Latest / Nourished Fertility / 3 Signs You Have Low Estrogen (+ What to Do About It)

Transcript

3 Signs You Have Low Estrogen (+ What to Do About It) · Nourished Fertility

• 0:00
  Well, hey y'all.
• 0:00
  Welcome back to the Nursing Women Podcast.
• 0:02
  I'm your host, Victoria Myers, fertility, registered dietician and
• 0:06
  peer recovery specialist here to help you get your body ovulating,
• 0:10
  cycling and conceiving naturally.
• 0:12
  And today we're diving into a topic that's often overlooked but
• 0:16
  crucial for fertility and that's.
• 0:18
  Low estrogen.
• 0:20
  Estrogen isn't just about mood swings or hot flashes.
• 0:23
  It's the key player in your reproductive health, and usually we
• 0:27
  focus on what to do if it's elevated.
• 0:28
  I'm sure you've heard of estrogen dominant.
• 0:31
  I. It's such a common topic in, you know, the hormone health space
• 0:34
  these days, but what do you do if your estrogen is actually low?
• 0:38
  And then how do we even know if it's low?
• 0:40
  Today we're gonna explore three signs without lab testing that
• 0:43
  might indicate your estrogen levels are lower than optimal,
• 0:47
  and then what you can do about it.
• 0:48
  So sign number one is no cervical mucus.
• 0:51
  Cervical mucus is more than just a bodily fluid.
• 0:54
  It's literally one of the most powerful signs of fertility.
• 0:58
  It tells us your estrogen is rising, that ovulation is on the way,
• 1:01
  and that your body is preparing for the possibility of pregnancy.
• 1:05
  To break it down even further, estrogen, specifically estradiol,
• 1:09
  the most active form stimulates thick cervical Crips to produce mucus.
• 1:14
  As estrogen levels rise during your follicular phase, it changes
• 1:17
  the consistency, quantity, and pH of your cervical fluid.
• 1:21
  What starts off as like dry or sticky becomes progressively wetter.
• 1:26
  Stretchier and clearer.
• 1:27
  Think of it truly as egg white.
• 1:29
  That's like the best way to describe it, and this is all thanks to estrogen.
• 1:33
  This fertile quality mucus creates the most ideal environment for sperm.
• 1:37
  That's why it's so important because it helps them survive for up to five days.
• 1:41
  That's so cool.
• 1:43
  It helps 'em swim more easily through the cervix and even
• 1:46
  filter out abnormal sperm.
• 1:48
  Yes, your mucus is picky in the best possible way.
• 1:51
  So if you're not noticing this type of cervical mucus, it is a strong sign
• 1:56
  that your estrogen levels are low.
• 1:58
  That clear, stretchy egg white, cervical mucus only happens to with healthy
• 2:02
  estrogen levels leading up to ovulation.
• 2:05
  So if you currently have or suspect you have hypothermic, amenorrhea,
• 2:08
  or ha, or you're dealing with cycle irregularities and problems tied to.
• 2:14
  Under eating, over training the energy imbalance within your body.
• 2:18
  You may not not be noticing, you know, any cervical mucus right now at all.
• 2:22
  If you're just like completely unsure, something you can do is when you wipe,
• 2:26
  look for signs of moisture or stretch.
• 2:29
  If it's not obvious, try checking internally with cleaning
• 2:31
  fingers gently swiping near your cervix, and then if you find it.
• 2:36
  Minimal, dry or sticky, all cycle long, that is a clue that your
• 2:40
  estrogen isn't rising enough to trigger ovulation or that fertile mucus.
• 2:44
  And remember, you'll only produce fertile cervical mucus
• 2:47
  in a few days before ovulation.
• 2:49
  So if you're still in pure recovery, you likely just won't see it yet.
• 2:53
  But trust me, any increase in cervical mucus is a phenomenal sign.
• 2:58
  It means your body is responding CORs or.
• 3:00
  Dancing, turning back online and fertility is waking back up.
• 3:04
  We have all of our clients to track both cervical mucus and basal body temperature.
• 3:09
  We talked about this in the episode.
• 3:11
  How do I know if I'm ovulating?
• 3:13
  Um, and I will tell you, because we are tracking, because it's such an important
• 3:18
  sign for both confirming ovulation, we wanna make sure every period that they're
• 3:21
  getting in recovery is obligatory.
• 3:23
  And also, especially for those people who are actively trying to conceive.
• 3:28
  . So all that to say, when I have a client message me saying that they finally
• 3:31
  saw that egg white cervical mucus that like they get it now they've seen it.
• 3:35
  You better believe that we are celebrating so much.
• 3:38
  Like cervical mucus is something that we celebrate so much here
• 3:41
  at Nursing Minds Nutrition.
• 3:43
  This means that their estrogen is doing what it's supposed to do and ovulation
• 3:46
  is likely just around the corner,
• 3:49
  which is so exciting after so much hard work that client
• 3:52
  put into making that happen.
• 3:54
  Okay?
• 3:54
  Sign number two, no period or long follicular phases.
• 3:58
  Your menstrual cycle is divided into phases.
• 4:00
  Remember, we talked about this also in the episode.
• 4:02
  How do I know if I'm ovulating?
• 4:05
  Follicular phase is the first half starting on the.
• 4:07
  First day of your period and ending the day of ovulation.
• 4:11
  Estrogen plays a crucial role during this phase, helping the follicle
• 4:14
  mature and prepare for ovulation.
• 4:17
  So if your foller phase is unusually long, or you're missing periods altogether,
• 4:23
  this definitely indicates low estrogen levels during the follicular phase.
• 4:26
  Estrogen levels are supposed to be rising steadily, and this plus some
