10 Questions To Ask If You Think You Have A Hormone Imbalance, From An MD 

There are several key hormones that, if unbalanced, can cause the whole hormonal system to falter, zapping your energy and making you feel wiped out. And unfortunately, women are much more vulnerable to hormone imbalance than men, and the likelihood of this imbalance increases with age (oh joy!).

No matter what you may have heard about some new test or magical theory, there is no reliable and accurate testing for hormone levels that everyone can agree on. Throughout my extensive work in this area and continued discussions with colleagues, it's just something that remains very controversial.

If you suspect that you have an imbalance, I suggest you see your practitioner and get a full hormone work-up and blood work—and, of course, continue reading this book.

As a society, we put a lot of weight on testing. When things come out negative, relief abounds. The hormonal balance is so complex that it doesn't always show up on tests, so you still may have symptoms even while your blood work and other test results look fine.

So, I look at testing as just one piece of data. Really, it's a matter of listening to your body and seeing if your symptoms are getting better. That's why if you're tired, anxious, and stressed, there are other diagnostics than tests that are better indicators of what ails you. So, for example, one of the biggest ways to check if you're doing OK (or not) in the microbiome is to check on your energy levels.

As technology advances, we should one day be able to use testing to detect imbalances, but for now, early symptoms are best detected by questioning. We can look for clues from our own bodies. Hormones should work for you instead of against you, and when that hormone system is out of whack, you can work with your doctor to determine if your symptoms point to a hormonal imbalance.