Some Lesser-Known Facts about Hormones

As with each of the posts in this series, I would suggest you start by scrolling down to my post 'This is where it all starts' and reading up from there, in the order I wrote them. That way you'll understand the context a little better!

It's amazing the troubles a small hormonal imbalance can cause! So, as far as I and my doctors can tell, the route of all my various pains, irregular periods, missed periods, exhaustion, nausea, dizziness, grumpyness, tears, hairs and swellings, is a small hormonal imbalance and the occasional ovarian cyst. It sounds so trivial on paper, but I can assure you when I'm in the middle of it, it doesn't feel trivial (and I'm certain anyone else suffering similar symptoms will agree)!

But as soon as you start looking into the job hormones play in controlling the functions our bodies perform, you can understand a little more about why an imbalance can have such a profound effect.

Please be aware that I am not a physician, and the following information is cobbled together from books and websites I have discovered. It's fascinating for me to learn about these things and I would like to pass my limited knowledge on- but it is just that- limited knowledge!

Prolactin

When my doctor told me I had an elevated level of prolactin, I was baffled, and if I'm honest, a little bit grossed-out. All I could think was 'but that's the one that produces breast milk! I'm not producing breast milk!' Why would my body be doing that? Producing too much of a hormone that women only use to feed a baby they'd just given birth to; when babies were so far from my reality at the time?

But here's the thing- there's more to it than that!

Some interesting facts about prolactin:

-  its best known role is in lactation, but it also has other jobs, for example, it was helping to control water and salt balance in fish millions of years before humans even arrived on the planet!

-  it comes primarily from the pituitary gland in the brain, which is in turn controlled by the hypothalamus. A chemical called 'thyrotropin-releasing hormone' stimulates its production, while dopamine inhibits it *see below*

-  it is also produced in the uterus, breasts, white blood cells, and (in men) the prostate

-  prolactin is an important regulator of the immune system

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-  it affects a person's metabolism

-  it is important for controlling cell growth and death, and helps to keep blood healthy, form new blood vessels, and regulate blood clotting

-  prolactin has been found to have effects on a person's brain and behaviour

-  high prolactin levels have been linked to mental health issues

-  it is responisble for feelings of sexual gratification, but increased levels are also linked with impotence and loss of libido

-  stimulation of prolactin in turn inhibits production of another hormone called gonadotropin-releasing hormone. This is the hormone responsible for the release of FSH and LH, which you might remember from my post titled The Monthly Cycle. These hormones play a key role in the cycle of fertility: telling the ovaries to produce and release the egg. So if they are being inhibited, the cycle will obviously be affected and ovulation may not take place.

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-  elevated levels of prolactin can have serious effects on estrogen levels- both by elevating and decreasing them

-  levels of prolactin vary over the course of a day, as well as over the course of the menstrual cycle. It even varies depending on the seasons! Levels peak during REM sleep and in the early morning, and can also rise after food, excercise and sex.

-  while the hormone estrogen stimulates prolactin during pregnancy, the combination of estrogen and progesterone also stop it from telling the body to produce breast milk. It is only when estrogen and progesterone suddenly drop while prolactin remains high, that milk is produced.

-  a very high level of prolactin is one of the most common results of a tumor on the pituitary gland

-  prolactin is a peptide hormone *see below*: a type of protein which is formed from amino acids and released into the bloodstream once the correct signals are given

-  prolactin secretion is regulated by something called vasoactive intestinal peptide *see below*, which also keeps the digestive system funcioning smoothly, and inhibits gastric acid. Interestingly this is produced in the hypothalamus, as well as many other area of the body (spine, gut and pancreas)

Testosterone

This is the only other hormone I was tested for that was above the average level for a woman my age. Firstly- yes, women DO have testosterone in their bodies- it is not just a male hormone. The difference is that while women have a higher level of estrogen, men have a higher level of testosterone: hence estrogen being seen as the 'woman's' hormone and testosterone as the 'man's.'

