Symptoms of Hypothalamus Dysfunction

What are some of the symptoms of hypothalamus dysfunction?

There are quite a lot of symptoms that are related to hypothalamus dysfunction. I’m going to talk about the four most common ones. 

The first symptom is temperature regulation.

Unable to control your body temperature? That is a clear sign that you could have a dysfunctional hypothalamus. Are you hot or cold all the time? Do you have hot flashes, night sweats, or you’re sweating profusely for no reason?

Your hypothalamus controls your body temperature. So when it’s not working properly, you will have temperature swings. 

The second symptom is mood swings.

Your hypothalamus is the key to the neurotransmitters that control your moods and emotions. It is well known that patients with severe depression or bipolar disease have a smaller than normal hypothalamus.

Chronic irritability, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, or lack of motivation. These can all be considered symptoms of hypothalamic dysfunction. This is because your hypothalamus controls the neurotransmitters that control your moods. This includes serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and oxytocin. 

The third symptom is fatigue and insomnia.

Your hypothalamus controls your metabolism. Which in turn, directly controls cellular energy production. Your hypothalamus can regulate both thyroid and adrenal function. Both of which affect energy levels. Usually, the root of hormonal fatigue lies in the hypothalamus.

Insomnia can cause fatigue. Your hypothalamus will control those day-night cycles. Your ability to get into a deep sleep starts off when the hypothalamus stimulates the pineal gland. This will help produce melatonin and then prolactin. Prolactin is a nighttime hormone that promotes rapid eye movement sleep. If your hypothalamus is damaged, you may have issues when you try to fall asleep. This results in fatigue during the day. 

The fourth symptom is when you experience issues with thirst and hunger.

Your hypothalamus controls your thirst. It does so through a hormone called vasopressin. It is known as an antidiuretic hormone. When vasopressin is high, your kidneys do not make as much urine. So, your blood volume stays the same and your tissues stay hydrated. If vasopressin is too low, you’re going to be very thirsty. You won’t be able to drink enough. And you are going to urinate out everything you drink.

If your hypothalamus is damaged and cannot make enough vasopressin, it’s called diabetes insipidus. Your hypothalamus also controls your hunger and keeps an eye on ghrelin, leptin, and adiponectin. These are important hormones that control hunger and satisfaction. There is a genetic condition called Prader Willi Syndrome that can create a dysfunctional hypothalamus as well. It can lead to uncontrollable eating and morbid obesity.

Any health issues that hormones control are a sign of hypothalamic damage.

We can really only measure the stimulating hormones that the pituitary gland will produce. As well as the thyroid, and the adrenals. But, it is the hypothalamus that can receive the feedback from the hormones that your endocrine glands produce. That can then stimulate the pituitary gland to also make hormones. So anytime you have a deficiency or an increased production of any of your hormones, your hypothalamus is probably at the root of your hormone issues. The same goes for issues with glucose metabolism (like insulin resistance).

It’s hard to tell when you have hypothalamus problems. Especially since a lot of times, health care providers ignore your hypothalamus. You might get medications and synthetic hormones to treat symptoms, but they don’t deal with the root cause. When you support your hypothalamus with nutraceuticals can make a big difference in optimizing its function and getting your life back. 

If you have any questions whatsoever about symptoms of hypothalamus dysfunction, you can join us in our Hormone Reboot Training, where you will get free access to our Hormone Support Group.