Many people take medicine every day and trust that it will keep working the same way. Most of the time, it does. But sometimes a medicine can suddenly feel different. For example, it can feel stronger or weaker than before or even start causing side effects you didn’t previously have.
What many people do not realize is that hormones influence how medications work. Hormones affect many systems in the body, including those involved in processing medication. When hormone levels change, the way your body handles medication can change as well.
Our 219 Health Network endocrinology specialists explain how hormonal conditions can affect how medications work in your body.
How do hormones help your body work every day?
Hormones are natural chemicals made by your body. They travel through your blood and send messages that tell different organs what to do. These messages regulate your energy, mood, sleep, weight, growth and even how your body handles stress during the day.
Hormones also control how quickly or slowly certain body systems function. Two important systems are the liver and the kidneys. These organs help break down medications and remove them from the body. Since medicines depend on these organs to work properly, hormones and medications are closely connected.
A hormonal condition happens when the body makes too much or too little of a hormone. Even small changes can affect how you feel and how your body works from day to day. An experienced endocrinology specialist will look for these hormone changes and help you understand how they affect your overall health, including medication response.
How can hormones change the way your medicine works?
Medications rely on your body to work in a very specific way. After you take a medicine, your body needs to absorb it, break it down and clear it. Each of these steps influences how strong the medication feels and how long it stays active in your system.
When hormone levels change, medications may not act the same way they did before. A medicine that once worked well may start to feel weaker or it may feel stronger and cause new side effects.
For example, changes in hormones can affect how much medication gets into your bloodstream after you take it. Hormones also can speed up or slow down how quickly your body breaks down a medication.
The liver plays a big role in processing medications and hormones control how active the liver is. When hormone levels change, medication may stay in the body longer than expected or leave the body too quickly.
Some medications also depend on certain body signals to work properly, and hormonal changes can interfere with those signals. This is why you could be taking the same dose as always and yet notice that it no longer works the way it used to.
Which hormone problems can affect your medications?
Some hormone changes mainly affect how fast your body works. While others affect blood sugar or energy levels. This is why an endocrinology specialist will look at the whole picture rather than one symptom or one lab result.
Thyroid conditions are a common example. Thyroid hormones control how quickly your body uses energy. When thyroid levels are too high or too low, your body may process medications faster or slower than normal.
Changes in blood sugar and insulin can also affect medications. Insulin helps your body use sugar for energy and fluctuations in blood sugar can change how your body responds to certain medicines.
Other hormonal systems, including the adrenal glands, can also be a factor. These hormones regulate stress, metabolism and inflammation. When these hormone levels change, medications may not work as expected or you may become more sensitive to side effects that never bothered you before.
Looking for an affordable endocrinology specialist in Northwest Indiana?
Have you noticed changes in how your medications affect you? If so, 219 Health Network is here for you. Our experienced endocrinology specialists can help you understand how your hormones could be influencing your treatment. Contact us today at 833-219-0001 to schedule a visit.