How deadly are hormonal imbalances?

Beware. If you have unregularly menses, you may want to consult a gynaecologist to allay fears and far reaching implications of hormonal imbalances, writes Beatrice Nakibuuka.

Brenda Akello, a university student, has suffered from hormonal imbalance for eight years now. At 22 years, she has never had regular periods like normal women do.
“Sometimes, I spend more than five months without seeing my menses,” she notes sadly. When I am lucky to have them, the flow is too heavy, I get cramps and become so depressed. Sometimes I even do not want to talk to anyone,” Akello says.

Akello has had this problem since she started having periods. Her greatest worry is that she may not be able to conceive. “There is a doctor who disclosed to me that I may never give birth. Every time I try to date a man seriously, I remember what the doctor told me and I break up with them,” she painfully discloses.

Much or less hormones
According to Dr Martin Nsubuga, an endocrinologist at The Surgery Clinic in Naguru, a hormonal imbalance occurs when there is too much or too little of a hormone in the bloodstream. Since they are very essential in the body, a slight imbalance can cause adverse side effects to the body.

“Hormones produced by glands endocrine system. They travel through the bloodstream to the tissues and organs, transmitting messages. They regulate major body processes. So a hormonal imbalance can affect a wide range of body functions.”

He adds that, “Hormones regulate mood and stress levels, reproductive cycles and sexual function, heart rate, metabolism, appetite as well as general growth and development.”
The endocrine glands are cells that produce, store, and release hormones into the blood. They live in the body in the hypothalamus gland, adrenal glands, pituitary gland, thyroid and parathyroid glands, gonads (testis and ovaries).

What happens?
Dr Nsubuga says women can develop excessive body hair especially in the face and the chest due to higher-than-normal levels of androgens, including testosterone. Normally, women have more oestrogen than androgen hormones. The oestrogen is responsible for menstruation, growth of pubic hair and breasts but when the androgen is more in circulation in the female body, it causes male characteristics such as excess hair, harder muscles and deep voice in women.

“All females produce androgens, but the levels typically remain low. Certain medical conditions can cause a woman to produce too many androgens. This can cause male-pattern hair growth and other male characteristics, such as a deep voice,” says Nsubuga.

According to Dr Johnnie Mulwanya, a gynaecologist at Kayunga Hospital, men and women can be affected by imbalances in insulin, steroids, growth hormones, and adrenaline but women may experience imbalances in oestrogen and progesterone levels.

Mulwanya says, “Unexplained weight gain or weight loss, heavy, irregular, painful periods, changes in sensitivity to coldness and heat, excessive sweating, difficulty in sleeping, breast tenderness, irritability and anxiety, depression, reduced sex drive, infertility and a bulge in the neck are some of the symptoms associatied with hormonal imbalance.”

Causes
Most will experience natural periods of hormonal imbalance or fluctuations at particular points in their life. However, these imbalances can also occur when the endocrine glands are not functioning properly. Causes of hormonal imbalances include chronic stress, poor diet, diabetes, cysts and tumors that affect the endocrine glands, cancers that involve endocrine glands, cancer treatment (chemotherapy and radiation) iodine deficiency (goitres).

Women naturally experience several periods of hormonal change in their lifetime, primarily during puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and menopause. Other causes include polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), early menopause, hormone therapy and birth control pills. Women are also at risk of developing different types of hormonal imbalance disorders than men because they have different endocrine organs and cycles.