Mood swings are another effect of low estrogen. You may feel sad, anxious, or frustrated. Shifting hormone levels and night sweats may disrupt your sleep. This can cause fatigue, which may make mood swings worse.
Fatigue and Sleep Issues
Estrogen is intimately linked to serotonin, and serotonin makes melatonin. Melatonin is the primary sleep hormone. This means, if you've been sleeping less and feeling fatigued, you could have low estrogen.
Research actually shows that exercise helps treat perimenopause fatigue. Engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity daily, as recommended by exercise guidelines, has been shown to improve energy levels in women who are going through menopause.
Low testosterone levels can cause tiredness and fatigue. This is because testosterone plays a role in our metabolism and production of red blood cells - which is vital for energy. Your testosterone levels naturally drop with age.
Estrogen is responsible for an increase in cortisol and testosterone levels, which naturally increase energy levels.
Hot flashes, flushes, and night sweats are the most common symptoms of low estrogen. At times, blood rushes to your skin's surface. This can give you a feeling of warmth (hot flash). Your face may look flushed.
Estrogen helps protect the heart from disease, potentially by maintaining higher levels of good cholesterol, called high-density lipoprotein (HDL), in your blood. Lower estrogen levels, especially during menopause, can increase your risk of developing heart disease.
Symptoms said to be due to adrenal fatigue include tiredness, trouble falling asleep at night or waking up in the morning, salt and sugar craving, and needing stimulants like caffeine to get through the day.
Some women find that Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) helps with their fatigue. HRT is an effective way of managing menopause symptoms and can improve the overall quality of your life, energy levels and sleep.
Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of a hormone imbalance. Excess progesterone can make you sleepy. And if your thyroid -- the butterfly-shaped gland in your neck -- makes too little thyroid hormone, it can sap your energy. A simple blood test called a thyroid panel can tell you if your levels are too low.
A Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center study involving postmenopausal, overweight, and obese women who took 2,000 IUs of vitamin D daily for a year found that those whose vitamin D blood levels increased the most had the greatest reductions in blood estrogens, which are a known risk factor for breast cancer.
Estrogen can reduce menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. If you have a uterus, you'll likely need to take progesterone along with the estrogen. Estrogen without progesterone increases the risk of uterine cancer.
Progesterone has a complimentary relationship with the thyroid as it helps to ensure the effective production of thyroid, as well as helping to increase thyroid hormone levels in the blood. If your progesterone levels are off-kilter then this could be another reason why you're feeling tired.
Most of the time fatigue can be traced to one or more lifestyle issues, such as poor sleep habits or lack of exercise. Fatigue can be caused by a medicine or linked to depression. Sometimes fatigue is a symptom of an illness that needs treatment.
In most cases, there's a reason for the fatigue. It might be allergic rhinitis, anemia, depression, fibromyalgia, chronic kidney disease, liver disease, lung disease (COPD), a bacterial or viral infection, or some other health condition.
Men and women concerned with low energy and increasing fatigue can experience the energy benefits of HRT (hormone replacement therapy).
Testing patients' salivary cortisol and melatonin levels can provide further insight into potential contributors to fatigue symptoms. Gut health and genetics can also be implicated in the development of fatigue symptoms.
Weight gain, especially in your belly. Headaches before or during your period. Decreased sex drive and painful intercourse (dyspareunia). Feeling fatigued and having trouble sleeping (insomnia).
During perimenopause, the ovaries stop producing as much estrogen and progesterone. This can have a knock-on effect on other hormones, such as adrenal and thyroid hormones. These hormones regulate cellular energy in the body. If they are imbalanced, a person may feel fatigued.
The first changes you will probably notice are that your skin will become a bit drier and thinner. Your pores will become smaller and there will be less oil production. You may become more prone to bruising or cuts and in the first few weeks you'll notice that the odors of your sweat and urine will change.