High Estrogen Symptoms in Men: Causes and Fertility Implications

Estrogen is often considered to be the female hormone. But this hormone along with testosterone plays a vital role in male sexual growth and development. The key here is to maintain a healthy balance between testosterone and estrogen. Any imbalance in the hormone levels can have a direct impact on one's health.

In men, when the estrogen level rises, the testosterone level dips down. So in this condition, one may have symptoms caused due to high estrogen as well as low testosterone levels. Distinguishing between both the condition may be difficult. However, experts associate the corresponding symptoms with the lab results to differentiate between high estrogen levels and low testosterone levels in men.

What are the Symptoms of High Estrogen in Men:

Let's discuss below the signs and symptoms of high estrogen in men:

Gynecomastia: Gynecomastia is a condition found in men where they have enlarged breast tissues. The imbalance of estrogen and testosterone causes an increase in the estrogen level which leads to the benign enlargement of male breast tissues. Like women, men also experience breast tenderness when the estrogen level soars high.

Infertility: As already mentioned above, the estrogen hormone helps in proper sexual functioning in men. So when the estrogen level rises, the sperm count decreases which leads to infertility issues in them.

Fluid retention: Men with estrogen dominance may have swollen hands or feet. They may also feel puffy or bloated all the time.

Type 2 diabetes: A recent research shows that increased levels of estrogen increase the risk of type 2 diabetes in men. The risk of diabetes is independent of the testosterone levels.

Mood swings and fatigue: High estrogen levels can lead to depression, anxiety, irritability, tiredness, sleeplessness and mood swings.

Erectile dysfunction: Some men may experience low libido and difficulty in obtaining or maintain an erection.

Female body fat distribution: High estrogen levels in men slows down the fat from being burned and also encourage the body to store more fat. As a result, it becomes difficult to get rid of all the body weight gained. The fat gets distributes in the breasts, hips, thighs, and arms. Also, men with this condition have soft musculature.

Enlarged prostate: With age the estrogen level increases, which increases the proliferation of the prostate gland. This results in the prostatic hypertrophy or enlarged prostate.

Heart diseases: Men with high estrogen are at a high risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.