Men’s Estrogen Levels: What You Need to Know
When we medical practitioners talk to men about their estrogen levels, we often cause a bit of alarm.
Surprised that they even have estrogen (the female sex hormone) in their bodies at all, few realize that it’s critical to a healthy hormone balance and the proper functioning of a number of their body’s critical systems:
- Erectile function
- Libido (sex interest)
- Balancing your body’s fat mass and lean mass
- Cognitive functions
- Maintenance of bone health
- Skin health
Men’s Estrogen and Testosterone: A Critical Balance
Estradiol is often referred to as E2 and is one hormone in a class of hormones called “estrogens.” This class includes a number of hormones including:
- Estradiol
- Estriol
- Estrone
Estradiol is believed to be the main estrogen affecting male hormone balance and peak daily functioning.
Men’s bodies produce estradiol when testosterone is broken down by an enzyme called aromatase, which is found in estrogen-producing tissues, which include:
- Fatty tissue
- Adrenal glands
- The brain
- The testicles
Since the necessary level of estradiol that men require is derived from testosterone, a natural connection exists.
If you suffer from chronic low testosterone, your body doesn’t have the raw materials to create sufficient estradiol. Therefore, you may have both low estrogen and low testosterone simultaneously, which elevates the likelihood you suffer from the debilitating symptoms of hormone imbalance.
Along the same line of logic, men’s low estrogen symptoms overlap the common symptoms of low testosterone. They often occur at the same time, and it’s hard to determine which particular hormone is causing which symptom.
Common symptoms of male hormone imbalance include:
- Fat accumulation
- Fatigue
- Anxiety or irritability
- Depression
- Forgetfulness
- Oversleeping or sleeping too often
- Sexual dysfunction
- Water retention
- Bone loss
To summarize, you can have low testosterone by itself, or low estrogen by itself, but often, they go hand in hand. It’s nearly impossible to determine which hormone is insufficient without proper blood testing.
Why Men’s Estrogen (Estradiol) Levels May Be Too High
If it’s determined that normalizing your testosterone levels through Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) or other hormone therapy is the right course of action for you, it would be highly unusual for E2 levels to remain low since testosterone is broken down into estradiol.
Hyperestrogenism (abnormally high estradiol levels) is far more likely.
Men’s bodies may produce too much estrogen for a number of reasons, but the primary cause is obesity. Excess fat can actually drive excess estrogen production:
Large amounts of fat tissue produce higher amounts of estrogen, then the excess estrogen tells your body to produce more fat tissue, and the added fat tissue produces even more estrogen—a cycle of hormone imbalance.
We occasionally see elevated estrogen levels prior to starting treatment for Low T, but the cause is usually the improper administration of supplementary testosterone.
To put that plainly, excessive testosterone carelessly introduced into your body can be converted into excess estradiol. Left unchecked high estrogen in men has the potential to cause the following symptoms:
- Sexual dysfunction
- Gynecomastia—the development of breasts
- Constant fatigue or lack of energy
- High blood pressure
- Mood swings from anxiety to depression
- Water retention
- Excessive sweating and night sweats
- Insomnia
Most often, a medication named Arimidex (anastrozole), an estrogen blocker, is the treatment of choice to help reduce and control estradiol levels. This medication, when used and monitored appropriately, is safe, inexpensive, and very effective.
Once-per-week dosing is typically enough to reduce elevated levels back into the normal range.
It’s important to say this clearly:
Simply pushing up your testosterone levels isn’t the solution to low testosterone symptoms, or any other physical issue. It’s incredibly dangerous to use testosterone without proper medical supervision as a shortcut to physical gains in the gym.
Maintaining a Healthy Overall Hormone Balance
As we increase the level of any one hormone to treat your symptoms, it’s critical to carefully monitor the reaction of your other hormones to ensure efficacy and safety.
Frequent professional screening is part of our therapy process at Testosterone Centers of Texas.
The expert staff at Testosterone Centers of Texas (TCT) look forward to helping you improve your quality of life, while keeping your overall health as our top priority.
