What Happens If Your Estrogen Gets Too High?

For most women especially of a certain age, the more common problem is too little estrogen. However, the body is weird and wonderful; sometimes the opposite can occur. Also, when it comes to hormone replacement therapy (HRT), more often people are undermedicated rather than overmedicated, but it’s worth knowing these signs even if only for reassurance purposes (i.e. if they are not present).

Too much of a good thing?

Good levels (mid-cycle if you have a cycle; stable medicated levels if medicated) are 45–750 pg/mL which is 170–2,750 pmol/L.

Gentlemen, your levels should be more like 8–35 pg/mL, which is 30–130 pmol/L.

So, unless you’re much higher than those levels, you should normally be fine. Also, if you get a blood test and it comes back with numbers very different than it normally gives, do examine if you changed anything that might explain it (e.g. biotin supplementation above a certain level can give false E2 readings), but also see if you can get a second blood test done, to see if there was simply a technical fault with the first (e.g. contaminated sample).

Signs to watch out for:

1. skin pigment changes: generalized or localized hyperpigmentation, darkening of nipples and genitalia, linea nigra, darkened or new moles, and melasma (patchy discoloration on face and chest)
2. vascular skin signs: estrogen increases blood flow and vessel formation, causing red palms (palmar erythema), spider angiomas (red spots with radiating lines), and telangiectasias (broken capillaries, especially on face)
3. vascular symptoms beyond skin: Reynaud’s phenomenon (color changes in fingers due to vessel constriction) is sometimes associated with high estrogen levels
4. stretch marks (striae): estrogen may influence stretch mark development by altering collagen structure; they can also occur with rapid weight gain, muscle growth, obesity, or fluid buildup from liver disease, so this is by no means a reliable sign
5. acne and sebum: high estrogen can reduce sebum production and may improve acne in some individuals, especially with oral contraceptive use
6. hair changes in women: estrogen prolongs hair growth phase (anagen), causing thicker scalp hair and sometimes increased body and facial hair during pregnancy or while using hormone therapy
7. hair changes in men: men with high estrogen (by male standards) may experiencing a thinning of body hair; they might also experience breast development (gynecomastia) and testicular atrophy

For more on all of these plus some helpful visuals, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like:

Signs Of Low Estrogen In Women: What Your Skin, Hair, & Nails Are Trying To Tell You

Take care!