Blood tests showing low serotonin levels
When estrogen levels remain low for a more permanent amount of time, more serious conditions may develop from an estrogen deficiency.
Continue reading to learn more about two major, life-threatening health conditions caused by consistently low levels of estrogen.
Causes Of Low Estrogen In Women
There are several potential causes of low estrogen in women, but the most common is menopause, which means you’ve stopped having your period.
Perimenopause, the body’s natural transition to menopause, usually begins in your 40s, but it can start earlier or later for some women. During this time, your estrogen levels fluctuate and can be high and low. The average length of perimenopause is 4 years, but it can last longer.
Other causes of low estrogen can include:
-
surgical removal of the ovaries
A womans estrogen levels rise and fall throughout her menstrual cycle. But unusually low levels may lead to irregular or missed periods and problems with fertility.
Some women with low estrogen levels may also experience a lower sex drive. And low levels of this hormone may also affect vaginal pH levels, leading to dryness, pain during sex, and potential urinary problems.
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How Is Low Estrogen Diagnosed
Diagnosis and treatment of low estrogen can help prevent many health issues.
If youre experiencing symptoms of low estrogen, talk with your doctor. They can assess your symptoms and make a diagnosis if needed. Early diagnosis may help prevent further complications.
During your appointment, your doctor will discuss your family health history and assess your symptoms. Theyll also perform a physical exam. Blood tests will likely be needed to measure your hormone levels.
Your follicle stimulating hormone levels may also be tested to determine whether your estrogen is low if youre experiencing:
- frequently missed periods
Why Are Athletes At Risk For Low Levels Of Estrogen
Women with low body fat often do not produce sufficient amounts of sex hormones. This can be a problem for women such as athletes, models, and gymnasts. It can also be a problem for women with eating disorders. These women can experience a cessation of menstruation, known as amenorrhea. They may also develop osteoporosis — thin bones — and fractures as well as other conditions more common in older women after menopause.
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When Is Low Estrogen Common
Having less estrogen happens in almost all women at some point in their life. During and after menopause, estrogen levels fall naturally because you are no longer menstruating or reproductively active.
These low estrogen levels have different effects on different people. The low levels of estrogen are responsible for the symptoms of menopause.
For some, menopause symptoms will be very mild and their lives will be barely impacted. However, for others, the low estrogen levels will result in life-changing symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats on top of depression and being more susceptible to bone fractures.
Luckily, you can work with your doctor to address these symptoms with treatments such as hormone replacement therapy. So, while low levels of estrogen are common in the menopausal period, there are things you can do about it to make your quality of life more bearable.
What You Can Do Today About Low Estrogen Issues
When your estrogen levels start to drop, the development of unpleasant symptoms often comes on fast and furious. In other cases, women describe a slow and steady decline that they assumed was just a part of middle age. Whatever your personal experience is with imbalanced hormone levels, know this: you can start taking steps to feel better today.
There are several different hormone therapy options, and the right match for you will depend on many factors. Thats why your first step should always be to schedule a consultation with an experienced and knowledgeable expert, like the ones at Focal Point Vitality.
Not only does our consultation process include pinpointing your hormone levels and the possible causes of imbalance, but it also dives into your family, medical, and personal history. Together, well talk about your goals , then explore the treatment options that are best suited to you. Simple, straightforward, and hugely informative, a consultation at our Phoenix hormone replacement therapy clinic is a must and something you can tackle today.
From there, the treatment process will be completely tailored to your needs. Whether its estrogen, progesterone, or another replacement therapy thats right for you, youll have a Focal Point Vitality professional with you every step of the way. And because we customize every treatment plan, youre free to choose the options that fit your lifestyle and goals.
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Youre Having Trouble Getting Pregnant
If youre trying to get pregnant and you have low estrogen, it could be a challenge to conceive. This is connected to symptom #1 if you dont have enough estrogen in your body for it to grow a thick uterine lining, you wont have enough nourishment to grow a baby. Similarly, if you’re not ovulating, your body isn’t releasing an egg, meaning there’s nothing for sperm to fertilize.