Some interesting facts about testosterone:

-  there is no 'cure' for an increased level of testosterone

-  a high level of testosterone in a woman's body is often linked with polycystic ovary syndrome (where, instead of eggs forming and being released, the follicles form cysts)

- excess testosterone is often the cause of hirtuitism (excess body hair) in women. Some women can grow dark hairs on their faces, arms and armpits, back, chest, stomach and legs.

-  other symptoms of a high level of testosterone are: acne, an enlarged clitoris, increased muscle mass, weight gain, thinning hair, irregular periods and deepening of voice

-  testosterone is produced in the ovaries and in the adrenal glands (which are controlled by our old friend the pituitary gland)

-  it is a steroid hormone, made from cholesterol

-  it helps to build muscle and burn fat, and contributes to bone strength

-  testosterone increases sex drive. Women with excess testosterone often have a higher than average sex drive

-  testosterone is a growth hormone, and is partly responsible for the growth, maintainance and repair of reproductive tissues

-  women are more sensitive to the hormone than men, and require less to be affected by it

-  interestingly, when a man and a woman enter into a loving relationship, the man's testosterone levels fall while the woman's rise! Apparently this only lasts as long at the 'honeymoon' phase, and has been theorised to be linked with the fact that couples tend to mimic each other's behaviour in the early days of a relationship. Testosterone levels in men also fall when they become fathers. Research has also suggested (sorry guys you might not like this one...) that men with higher levels of testosterone are less likely to get married or enter into committed relationships. They are also more likely to divorce, and more likely to have affairs

-  testosterone can affect behaviour: higher levels of testosterone lead to more aggressive, assertive and spontaneous/risk taking behaviour. It has also been linked to depression, moodiness and irritability

-  apparently elevated levels of testosterone are more common in city-dwelling women with hectic work schedules, and it can also be triggered by: a high sugar and carbohydrate diet, poor liver function, low sex hormone binding globulin, insulin resistance and poor thyroid function

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*Extra notes*

Dopamine

Interestingly, decreased levels of dopamine have been linked to 'restless legs sydrome'. This is a condition where the sufferer feels the irresistable urge to move body parts (usually the legs) to relieve an uncomfortable feeling. Moving or stretching offers temporary relief but the feeling returns. I often suffer from this, but would never have guessed it could be linked to a hormone imbalance until now!

Decreased dopamine levels are also connected with ADHD.

Dopamine has important functions throughout the body: blood, digestion, processing toxins, motor control, motivation, arousal, feelings of reward/satisfaction/happiness, sexual gratification and nausea

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone

 If you have too much of this hormone, it will inhibit the production of dopamine. So, you can see how this has a knock-on effect on the production of prolactin, since TRH stimulates its production, and dopamine decreases it.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide

 In the brain, VIP helps to control the body's daily timekeeping. I find this particularly interesting, since my body clock so oftens seems to behave strangely- keeping me awake all night, or causing me to feel sleepy at three in the afternoon. Of course, this may simply be caused by other factors such as stress and exhaustion... but since there is a link here, I think it may likely be a combination of many factors.

Peptides

An interesting link between two apparently separate body systems is that both VIP and prolactin are peptide hormones. Peptides are produced in the digestive system when an enzyme called pepsin is released in the stomach. Pepsin degrades food into proteins, amino acids and peptides, all of which are essential components in the production of hormones in the brain. Healthy digestion = healthy brain = healthy reproductive system!

The Brain and Menstruation

Before reading this post, I would suggest you start with my previous entry 'This is where it all starts' and work up, to undertand the context.

The key word here is ‘hypothalamus.’

This is the part of the brain that regulates the production of hormones, so I guess you could call it the control centre for your menstrual cycle. Now, the interesting thing to note here is that you CAN influence the hypothalamus consciously and unconsciously, as it responds to factors like stress/relaxation, anxiety/rest, nutrition, depression/pleasure. It basically tells the pituitary gland what to do, and also regulates the adrenal gland, which produces stress hormones. And these are just two of its functions.