• 4:30
  other key hormones like FSH and LH tell your body it is time to ovulate.
• 4:35
  So a prolonged folic phase delays ovulation makes your fertile window
• 4:40
  harder to predict and can decrease.
• 4:42
  Your chances of conceiving if you have no period or very long cycles is
• 4:46
  likely because your estrogen is low.
• 4:49
  You know, this is a place where I do recommend testing with all of our clients.
• 4:52
  We have a. Very specific lab panel they ask their doctors for.
• 4:56
  But if you've been to the doctor for your period loss or you know, no period post
• 5:00
  pill or just, you know, having a hard time conceiving, hopefully they should have,
• 5:04
  should have done some testing for some of those key first like reproductive hormones
• 5:09
  to test for FSH, LH and uh, estrogen.
• 5:12
  And if estrogen is lower than 50, it's strongly associated
• 5:16
  with hypothermic amine em.
• 5:18
  Okay, sign number three, thin uterine lining.
• 5:22
  Your estrogen is responsible for thickening the endometrial
• 5:25
  lining of your uterus.
• 5:26
  This prepares it to support a potential pregnancy.
• 5:30
  A lining that's too thin can make it difficult for an
• 5:32
  embryo to implant successfully.
• 5:34
  And clinically speaking, a thin endometrial lining is anything under seven
• 5:39
  millimeters in the mid to late FO care.
• 5:41
  Phase estrogen is the hormone that builds it up.
• 5:44
  It binds to estrogen receptors in the endometrial tissue and stimulates
• 5:48
  the growth of both stromal and glandular cells, which leads to that
• 5:52
  lush, thick, nutrient rich lining that's so ideal for implantation.
• 5:58
  It also helps increase progesterone receptor expression in the endometrium,
• 6:03
  so when ovulation does happen, your uterus is primed and ready.
• 6:08
  If you've been told your uterine lining is thin during
• 6:11
  fertility evaluations, know this.
• 6:13
  This is not a standalone diagnosis.
• 6:15
  It's a symptom, and in many cases the root cause is low estrogen.
• 6:19
  From hypothermic.
• 6:20
  Amenorrhea.
• 6:21
  I'll never forget working with a client who was never diagnosed with
• 6:24
  ha, never told why she had no period.
• 6:27
  Just told us she had too thin of a uterine lining to conceive and
• 6:29
  would need fertility treatments.
• 6:31
  She was so surprised when we started working with me and I was like, well,
• 6:34
  of course you have a thin lining.
• 6:35
  You haven't had a period in years.
• 6:38
  We focused together on period recovery, nourishment, and rest.
• 6:41
  And because of this, her period came back.
• 6:43
  Her lining thickened, and she got pregnant naturally.
• 6:46
  And you can too.
• 6:48
  So some other signs that you may not associate with low estrogen levels that
• 6:51
  I think are worthwhile to explore if like this may be happening to you and
• 6:55
  other signs, again, of low estrogen.
• 6:57
  Therefore, hypothalamic amenorrhea is brittle hair and nails.
• 7:01
  Uh, estrogen supports kerin production and circulation to hair
• 7:05
  follicles feeling cold all the time.
• 7:07
  Estrogen influences your thyroid and your body's ability to regulate heat.
• 7:11
  This is also one of the reasons not only do we have clients track basal body
• 7:15
  temperature so that we can see what the.
• 7:17
  Basal body temperature is, but if they have really low numbers,
• 7:21
  it also further indicates to us a case of ha and also explains why
• 7:25
  they're feeling cold all the time.
• 7:27
  Uh, constipation.
• 7:28
  Gosh, this one's huge.
• 7:30
  Estrogen helps stimulate bowel motility, so low levels can slow everything down.
• 7:34
  Uh, frequent urination that wouldn't always surprises people, but low
• 7:38
  estrogen can affect the bladder and urinary tract tissues leading
• 7:41
  to increased urgency or frequency.
• 7:43
  Finally, fatigue, estrogen supports mitochondrial health and energy
• 7:47
  production and low levels can have you feeling chronically wiped out.
• 7:51
  This also makes sense from the lens of like your body's just constantly in the
• 7:54
  state of malnourishment and high stress and just not getting what it needs.
• 7:57
  There's such an energy imbalance.
• 8:00
  Um, of course, not only are we feeling fatigue from the low
• 8:02
  estrogen, but just because of like the state that your body is under.
• 8:06
  So what can we do about this?
• 8:07
  If this episode has you nodding your head thinking, oh wow, this is me.
• 8:12
  I'm experiencing all of this.
• 8:14
  First, know that you are not alone.
• 8:17
  Low estrogen is common in high performing health conscious women
• 8:21
  who have been unintentionally under fueling and over training for years.
• 8:25
  I get you because I was you.
• 8:27
  This isn't your fault, but it is something that you have to address and heal.
• 8:32
  Remember, you have to stop fighting your body and start fueling for
• 8:35
  your future and inside of Premier Period recovery for fertility.
• 8:39
  We got you step by step through healing from the inside out.
• 8:42
  That means restoring your estrogen.
• 8:44
  Building up your uterine lining, bringing you back on ovulation, and
• 8:48
  helping your body to feel safe enough to do what it is always meant to do.
• 8:52
  To get pregnant naturally.
• 8:54
  You deserve to feel vibrant, nourished, and empowered on your
• 8:58
  path to motherhood, and I hope this episode helped you feel just that.
• 9:02
  Until next time, know that a nourished body is a powerful one.
• 9:06
  See back next week.