Treatment For Low Estrogen
One way to prevent symptoms of low estrogen is to replenish your estrogen supply. You can increase the levels of estrogen in your body through estrogen replacement therapies. At the Center for Womens Health, our team, led by Sharon Breit, MD, diagnoses and assesses your estrogen levels and symptoms in order to prescribe the best options for your issues.
Hormone replacement therapy comes in many forms, including pills, creams, patches, and injections, and with the hormone progestin or estrogen-only. Another option is BioTe® Hormone Pellet Therapy, which contains bioidentical hormones derived from plant extracts.
For more information on how estrogen affects your body and what you can do about it, call us at the Center for Womens Health in Wichita, Kansas, or make an appointment online.
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Low Estrogen Or Estrogen Dominance
When in adequate supply, progesterone and estrogen moderate each other progesterone has a more calming effect, while estrogen has a more excitatory effect, for example. The most well-studied diseases of the female reproductive system, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, and PCOS are all results of unopposed estrogen . This may also be referred to as estrogen dominance. But there are also conditions and diseases that result from a dominance of progesterone or an underproduction of estrogen.
The most commonly known of these are osteoporosis and joint pain. Other diseases you may not realize are associated with low estrogen levels include Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease, type 2 diabetes, and eclampsia .
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What Are The Symptoms Of Low Estrogen
Written by Elite HRT on April 18, 2021
Camille Freking, Regulatory Affairs Specialist, MEDICAL ADVISOR
Having balanced levels of hormones can make you feel your absolute best. On the other hand, having hormone deficiency can make you feel like your body as a whole is out of balance.
When it comes to estrogen being in balance, it is most common to have levels be too low. Recognizing this can be relatively easy when you know the symptoms.
Low estrogen happens most commonly during menopause in women. In addition to recognizing the signs and symptoms, your healthcare provider can do additional testing through blood, urine, or saliva to determine your hormone levels.
Keep reading to learn more about what estrogen is, when low estrogen happens, and the key symptoms that occur with low estrogen.
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Why Fsh And Lh Levels Matter
Primary hypogonadism diagnosis occurs when tests show low FSH and LH in males. Hypogonadism is when consistent blood tests show low testosterone. Primary hypogonadism is mostly seen in individuals with Klinefelter Syndrome. This is a condition where males have an extra X chromosome.
Secondary hypogonadism is when the hypothalamus doesnt produce gonadotropin-releasing hormone . FSH and LH levels may be below normal or appear normal, but testosterone will be lower than average. This is the kind of low testosterone we see in ageing men.
How Estrogen Levels Affect Your Body
Having consistently low levels of estrogen can affect your reproductive system as well as other systems in your body.
Estrogen is the hormone that’s mainly responsible for sexual development in girls as they reach puberty. Some of its other functions include:
The type of HRT therapy, the mode of administration, and the dosage that you are prescribed depend on many factors. These include the underlying cause, severity, and symptoms of your low estrogen.
Basic facts about HRT include:
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Can You Increase Estrogen Through Diet And Lifestyle
You can often address low estrogen levels related to certain behaviors by making lifestyle adjustments.
- Aim for a healthy body weight: Being underweight is a risk factor for low hormone levels. Talk with your provider about dietary changes needed to ensure youre getting the right amount of calories each day.
- Moderately exercise: Overexercise can contribute to low estrogen. Exercise in moderation is good. Overdoing it can deplete the important resources your body needs to function.
- Reduce stress: Too many stress hormones can cause the hormones that regulate your reproductive system to become imbalanced. Incorporating stress-reduction techniques into your daily routine is good for your overall well-being and your hormones, too.
- Get enough sleep: Sleep recharges your body so that your hormones can function properly. On average, adults need from seven to nine hours of sleep each night.
