Low estrogen symptoms include changes to your period, headaches, moodiness, and hot flashes. Other signs include dry skin, difficulty concentrating, breast tenderness, and vaginal dryness.
Estrogenis a hormone responsible for maintaining vaginal blood flow and lubrication. It thickens the lining of theuterusduring the menstrual cycle and preserves bone density.
Low estrogen can happen across life stages. If you suspect you may have a low estrogen level, talk to your doctor to find out and address what’s causing it.
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Frequent Low-Estrogen Symptoms
Low estrogen levels can cause a wide-range of seemingly unrelated issues. Low-estrogen symptoms and signs include:
Among young women, low estrogen levels can have an adverse affect on sexual development and delay puberty.
Low Estrogen: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments
Complications
Women with low estrogen levels may not have noticeable symptoms.This can increase the likelihood of not catching the problem early on and experiencing complications.
Potential complications of untreated low estrogen include:
How Estrogen Affects the Heart
When to See a Doctor
If you notice signs and symptoms of low estrogen, you should contact your doctor to discuss what’s happening. You can discuss with your doctor if there are blood tests recommended to check your overall health. Make sure you are up to date on yourPap smeartest, which checks for cervical cancer.
Call your doctor if:
Best Ways to Support a Partner During Menopause
Summary
Low estrogen levels affect your whole body. While they could be a normal part of life, especially during puberty and perimenopause, they could also be a result of certain medications or conditions. If you have symptoms of low estrogen, check with your doctor to make sure there isn’t something more serious going on.
A Word From Verywell
Whether you’re in the diagnostic process or still working to balance your hormones, having low estrogen is something you can’t put to the side every morning when you start work or when you need to be there for your partner, friends, children, or pets. Sometimes it can be hard for others to understand what you are going through, and it’s not because they are purposely trying to misunderstand.
The more you communicate what you’re comfortable sharing about your experience, the better your loved ones and support network can rally together however you need as you work with your doctor to determine the best next steps.
9 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Chai NC, Peterlin BL, Calhoun AH.Migraine and estrogen.Curr Opin Neurol. 2014 Jun 27;27(3):315-324. doi:10.1097/WCO.0000000000000091Shufelt CL, Torbati T, Dutra E.Hypothalamic amenorrhea and the long-term health consequences.Semin Reprod Med. 2017 Jun 28;35(3):256-262. doi:10.1055/s-0037-1603581American Heart Association.Menopause and heart disease.Cleveland Clinic.Estrogen & hormones.Wharton W, Gleason CE, Olson S, Carlsson CM, Asthana S.Neurobiological underpinnings of the estrogen - mood relationship.Current Psychiatry Reviews. 2012 Aug 1;8,247. doi:10.2174/157340012800792957Rzepecki AK, Murase JE, Juran R, Fabi SG, McLellan BN.Estrogen-deficient skin: The role of topical therapy.Int J Womens Dermatol. 2019 Mar 15;5(2):85-90. doi:10.1016/j.ijwd.2019.01.001Finkelstein JS, Brockwell SE, Mehta V, Greendale GA, Sowers MR, Ettinger B, Lo JC, Johnston JM, Cauley JA, Danielson ME, Neer RM.Bone mineral density changes during the menopause transition in a multiethnic cohort of women.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Mar;93(3):861-868. doi:10.1210/jc.2007-1876Almeida M, Laurent MR, Dubois V, Claessens F, O’Brien CA, Bouillon R, Vanderschueren D, Manolagas SC.Estrogens and androgens in skeletal physiology and pathophysiology.Physiol Rev. 2017;97(1):135-187. doi:10.1152/physrev.00033.2015Office of Women’s Health.Menopause symptoms and relief.
