What does it mean to have high estrogen?
Estrogen is an important hormone that regulates your reproductive system. It plays an essential role in other body systems, too. Estrogen levels rise and fall throughout your life, often in sync with other hormones that control important body processes. Increases in estrogen spur your sexual development during puberty. Along with the hormone progesterone, estrogen prepares your body for pregnancy.
Estrogen levels that are too high or cause a hormone imbalance can cause problems. High estrogen can disrupt reproductive processes, cause unpleasant symptoms and increase your risk of certain conditions.
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What is estrogen dominance?
Estrogen and progesterone work well together to prevent the lining of your uterus from getting too thick. Some people’s bodies don’t make enough progesterone, leading to what’s called unopposed estrogen. Unopposed estrogen is called estrogen dominance in some medical literature. Without progesterone’s balancing influence, estrogen can work overtime in your body and cause cell overgrowths, like tumors in your uterine lining.
How does high estrogen affect the body of a woman or AFAB person?
It’s rare for your levels to be high because of the estrogen you’re producing. It’s more likely that your estrogen levels are high because of medications you’re taking. For instance, you may have a low sex drive because of high estrogen levels, but this is most likely caused by your birth control pills — not your body’s natural estrogen.
Elevated estrogen unrelated to medication is most likely caused by PCOS prior to menopause. After menopause, high levels are more common if you have overweight/obesity.
If you’re a trans man or nonbinary person with a vagin*, high estrogen levels may prevent your body from having the physical appearance you’d like. If this is the case, masculinizing hormone therapy may be an option for you. This treatment involves taking testosterone to develop secondary sex characteristics like more muscle mass and facial and body hair.
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How does high estrogen affect the body of a man or AMAB person?
People assigned male at birth (AMAB) need some estrogen for their sexual and reproductive health. But high levels of estrogen can cause:
- Infertility.
- Erectile dysfunction.
- A condition called gynecomastia, where the breasts become enlarged.
If you’re assigned male at birth and concerned about your estrogen levels, speak with an endocrinologist or a functional medicine specialist for help.