When To See A Doctor
If you notice signs and symptoms of low estrogen, you should contact your doctor to discuss whats happening. You can discuss with your doctor if there are blood tests recommended to check your overall health. Make sure you are up to date on your Pap smear test, which checks for cervical cancer.
- Youve missed a period or more: This could be a sign of pregnancy or the result of certain medications, an underlying illness, or perimenopause.
- Youve not had a period for a year and start bleeding or spotting: In women who have gone through menopause, spotting or light bleeding could be caused by endometrial cancer or other serious health problems.
- You are 16 or older and have not started menstruating: This could be a sign of delayed puberty due to hormonal imbalance.
- You think you may have an eating disorder: Eating disorders can wreak havoc on your physical and mental health. They can cause deficiencies that can compromise estrogen production.
- You are feeling overwhelming sadness or having suicidal thoughts: Reach out to a mental health professional to get the help and support you deserve, and talk to your doctor about possible treatment options.
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Signs Your Estrogen Levels Are Lowand What To Do About It
You might already know this, but hormones are essential to how your body functions. According to the Hormone Health Network , hormones are the body’s chemical messengers. They’re sent out by the endocrine system to tell your tissues and organs how to work. And they affect many different processes: Growth and development, metabolism, sexual function, reproduction, and mood.
When your hormone levels are unbalanced, you might feel the effects of it in your daily life. One hormone that can be in flux for women is estrogen. “Estrogen is an essential hormone that is used in a variety of different ways within the body,” explains Amanda Perrin, MS, RDN, a health coach at Parsley Health. “It is most known for its role in reproductive health, but it does so much more. Estrogen also plays a role in bone health and development, heart health, cognitive function, and weight maintenance.”
It’s natural to experience low estrogen levels during menopause, in which case the symptoms of menopause can be managed, says Alyssa Dweck, MS, MD, FACOG, Intimina’s sexual and reproductive health expert. If you’re not going through menopause, some signs of low estrogen include vaginal dryness and painful sex.
Along with those symptoms, Jill Bauman, an integrative nutrition health coach, says that having low estrogen levels may increase a woman’s risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, and obesity.
How Low Estrogen Affects Women
Ask any of our experts what women should know about having low estrogen, and its pretty likely that youll get the same answer across the board: you should be well-aware of the symptoms of low estrogen so that you can nip the issue in the bud as soon as possible.
So, what happens when estrogen levels are low? Well, even a minor imbalance has the potential to throw off just about everything. Every woman will experience varying symptoms, but the most common signs of low estrogen levels are:
- Increase in urinary tract infections
- Dry, thin skin and limp hair
If you have even one of the symptoms above, low estrogen treatment may be a life-changing option to consider.
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What Are The Sex Glands And Sex Hormones
Testicles in the male reproductive system produce testosterone, the main male hormone. Hypogonadism in men is the result of low testosterone.
Ovaries in the female reproductive system produce estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Women with hypogonadism are often low in estrogen and progesterone.
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Signs Of Low Estrogen In Women
First of all, what exactly is estrogen? For those who dont know, estrogen is a hormone commonly associated with the female body but also produced in small amounts in men. Hormones play important roles in regulating activity of specific cells and organs as well as maintaining your overall health. If you feel that you may have low estrogen, keep reading. Well be discussing what estrogen does, common causes, common risk factors, as well as treatments and solutions for women with low estrogen.
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How Do You Raise Low Estrogen
Determining the cause of chronically low estrogen levels is helpful in determining the best strategy.
If it is due to menopause, increasing foods high in phytoestrogens like flax seeds, miso soup, and hops during this time period helps bring relief due to phytoestrogens binding to estrogen receptors and upregulating serotonin receptors. Maintaining a diet high in phytoestrogens may assist throughout the post-menopausal period for estrogen, serotonin levels and preventing bone loss.
If it is due to low body fat percentage, an eating disorder, or excessive physical training, talk to your doctor regarding your concerns and a plan going forward.