Estrogen is one of the hormones responsible for the growth and maintenance of the female reproductive system. When an excess amount of estrogen is present, it affects a woman both physically and biologically. Many of the symptoms of excess estrogen, including pelvic pain, severe PMS and migraines, also are symptoms of female conditions that result from excess estrogen. Recognizing these symptoms and conditions will allow you to seek treatment, providing you both physical and mental relief.
Fibrocystic Breast Disease
This condition develops because of hormonal changes in estrogen and progesterone levels each month. While it is normal for your breasts to swell during your menstruation, they typically return to normal once your cycle is over. However, excess estrogen causes the milk glands and ducts to swell and retain water. Symptoms of this condition include irregular bumps in the breast tissue, a feeling of fullness in your breasts, pain in your breast area and changes in your nipples.
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a condition in which the tissues that normally line the inside of the uterus instead line the outside of the uterus. They generally line the fallopian tubes, ovaries and pelvis, resulting in a pool of blood from menstruation. Because this blood has nowhere to go--as it would if the tissues lined the inside of the uterus--inflammation occurs, which can lead to scarring of the fallopian tubes and the development of cysts.
This condition has been linked to an excess supply of estrogen, especially in women who take oral contraceptives containing synthetic (man-made) estrogen. The symptoms associated with this condition include a sharp pain in the pelvis before and during menstruation, sharp pain in the pelvis during intercourse and pain during urination and bowel movements.
Dysmenorrhea
This is basically a term used to describe painful menstruation. The pain, which is usually a direct result of hormonal activity just prior to eggs being released from the ovaries, presents itself 1 to 2 years after menstruation has begun. Just as with endometriosis, this condition is also linked to excess amounts of estrogen, especially when you use oral contraceptives containing estrogen.
Common symptoms of this condition include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, lower abdominal pain and cramping, irritability and depression.
