I found out about 6 months ago that I have high prolactin levels. They have put me on 2 different medications to reduce the levels. The first one made me sick so they lowered the dose. I am still experiencing abdominal cramps when I take them and my doctor doesn't seem to be concerned about it.
View 1 RepliesI am a 27 year old male. For some time I've shown symptoms of a lack of sex drive and erectile dysfunction but as I suffer from anxiety always attributed it as the cause. I had some blood tests done privately and my results showed a slightly raised prolactin level but my testosterone seems average.
TSH 0.70 mIU/L (0.27 - 4.2)
Prolactin 397 mIU/L (86 - 324)
Testosterone 21.3 nmol/L (7.6 - 31.4)
SHBG 35 nmol/L (16 - 55)
The results seem to suggest Prolactinoma but a common side effect is low testosterone where my results prove otherwise. I'm afraid if I speak to my doctor he will tell me it is all in my head so I'm trying to make some sense of the results.
I guess the question I'm asking is is it possible to have raised Prolactin/Prolactinoma and normal looking testosterone levels?
Should I speak to my doctor anyway?
I'm a 30 year old active female with a history of prolactin/pituitary problems.
- When I was 17 I was diagnosed with a pituitary macro adenoma. I responded well to cabergoline so no surgery was carried out to shrink the tumour.
- When I was 19 my MRI showed a small bleed to the tumour which caused it to shrink completely.
- when I was 21 I was taken off cabergoline and my prolactin levels remained normal for a few years.
- when I was 25 I noticed familiar symptoms, breast discharge and fatigue so went back to my consultant. My prolactin levels creeped back into the abnormal range and I was put back on cabergoline. MRI showed no tumour.
- 3 months back into treatment I found that cabergoline was making me incredibly tired and low so my consultant switched me to Quinagolide (norprolac) which worked and gave me no nasty side effects.
- I'm now 30years old and last year my consultant and I thought it was time to stop medication as my prolactin levels remained in the normal 300 mark. 2 weeks after coming off my medication I noticed my moods changed significantly and my sex drive vanished. I went back for immediate blood tests and my prolactin levels had raised up to 700! I went back on Quinagolide to reduce the levels and once again felt OK.
- I recently had another MRI to see if there had been any changes. My MRI was once again clear.
I'm incredibly frustrated and gutted to still be taking medication for something that I simply don't understand. Why are my prolactin levels continuing to rise yet I no longer have a pituitary tumour!? I go back to see my consultant in a couple of weeks but I fear that nothing will change and I will continue to treat a problem rather than get to the bottom of the cause.
It was discovered i had an 8mm microadenoma. It raised my prolactin to 175 and lowered testosterone to 70. cabergoline lowered prolactin to normal levels. I had testosterone therapy raising my levels to normal but they went much lower again after the therapy. prolactin remains low. cortisol and insulin growth like factor 1 remain slightly elevated. Can any help as to why my testosterone remains low. I am 45 and active. slightly overweight by about 25 lbs but have always been even before the adenoma and prolactin issues.
View 1 RepliesWhat would cause elevated Testosterone(1028.53 ng/dL) and elevated Prolactin(26.13 ng/mL)levels at the same time? I have normal Total and Free PSA levels. My Thyroid function tests (TSH,Free T4 and Total T4) are normal. Vitamin D is normal, CEA is normal. I am a healthy 56 years old. I take no medications, drugs or alcohol. Do you have any idea what would cause this?
View 1 RepliesMy LH is 5.6 and my FSH is 3.7. One Dr says this is good and shows I'm not going through menopause. Another Dr said they are low for my age (I'm 37). My testosterone was also low. My prolactin is 412. One Dr says its within normal range, another says its slightly high lol So here I am, wondering if anyone else has had similar levels & if so what they mean?
View 4 RepliesI had a pituitary tumor removed several years ago. I had a follow up MRI last month and an appointment with my neurosurgeon. All is well. I did inform the Doctor I have been tired lately so he ordered blood work to check hormone levels. Turns out my testosterone level is low. Actually looked at my bloodwork records just prior to tumor removal and all hormone levels were WAY OFF - They have all seemed to come back to normal levels with the exception of my testosterone. My surgeon is referring me to a endocrinologist. Working on making an appointment now. Has anyone else experienced a low testosterone level after this tumor removal and if so what course of action did you have to take? I am 46 now and I understand testosterone levels do begin to drop a bit in males once reaching the age of 40.