I think it’s easy to think of this as one-direction-only transaction: your brain controls your body, your hypothalamus controls your hormones and your hormones control your menstrual cycle. But what Dr Tray Gaudet and other doctors, scientist and therepists are suggesting is that the system flows in a more circular motion than this: if you take care of your body, your brain will react positively. And what I am suggesting is that since we can view our brain and our body as the same thing, by taking care of our body we are taking care of our brain and if we take care of our brain we are taking care of our body! And using this theory, you can understand why we often get ill when we’re stressed, over-worked and unhappy; why we tend to feel healthy when we’re happy; and happy when we’re healthy!

The Monthly Cycle

Before reading this post, I would suggest you start with my previous entry 'This is where it all starts' and work up, to undertand the context.

This is basically a general sketch of what takes place in a woman's body every month. The first thing to know is that everybody is different, and a ‘normal’ cycle can be anything from 21 to 35 days. They also tend to be more regular when we are younger.

The first day of the cycle is the day we start bleeding. It will last 3 to 5 days, but again, this varies from woman to woman. During bleeding, our estrogen levels are just a tenth of what they will be at their peak. The ‘blood’ is not actually blood- it is the lining of the womb (built up over the previous weeks) coming away, discarded because we’re not pregnant and therefore don’t need it. Sometimes it might seem like a lot of blood to loose, but it’s actually only around an egg-cup full on average.

 

As bleeding ends, the pituitary gland in our brain secretes a hormone called FSH (follicle stimulating hormone). The purpose of this is to tell our ovaries to prepare a few follicles, ready to produce an egg. As these grow, they produce more and more estrogen- which in turn, tells the lining of the womb to thicken again. This stage is called the follicular stage, and can last anywhere from 5 to 20 days, depending on the length of our cycle.

 

Usually only one egg will mature inside one follicle. As it reaches maturity it begins to secrete another hormone called progesterone. Next, the FSH is joined by another chemical produced in the pituitary gland- LH (luteinizing hormone), telling the follicle to release the egg. This is ovulation, and will usually occur midway through the cycle (so that would be day 10/11 in a short cycle, up to day 17/18 in a long cycle). It will take around seven days to journey from the ovary to the uterus… and it is during these days that we are most likely to get pregnant. Some women are able to tell when ovulation happens: they may be more horny than usual, or feel a slight cramping sensation in their lower stomach.

Now it’s all go for the uterus! Our bodies basically WANT to get pregnant at this point in our cycle (whether we consciously want to or not!) and so the uterus is preparing itself for a fertilised egg. This is the bit I find really interesting: while the womb lines itself with a soft, thick layer of cells, the ovarian follicle which housed the egg turns into something called a ‘corpus luteum’ and now has the job of producing the hormones needed to make the uterus ready for a baby to grow inside it. Progesterone is the main one, and is forty times it’s lowest level at this time! Estrogen, LH and FSH dip while progesterone rises sharply.

If the egg is fertilised (there is a window of around fourteen days after ovulation for this to take place), the body will continue to produce estrogen and progesteone. The egg itself will also produce another hormone called HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) which is what home pregnancy tests pick up.

If the egg isn’t fertilised, estrogen continues to drop, and progesterone also drops. The corpus luteum shrinks and is reabsorbed, and we return to day one of the cycle when the lining of the womb begins to break down again.

Now you can probably understand why women tend to be labelled as ‘hormonal’! After puberty, men’s hormones settle and level off. Women, on the other hand, live with a constant shifting of hormones as our bodies prepare for pregnancy, and then ‘tidy up’ after themselves, ready to start all over again!

The menstrual cycle is powered by hormones. Every day the levels of each hormone will be different, and yet so predictable that a scientist could tell you exactly what day of your cycle you were on just by taking a biopsy. For example, LH is released in pulses by your brain every sixty to seventy minutes before ovulation, and only once every 200 minutes by the time your period is starting.

With a system so complex and intricate, it’s unsurprising to me that we often have problems with it!

And all of this is going on, every single day, without us even being aware of it!