[Mini] 5 Signs of High Testosterone in Menstruators | Ep. 95

We dive into five key signs of high testosterone in women, exploring how hormonal imbalances manifest in the body and what each symptom might reveal about your health. This mini-episode offers practical insights to help you decode your body's hormonal signals and understand when testosterone might be playing a role in your symptoms.

• Facial hair growth, especially coarse chin hairs, often indicates elevated testosterone or androgen levels
• Jawline and chin acne can be connected to hormones due to higher concentration of androgen receptors in these areas
• Midsection weight retention may signal higher androgens, particularly during perimenopause or menopause
• Irregular cycles or fertility challenges can result from testosterone's impact on follicle development and ovulation
• PCOS typically requires two of three criteria: irregular cycles, high androgens, or ovarian cysts

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to High Testosterone Signs
• 0:56 Facial Hair and Acne Indicators
• 2:03 Midsection Weight Retention Explained
• 4:16 Irregular Cycles and Fertility Impact
• 5:35 PCOS and Recap of Signs
• 7:40 Call to Action and Future Updates

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hello and welcome to this 95th episode of I'm Hormonal. I'm your host, bridget Walton, and today we are gonna be talking about five signs of high testosterone. This is a mini episode, so we'll hang out for just about 10 minutes, but if you listened to this week's earlier longer form episode, I talked at greater length about chin hairs or excess facial hair growth, what that means and what you'll want to know about it, and that's why today, in this mini episode, we're just going to zoom in on what these signs of high testosterone could be, certainly, noting that these signs could be correlated with other things too. Right, this isn't just a super one size fits all kind of approach, but let's see where this gets us. Let's see how this helps you to understand what's going on with your body, your hormones and your cycle. Let's go ahead and just dive in Now. The first thing that I wanted to note is facial hair. Right, you probably saw that coming, since we just talked about that, but this is a good one to say okay, if my facial hair you know, I have these thick, coarse hairs in your like, around your chin, then that is a pretty sure sign that testosterone or other androgens too right could be high or relatively high. Now, similarly, acne, especially on the chin or jawline, that can be indicative of higher, relatively high, testosterone too. This is well. This is because we have more androgen receptors in this part of our skin than others. So if you're kind of like trying to map out what's going on with acne on your face, of course there are many other causes of acne aside from just testosterone or androgens. So let's not get crazy here. But if you're noticing that you have acne in the same spot along your jawline, that can certainly be tied to testosterone levels.

Speaker 1: 2:03

Now, third, what I wanted to mention is midsection weight retention, and this is oftentimes tied to changes in hormones during perimenopause or menopause, because as we get closer to menopause and into menopause, that's when our bodies are more likely to have high levels of androgens and kind of be in a state of androgen dominance. A lot of times we hear about estrogen dominance. That can be more common in our sort of younger, cycling years, but as we get older, our body will naturally produce estrogen, lower levels of androgens, but it still could be more than the amount of estrogen or progesterone that you produce in menopause. So anyway, that's all to say. Let me come back to earth.

Speaker 1: 2:54

I went off a little bit there, but for some people who have this midsection weight retention, it can be because androgens are relatively high. It's worth noting too. Right, there is a nuance. There is a opposite effect for men in this situation. So, for women, when testosterone levels are high, that can result in weight retention. That's the opposite for men and vice versa, right. For normal levels of estrogen in women, that's supportive of, well, not retaining weight in the midsection. However, if men have high or higher than normal levels of estrogen, it can result in weight gain around the midsection. So there's some nuance there, depending on what's going on with your phase of life, and just some nuance between what you might hear generally being shared about and you're like Bridget, that sounds like that's. I heard that when testosterone is high, that's better, but that just is applicable for men in most cases, or in this case anyway. All right.