View 2 RepliesI found out I had a B12 deficiency 5 years ago. My levels were very dangerously low at the cellular/functional level. I was told I was near paralysis. Now, after 5 years, they are still low. They have come up to almost borderline, but it still flags red on my tests. My serum levels though are too high for the lab to measure! Its just not getting into my cells so it's not able to be used. I do twice a week injections plus twice a month IV B12 and still it has taken my body 5 years just to go up a little bit. I feel the effects of the shot for about 15 hours barely then I just feel awful again, thankfully it's prescribed every 2 days. But I don't want to do it every 2 days forever!
In the beginning I was told it would take a month or two to get my body back to normal and then just a shot every few months for maintenance. My drs have not only increased my dose but also the frequency and STILL after all these years I'm deficient.
Why are my T4 levels and Cortisol levels low?
I have been having symptoms of depression, fatigue, low libido and weight gain over the last few years. I am 50 and have gone through menopause. My latest lab results are:
TSH 1.064 (0.358-3.74)
Free T4 9.7 (9.8-18.8)
ferritin 16 (3-105)
B12 498 (156-672)
Cortisol 28 (155-570)
RBC's normal
I am not taking any thyroid meds......only nexium and Cymbalta.
What do these results mean? Can someone give me some insight into the results please?
How long does it take to get full pituitary function recovery after surgery to remove a non-functioning pituitary adenoma that was approximately 3cm in size.
View 1 RepliesHubby has had a few chest pains, so we went to the GP where he had an ECG, all pretty normal but we got referred to the hospital anyway, where hubby had another ECG, blood test and we were told that he may have Angina also his Cholesterol levels were high? i am puzzled as to why, we eat a healthy diet, we eat lean proteins, no fats, fruit and veg, we never eat fast foods and all our foods are home cooking and no fats, hubby doesn't drink or smoke, so why? we can't eat any better also he can't exercise as he has chronic Degenerative disc problems which makes him very immobile!!!! so can anyone tell me ,what i do now, how can i lower the cholesterol levels, hubby is a bit overweight but only due to his back problem, not food! he has to go for an Angiogram in a few weeks.
View 3 RepliesI got bloodwork done at the rheumatologist in March and the CRP and ESR levels were high which means inflammation. I got more done in May and its still high. My dr. says there's nothing i can do about it because the location can't be indicated for the inflammation. what do i do now? I need to lose about 30 lbs do you think this will help?
View 1 RepliesI am 27 weeks pregnant with my third child. I had to have a urinalysis done yesterday and it showed that I have high levels of protein in my urine. I don't see my doctor for two weeks. My pregnancy so far has been pretty smooth. I have pcos and have had a cyst but that's it. Has anyone ever had high protein in your urine and if so what was the outcome?
View 2 RepliesI have increased level of proteins in urine. My doctor said that I need to collect more urine and bring to examination to determine what kind of urinary disorder is that. What can cause increased level of proteins in urine?
View 1 RepliesCurious if anyone knows what it means to have high sodium levels and Addison's disease? My sodium levels came back at 238 I've had more testing done but this one was the more extreme in numbers.
Anyone else have high sodium results?
How high do very high cortisol numbers go?
View 1 RepliesI've recently had a blood test for testosterone and I've been given a high reading of 2.4 but could anyone tell me what an average reading is? I'm 25 female and have pcos.
View 1 RepliesMy Uncle's wife had a kidney transplant last year. With recent medical checks, the doctor found high level of the protein (albumin) in her urine. Do any of you have an idea to what kind of medications she should stick to?
View 1 RepliesWhat's your take -patient has normal T3 and T4 levels, no symptoms and a TSH elevated at 4.8 on a .358-3.8 range
View 5 RepliesI have very recently been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I've taken the thyroid uptake scan and my dr. Office says it came back abnormal and enlarged thyroid.
According to my blood work my TSH is 0.227. (0.450-4.500)T4/free is 1.80 (0.82-1.77)
My question is should medication begin with these levels?
I've been on Synthroid medication for 20 plus years and have done pretty well on it until recently. This routine test showed a TSH level > 100 and my Free T4 at .24 which is low. I've been placed on Synthroid at 300 mg and I'm waiting to see a specialist. In the meantime, I'm wondering what does this means?
View 1 Replies