What is estrogen dominance?

Estrogen dominance is a term coined by the late Dr John Lee in his first book on natural progesterone. It describes a condition where a woman can have deficient, normal, or excessive estrogen but has little or no progesterone to balance its effects in the body.

Even low estrogen levels can result in estrogen dominance if a woman’s body fails to produce progesterone month to month.

Estrogen is a name for a class of hormones that take part in regulating a woman’s reproductive system. Estrogen is the dominant hormone for the first week or so after menstruation, stimulating the build-up of tissue and blood in the uterus as the ovarian follicles simultaneously begin their development of the egg. Levels peak and then taper off just as the follicle matures and just before ovulation.

Progesterone is a single hormone that is produced by the follicle after ovulation. It is a major reproductive hormone during the latter two weeks of the menstrual cycle. It keeps the inner lining of the uterus ready to receive a fertilized ovum, and later provides the nurturing for the development of the embryo. If the egg is not fertilized, progesterone levels drop dramatically causing the uterus to shed its lining and a menstruation flow results.

During menopause, when a woman’s hormone levels drop as a natural protective mechanism, estrogen dominance might yet be a concern.

Estrogen dominance occurs mostly in industrialized countries and commonly occurs in the following situations:

• When women are on estrogen replacement therapy.

• Premenopause when early follicle depletion results in the lack of ovulation and thus a lack of progesterone well before the onset of menopause.

• Exposure to xenoestrogens which is the cause of early follicle depletion. Xenoestrogens are foreign substances found outside the body in the air and food that have an estrogen effect on the body.

• Birth control pills with an excessive estrogen component.

• Women who have had a hysterectomy (or tubal ligation) leading to dysfunction of the ovaries.

• Post menopause, especially in women who are overweight or suffering insulin resistence.

Unopposed estrogen in our bodies results in all sorts of hormone-related health problems such as PMS, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, infertility, weight gain, increased blood clotting, thyroid dysfunction, even cancer, in both men and women.

As men age, estrogen gradually rises while saliva levels of progesteorne and testosterone gradually fall. Thus, with aging, estrogen dominance occurs. A clear sign of estrogen dominance in aging men is their tendency to develop breasts. This indicates these men are low in progesterone and testosterone.

Researchers are on the brink of discovering that almost all the important human cancers that we get in Western civilisation are the result of excess estrogen in our body, or estrogen dominance.

Therefore, in cases of hormone dependent cancers, it is critically important to maintain optimal levels of natural progesterone and avoid the factors that would promote too much estradiol.

And the easiest and safest way to bring our progesterone to estradiol levels back within a ratio of 200~300:1, thereby protecting us against this potentially life-threatening state of hormone imbalance, is by using a premium quality controlled natural progesterone cream in conjunction with regular salivary hormone profiles.

Symptoms of estrogen dominance

The symptoms and conditions associated with estrogen dominance categorised by Dr Lee are listed below. Later on, we’ll go into detail how to chart / journalise your cycle to better ascertain whether you are, in fact, estrogen dominant. If that is the case, outlining why progesterone therapy ought to be introduced to safely bring your hormone levels back into balance.

• Acceleration of the aging process
• Allergy symptoms, including asthma, hives, rashes, sinus congestion
• Autoimmune disorders such as lupus erytherometosis and thyroiditis, and possibly Sjögren?s disease
• Breast cancer
• Breast tenderness
• Cervical dysplasia
• Cold hands and feet as a symptom of thyroid dysfunction
• Copper excess
• Decreased sex drive
• Depression with anxiety or agitation
• Dry eyes
• Early onset of menstruation
• Endometrial (uterine) cancer
• Fat gain, especially around the abdomen, hips, and thighs
• Fatigue
• Fibrocystic breasts
• Foggy thinking
• Gallbladder disease
• Hair loss
• Headaches
• Hypoglycemia
• Increased blood clotting (increasing risk of strokes)
• Infertility
• Irregular menstrual periods
• Irritability
• Insomnia
• Magnesium deficiency
• Memory loss
• Mood swings
• Osteoporosis
• PMS
• PCOS
• Premenopausal bone loss
• Prostate cancer (men)
• Sluggish metabolism
• Thyroid dysfunction mimicking hypothyroidism
• Uterine cancer
• Uterine fibroids
• Water retention, bloating
• Zinc deficiency

The Natural-Progesterone-Advisory-Network.com website has collated, through documented observation, a cluster of hormone imbalance symptoms including estrogen dominance not easily found in mainstream publications. And our list continues to grow. They include the following:

• Gritty, dry eyes
• Blurred vision and/or watery eyes, difficulty focusing
• Tender heels and/or feet, from sensitive to burning
• Restless legs - particularly at night-time (in bed)
• Itchy, burning, sore ears
• Sensation of foreign object in ear such as bees or insects, tinnitus
• Vertigo, particularly around ovulation time onwards (more profound lying down in bed)
• Palpitations
• Heartburn
• Low resistance to infection
• Sinusitis, head congestion, flu-like headaches
• Pre-menstrual asthma
• Painful, throbbing face, one side more than the other often reported
• Aching teeth - dental checkup inconclusive
• Cyclic throat problems - too many sore throats around ovulation time, throats that don?t clear, consistent sore throats every month, tonsillitis, asthma, upper respiratory problems
• Acne or pimples, particularly just prior to menses, also in older women
• Premature wrinkling
• Chronic recurrence of thrush, cystitis, vaginitis
• Reports of acne on the vulva that flares at menses
• Chronic Candida
• Bouts of diarrhea prior to the menses, some alternating constipation, especially with women who have cysts and endometriosis
• Leaky gut syndrome
• Inflamed bowel problems - Colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, leaky gut syndrome
• Inability to lose weight and shift fluid
• Loss of control over bladder (stress incontinence), inability to empty, tender & sensitive (absence of bladder infection), fluctuation/variation of bladder paralysis
• Extreme dream agitation and anxiety
• Panic attacks
• Inability to focus
• Inability to concentrate
• Loss of short term memory
• Alienation and loss of confidence
• Androgen side effects: facial hair, increased body hair
• Increased thickening and blacking of limb hair
• Atypical periods alternating from shorter or extending to longer, cycles become erratic, can alternate from heavier to lighter, or can be a combination of both - heaving clotting (no fibroids)
• Aching joints present in the form of rheumatism or arthritis, joint and muscle stiffness, nerve endings feeling very fragmented and fragile and tender to touch, imitative of fibromyalgia syndrome
• Pins and needles, sciatica, hip pain down one side predominantly quite common although bone mineral densities and hip x-ray tests are normal
• Painful ovaries upon ovulation
• Painful ovaries in the absence of ovulation, confusing women that they have ovulated
• Obsessive, irrational thought and behavior patterns: finding a lost item, trying to think of someone?s name, being aware on one level but unable to stop yourself on another.
• Lack of lateral thinking and ability to multi-task
• Fragmented physically, emotionally and spiritually
• Headaches and migraines - sharp pains through top of head
• Overwhelming panic attacks and unfounded fear
• Social phobia, sense of loss of social skills, withdrawal
• Unrelated grief & sadness
• Sluggish liver (aggravated by hormonal overload, overuse of synthetic HRT, medications, xenoestrogens)
• Vocabulary / speech difficulty - ‘tongue tied’, verbal stammer