Hormonal disorders
Hormones are an important factor for your body and your fertility. Hormones are the body’s signaling substances and control a number of biological processes. It also controls – to a large extent – your reproductive physiology. If there are hormonal disturbances in your body, it can reduce fertility. We therefore have a lot of focus on the hormonal balance in you as a woman. We carry out hormone analyzes in our laboratory to gain clarity on your hormonal situation. If you have a hormonal disorder, we look at what treatment options we can offer you.
How do hormonal disorders occur?
The body is complex. So is the hormonal system. Small changes in the body can be enough to disturb the hormonal balance. An imbalance can arise or be triggered by a disturbance in the pituitary or thyroid gland. It can also be triggered by a disturbance in hormonal signaling substances such as GnRH. GnRH is the signaling substance that controls the production of sex hormones in the pituitary gland.
There are 3 reasons why the signaling substances can indirectly affect the woman’s fertility:
- This can happen due to disturbances in egg maturation.
- This can happen if you do not ovulate.
- This can happen if the development of the corpus luteum/formation of progesterone is deficient.
Your BMI can also trigger a hormonal imbalance: This happens, for example, if you are very underweight or overweight, if you have large weight fluctuations, are stressed or take medication. In rare cases, it can be triggered by nodes.
PCOS – a known cause of hormonal imbalance
PCOS – Polycystic ovary syndrome – is a hormonal disorder that can affect several organs in the body. Something that particularly characterizes PCOS is that several women have increased amounts of the male sex hormones (androgens) in their blood. About 15% of all women have PCOS, but this can vary by geography and ethnicity.
In women with PCOS, you will often find an increased number of follicles in the ovaries and an elevated level of LH. The hormonal disorder can prevent the follicles from maturing normally. This can mean that the woman either has very long periods between her ovulations or does not ovulate at all – i.e. a very irregular or no menstrual cycle. If you want to get pregnant, there are good options with fertility treatment.