If you’ve been feeling like you’re attached to a pendulum lately—swinging back and forth from low mood to high mood, your emotions fluctuating so much you find yourself questioning your sanity on a regular basis—you may be experiencing hormone-related mood swings.
Of course, there are other things we can blame mood swings on besides hormones. Diet, for one. Fluctuating blood sugar levels due to less-than-healthy choices are another. Not getting adequate sleep can cause our emotions to run the gamut. Certain medications may list mood swings as a side effect, and may be the most severe when we’re just starting or weaning off a medication. Some diseases or injuries bring mood swings along with them—Alzheimer’s disease is one, so is a traumatic brain injury and stroke.
Mental illness can also be behind mood swings. Anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder can all stem from an imbalance of brain chemicals associated with mood regulation.
When to See a Provider
We all wake up on the wrong side of the bed every now and again, but if mood swings are frequent, persistent or have become a nuisance in your daily life, you’ll want to seek help. Or, if mood swings go beyond just feeling blue one minute and excited the next, this could be the sign of something else. When you’re “up,” do you feel erratic to the point of choosing risky behaviors? When you’re down, do you think about ending your life? Are mood swings making it difficult to get of bed, go to work or otherwise leave the house? If so, it’s vital to talk to a health professional about this —there are most likely solutions out there that will help.
Low T Means Moodiness
Low testosterone has been linked to mood swings, increased stress and depression in men. “Cells in the brain have testosterone receptors that significantly affect mental health. Men with low testosterone can experience fatigue and commonly have mood swings. It’s also one of the major causes of depression,” Edward Levitan, MD, cofounder and chief executive officer of Visions HealthCare in Wellesley, Mass., told Everyday Health.
But, Women Might Have It Worse
A woman’s menstrual cycle may trigger premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or the more severe version of that, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Symptoms such as bloating, cramps, headaches, low sex drive, sleep problems, low back pain, depression, irritability and mood swings are all signs of both, with PMDD describing when the symptoms are severe.
Menopause and perimenopause (that 10-year-or-so-span before menopause begins) can also bring with them hormone-related mood swings as one of the myriad symptoms. All of these conditions are the result of fluctuating hormones. While too little estrogen in women’s bodies can cause symptoms including foggy mind, depression and memory lapses, too much estrogen can lead to anxiety, irritability and extra weight in the midsection. In addition, women make testosterone as well, and too little of it will affect mood, in addition to increasing body fat, lowering sex drive and increasing the risk of low bone density.
Yikes…What Do I Do?
Give up some of your blood. A simple blood test should tell you which of your hormones, if any, are too low or too high. If they are, your doctor may recommend bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, or BHRT.
BHRT is for both male and female patients of adult ages and it can make a difference in as little as one week in terms overall mood and disposition. The key is to choose a doctor who will dose the hormones precisely, and a new technology from Simpatra was created just for that purpose. It allows physicians to precisely dose patients based on the unique results of their blood tests.
The procedure to implant hormone pellets typically takes less than five minutes. An area of skin usually near the hips is numbed with local anesthesia. A small cut is made and a 3-millimeter needle inserts the pellets just under the skin. The dose doesn’t need to be repeated for another four months, on average, and results can be seen as early as a week later.
It’s also important to make sure the hormone replacement pellets are of the highest quality, and all Simpatra providers receive their pellets from reputable manufacturers. To learn more about BHRT or to find a provider near you visit us at www.simpatra.health.
Disclaimer: The Simpatra website and blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Content from the Simpatra website and blog is not intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment.The information provided on this website is intended for general consumer understanding only. The information provided is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. As health and nutrition research continuously evolves, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any information presented on this website.