What Happens When Estrogen Levels Are Too High or Too Low?

What is high or low estrogen levels?

When estrogen is too high or too low you may get menstrual cycle changes, dry skin, hot flashes, trouble sleeping, night sweats, vaginal thinning and dryness, low sex drive, mood swings, weight gain, PMS, breast lumps, fatigue, depression and anxiety.

Estrogen is a naturally occurring hormone that your body produces to aid in sexual development and other important body functions. Prior to menopause, women generate estrogen primarily from their ovaries. After that, most of their estrogen comes from fat cells and the adrenal glands found at the top of the kidneys. When estrogen levels get too high or too low, this can negatively affect the body.

Estrogen helps regulate the health of the following areas:

Urinary tract
Reproductive system
Skin
Muscles
Breasts
Bone
Heart and blood vessels
Hair on the body
Pelvic muscles
Mucous membranes
Brain

Estrogen plays an essential role in girls when they reach puberty, prompting changes like the growth of pubic hair and the start of menstruation. It also helps control cholesterol in the blood. Three of the most common types of estrogen produced in women include:

Estrone

Estrone is the main estrogen hormone produced by women after they hit menopause.

Estradiol

Estradiol is the primary estrogen hormone produced by non-pregnant women.

Estriol

Estriol is an estrogen hormone whose levels increase in pregnant women.

Signs and symptoms of high or low estrogen levels

Men also produce estrogen, though at lower levels than women. They too experience adverse health effects when those levels fluctuate. Estradiol is the estrogen hormone typically found in men.

Sometimes the body produces too much or too little estrogen. Men with lower estrogen levels may end up with additional belly fat and a lowered sex drive. Women with low estrogen levels typically have symptoms like:

Fewer periods
Periods that completely stop
Hot flashes
Dry skin
Problems sleeping
Night sweats
Dryness in the vagina
Thinning of the vaginal walls
Low sex drive
Mood swings

Signs that a woman may have higher levels of estrogen include:

Weight gain around the hips, waist, and thighs
Light or heavy bleeding during menstruation
Worsening symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
The presence of non-cancerous breast lumps
Feelings of tiredness
Lack of desire for sex
Depression
Anxiety

Men with higher estrogen levels may experience the following symptoms:

Gynecomastia, or enlarged breasts
Problems maintaining an erection
Issues with fertility

Without treatment, women can experience various complications from low estrogen levels, like:

Osteoporosis

Estrogen prevents calcium loss, which keeps your bones strong. Without enough estrogen, a woman’s calcium loss often accelerates, leaving her at risk for fracturing the bones in places like the hips, legs, arms, and spine. Women may be more at risk for developing osteoporosis if they have one or more of the following risk factors:

Consume excessive amounts of alcohol
Smoke
Are not active
Have a thin or petite frame

Heart disease

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.

Causes of estrogen level fluctuations

The levels of estrogen in women decrease as they approach menopause. Surgery to remove a woman’s ovaries can also lead to low estrogen levels. A woman’s estrogen levels may increase due to medications like birth control. Higher levels of the estrogen estradiol have been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.

Tests for estrogen level changes

Your doctor may recommend taking an estrogen level test to measure the amount of estrogen in your blood or urine. Blood tests are performed by inserting a needle into your vein and taking a sample of blood. With urine tests, doctors ask people to collect urine samples over 24 hours. There are also tests available that measure your estrogen levels using your saliva.

Estrogen tests help to:

Determine why a girl may be going through early or late puberty
Figure out why boys have not yet gone through puberty
Identify the cause of infertility
Diagnose problems with menstruation
Evaluate treatments for infertility or menopause
Look for tumors that are producing estrogen
Check for specific congenital disabilities
Monitor high-risk pregnancies

Pregnant women may be asked to take an estrogen test if they:

Are over the age of 35
Experience a viral infection
Are managing diabetes
Have a family history of children with congenital disabilities

If the results show that you have higher estrogen levels, this could indicate:

Tumors on your ovaries, testicles, or adrenal glands
Cirrhosis
Early puberty for females
Late puberty for males

Lower estrogen levels can be a sign that you are dealing with:

Primary ovarian sufficiency, where the ovaries stop functioning before the age of 40
Turner syndrome, where female sex characteristics fail to develop correctly in women
Eating disorders like anorexia nervosa
Polycystic ovarian syndrome, a primary cause of female infertility

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Treatments for high or low estrogen levels

Doctors may recommend that women with low estrogen levels start hormone replacement therapy (HRT). It can alleviate some symptoms of menopause and help prevent the development of osteoporosis in women. Your doctor should describe the risks that come with taking HRT. These include the potential of developing breast cancer, heart disease, blood clots, and other health complications.

Specific changes in diet may help lower your estrogen levels. You should also check with your doctor to determine whether the medications you are taking could be contributing to the problem.