Speaker 1: 3:58

The fourth thing that I want you to keep in mind is that if you have irregular cycles or if you're having trouble getting pregnant and you have some of these other signs, too right, you might want to be thinking about what's going on with testosterone or other androgens when testosterone levels are high. And sorry, quick side note for this conversation. I'm kind of using the terms testosterone synonymously with androgens. Again, testosterone is a kind of androgen, but I'm kind of using the terms testosterone synonymously with androgens. Again, testosterone is a kind of androgen, but I'm just using it to identify all androgens, all of these similar hormones that play a similar role in our bodies and with regards to our cycles. What I was saying is that when testosterone levels are high, that can impair follicle maturation. Right, the follicle is the cozy, warm nest for your egg that's growing on your ovary and so if that follicle isn't able to properly develop in order to have a really healthy, good release of that egg and production of progesterone after it's released, that can impact pregnancies, or continuing, rather, having a successful pregnancy is what I mean to say. So if you're having your regular cycles, then maybe you're already thinking about well, what's the root cause here? Are you ovulating? Are your estrogen levels in the right area that they need to be, or is it something going on with androgens?

Speaker 1: 5:35

Now the fifth and final sign that I want to mention here might be obvious if you already know that you have PCOS, but PCOS is the fifth sign that I want to mention because for those of you with PCOS, which is polycystic ovary syndrome, if you are new to it or new to hearing about it, then PCOS often results in irregular cycles and in fact, when you are talking with your doctor for them to give you a diagnosis of it, they will be probably looking for you to have two of the three following criteria It'll either be irregular cycles, high androgens or cysts like many cysts, right Polycystic cysts on your ovaries. So if you have two of those three things, then they might find you, they might find that suitable to diagnose you with PCOS. All of these and I'll recap it in they're not a sure thing, right? If you have and here they are one excess facial hair, two acne along your jawline and chin, three midsection weight retention, four irregular cycles or trouble getting pregnant, or five PCOS, that doesn't mean for sure that you have high androgen levels or high testosterone levels, but they are often associated with it. So I'm just saying that to say there is more detective work. Our bodies are so complex that it's worth doing some more investigating instead of just saying, okay, I'm going to start slamming spearmint tea because it's anti-androgenic and we'll see what this does for my body. There's more nuance to it and it's worth working with a provider, with a practitioner, in order to say, okay, what is the right plan for me? But use this as one of the crumbs along your path to figure out what that solution is for you.

Speaker 1: 7:40

All right, team. That is just about all for today. I hope that this was some good food for thought for you. I hope that this helped you to maybe understand a little bit more what the signs that your body is sending you actually mean. And if you are somebody who you really are ready to actually address what's going on in your body. You're tired of trying topical treatments or just hoping that something will change next time you get a new face wash, then take me up on my offer for a free consult call.

Speaker 1: 8:11

You can find the link in the show notes. On that note, I'm really excited that I will have a rebrand coming out for you in in what is it? It'll be May. We're almost in April now, so I'm coming out in about two months here, which I'm excited for. What that means for you is a new array of free resources at your disposal, but it also means that the prices of my packaging are going to change as those packages change. So if you've kind of been on the fence, you're not sure, if you want to make change, if you're ready to work one-on-one with a coach like me, then let this be your sign that, yes, now is the time, and use the link through the show notes to book your free strategy. Call with me if you want to lock in the current pricing before packages change and pricing goes up. All right, guys.

Speaker 1: 9:06

Again, my name is Bridget Walton. Thank you so much for listening. Let me know what you thought about the episode by rating or reviewing wherever you are listening, or if you have any questions or requests for subjects, connect with me on Instagram at Bridget Walton. I would love to hear what's on your mind. If you loved today's episode and got something good out of it, make sure you subscribe so that these episodes show up automatically in your feed, no work needed on your side. Let's put it on autopilot. As always, I need to give you my reminder that the information I share with you here is for educational purposes only, and it should not be used as a replacement for medical advice or diagnosis. Now, if you are, on the other hand, in the market for some one-on-one support, then I would love for you to take me up on my offer for a free strategy call. You can find these links and more in the show notes.