9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Chai NC, Peterlin BL, Calhoun AH.Migraine and estrogen.Curr Opin Neurol. 2014 Jun 27;27(3):315-324. doi:10.1097/WCO.0000000000000091Shufelt CL, Torbati T, Dutra E.Hypothalamic amenorrhea and the long-term health consequences.Semin Reprod Med. 2017 Jun 28;35(3):256-262. doi:10.1055/s-0037-1603581American Heart Association.Menopause and heart disease.Cleveland Clinic.Estrogen & hormones.Wharton W, Gleason CE, Olson S, Carlsson CM, Asthana S.Neurobiological underpinnings of the estrogen - mood relationship.Current Psychiatry Reviews. 2012 Aug 1;8,247. doi:10.2174/157340012800792957Rzepecki AK, Murase JE, Juran R, Fabi SG, McLellan BN.Estrogen-deficient skin: The role of topical therapy.Int J Womens Dermatol. 2019 Mar 15;5(2):85-90. doi:10.1016/j.ijwd.2019.01.001Finkelstein JS, Brockwell SE, Mehta V, Greendale GA, Sowers MR, Ettinger B, Lo JC, Johnston JM, Cauley JA, Danielson ME, Neer RM.Bone mineral density changes during the menopause transition in a multiethnic cohort of women.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Mar;93(3):861-868. doi:10.1210/jc.2007-1876Almeida M, Laurent MR, Dubois V, Claessens F, O’Brien CA, Bouillon R, Vanderschueren D, Manolagas SC.Estrogens and androgens in skeletal physiology and pathophysiology.Physiol Rev. 2017;97(1):135-187. doi:10.1152/physrev.00033.2015Office of Women’s Health.Menopause symptoms and relief.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Chai NC, Peterlin BL, Calhoun AH.Migraine and estrogen.Curr Opin Neurol. 2014 Jun 27;27(3):315-324. doi:10.1097/WCO.0000000000000091Shufelt CL, Torbati T, Dutra E.Hypothalamic amenorrhea and the long-term health consequences.Semin Reprod Med. 2017 Jun 28;35(3):256-262. doi:10.1055/s-0037-1603581American Heart Association.Menopause and heart disease.Cleveland Clinic.Estrogen & hormones.Wharton W, Gleason CE, Olson S, Carlsson CM, Asthana S.Neurobiological underpinnings of the estrogen - mood relationship.Current Psychiatry Reviews. 2012 Aug 1;8,247. doi:10.2174/157340012800792957Rzepecki AK, Murase JE, Juran R, Fabi SG, McLellan BN.Estrogen-deficient skin: The role of topical therapy.Int J Womens Dermatol. 2019 Mar 15;5(2):85-90. doi:10.1016/j.ijwd.2019.01.001Finkelstein JS, Brockwell SE, Mehta V, Greendale GA, Sowers MR, Ettinger B, Lo JC, Johnston JM, Cauley JA, Danielson ME, Neer RM.Bone mineral density changes during the menopause transition in a multiethnic cohort of women.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Mar;93(3):861-868. doi:10.1210/jc.2007-1876Almeida M, Laurent MR, Dubois V, Claessens F, O’Brien CA, Bouillon R, Vanderschueren D, Manolagas SC.Estrogens and androgens in skeletal physiology and pathophysiology.Physiol Rev. 2017;97(1):135-187. doi:10.1152/physrev.00033.2015Office of Women’s Health.Menopause symptoms and relief.
Chai NC, Peterlin BL, Calhoun AH.Migraine and estrogen.Curr Opin Neurol. 2014 Jun 27;27(3):315-324. doi:10.1097/WCO.0000000000000091
Shufelt CL, Torbati T, Dutra E.Hypothalamic amenorrhea and the long-term health consequences.Semin Reprod Med. 2017 Jun 28;35(3):256-262. doi:10.1055/s-0037-1603581
American Heart Association.Menopause and heart disease.
Cleveland Clinic.Estrogen & hormones.
Wharton W, Gleason CE, Olson S, Carlsson CM, Asthana S.Neurobiological underpinnings of the estrogen - mood relationship.Current Psychiatry Reviews. 2012 Aug 1;8,247. doi:10.2174/157340012800792957
Rzepecki AK, Murase JE, Juran R, Fabi SG, McLellan BN.Estrogen-deficient skin: The role of topical therapy.Int J Womens Dermatol. 2019 Mar 15;5(2):85-90. doi:10.1016/j.ijwd.2019.01.001
Finkelstein JS, Brockwell SE, Mehta V, Greendale GA, Sowers MR, Ettinger B, Lo JC, Johnston JM, Cauley JA, Danielson ME, Neer RM.Bone mineral density changes during the menopause transition in a multiethnic cohort of women.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Mar;93(3):861-868. doi:10.1210/jc.2007-1876
Almeida M, Laurent MR, Dubois V, Claessens F, O’Brien CA, Bouillon R, Vanderschueren D, Manolagas SC.Estrogens and androgens in skeletal physiology and pathophysiology.Physiol Rev. 2017;97(1):135-187. doi:10.1152/physrev.00033.2015
Office of Women’s Health.Menopause symptoms and relief.
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