high PROLACTIN levels
599 Replies
bl - February 10

Kimberly, I was having regular cycles and couldn't understand why I wasn't getting pregnant with #2. After I had some blood work done and went on meds for my high prolactin, I finally got pregnant. My number went from a 79 to a 2 within a few months. I'm now 19 weeks pregnant. Do you know how high your prolactin is?

 

Brynn - February 13

I found out today that my prolactin level is 85. What questions should I be asking my doctor in regards to getting pregnant? Also, when I do get put on medication, is that something that I will need to take for the rest of my life?

 

bl - February 13

Brynn, Are you trying to get pregnant now? Make sure to tell your dr if you are. It might make a difference what meds they put you on. Some dr also have you take an mri to see if there's a benign pitutary tumor. My ob didn't think it was necessary. As far as being on meds forever, it depends. I was told that sometimes it can regulate itself after being medicated. In my case, I'm interested to see what happens to my levels after my pregnancy. From what I've been told, having high prolactin isn't very serious!

 

Sara - February 13

Hi all, My prolactin level last week was 28, which my doctor considers high. I have to repeat the levels again for 3 days straight. I did find out I have a very big cyst on my left ovary, does this play a part in the elevated prolactin levels?

 

Sara - February 21

Hi, I had my prolactin level retested and it went up a bit to 36. i started on parlodel and had an MRI this past monday and it did show I had a microadenoma (benign tumor) on my pituitary gland. Hopefully the meds will aork. What and awful drug to to take. I get nausea pretty bad so I take an anti-nausea pill to help with the side effects. I get my prolactin rechecked in 2 weeks.

 

bl - February 21

Sara, I took the same medication. My first dose was 1/2 pill. The first night I took it, I had dry heaves the next morning! Then, I took only part of the pill and eased my body into it. I did eventually have to take a whole pill to make my prolactin lower all the way. It did work though. Good luck!

 

Sara - February 21

Hi bl, I know what you mean about the drug. I too had the dry heaves the 1st night of taking it. What was your prolactin levels like before and after the medication?

 

bl - February 22

My level went from a 79 down to a 2, but it took a few months to get the dosage right to lower it all the way. Once it was down to 2, I got pregnant soon after. Have you been ttc? I didn't know it was high until I couldn't get preg with #2.

 

Sara - February 22

Hi bl, I have been ttc for about 31/2 yrs with no success. I hope the med will work. I was always around 21 but just recently i was as high as 36. Never had any sympoms except for irregular cycles.

 

bl - February 22

Sara, I hope it does the trick for you. It seemed to have worked for me!

 

Jingles - February 25

I went through hell on Parlodel. The medicine made me so sick that I couldn't even walk at times and I lost 30 pounds in a month. I had about 3/4 of the side effects listed on the side of the bottle and some extras! Vivid nightmares where I would wake up screaming, not being able to keep ANY food down when I was on the full dose of the medicine, horrible constipation, horrible dizziness and vertigo, crippling headaches, insane mood swings, loss of short term memory, TINNITUS (where the hell did this even come from!? It's not listed as a side effect, but it went away as soon as I stopped taking it), this insane pressure in my head that made me think I had some sort of intrachranial pressure thing going on... That got so bad that I couldn't even lay down because the pressure of being on a pillow made me want to scream. On top of it all, it didn't do anything for my tumor!

I guess I'm trying to say that Parlodel is THE DEVIL'S DRUG!!! Ok not really, but it's evil I swear to God! I switched to Dostinex after a long episode of changing doctors and bad doctors and blah blah blah and I finally started feeling like a normal human being again. Unfortunately, it didn't do anything for me either because I was misdiagnosed and I actually had/have acromegaly. I ended up having brain surgery this summer, up through my nose, to remove the tumor.

Haven't had a period since November of 2005, but I'm FINALLY going to see a fertility doctor on Wednesday. I'm a little (I mean a lot) worried that I haven't had a period in too long and I'll never have them again, like I went through early menopause. Stupid tumors. Ladies, be very aware and up on your health and if a doctor is saying something to you that sounds weird CHANGE DOCTORS IMMEDIATELY. I waited too long, I suffered too much. This could have ended earlier if I hadn't just ignored the bad feelings and distrust I was having for my awful misdiagnosing not listening to patients asshat of a doctor.

If you have been diagnosed with a tumor, see and endocrinologist and a neuro surgeon or neurologist IMMEDIATELY. A neuro surgeon isn't going to suggest surgery right away or even at all, but he knows what's going on in your brain better than a gynecologist ever could. Your gynecologist is probably not as well equipped to deal with this kind of problem as they'd like you to think.

I know this all rambling, but I really never got this off my chest I guess until now and I REALLY REALLY don't want anyone else to go through the heartbreak and bullshit I had to deal with. This illness robbed me of a full year of my life, I lost my house because I was so sick I couldn't work. I don't even know if I can have kids. Of course, my situation was really extreme and I doubt it'll happen that bad to any of you, but still, get a second opinion at an endocrinologist and a neurologist!

Sorry for ranting and raving, I'll be on my now!

 

Sara - February 25

Hi Jingles, sorry to hear about all the side effects that parlodel gave you. I can't imagine what you went through. I was diagnosed with a 6mm microadenoma on my pituaitary gland just recently. I do have an advantage of knowledge of MRI's etc...b/c I work as an MRI /CT tech at an hospital. The radiologist sat me down with him and showed me my pictures and discussed them with me in detail. I saw the tumor and he said parlodel should help with my prolactin levels. I'm so sorry you were misdiagnosed. I wish you the best with the new doctor and hopefully can get some answers. I go to a fertility specialist at a clinic that specializes in IUI, IVF etc... They recommended the MRI of my pituitary gland b/c of elevated prolactin (which is protocol) but any concern over the tumor I will be referred to a neurosurgeon. Usually people respond to the meds and don't need any other treatment (surgery etc..). I wish you all the best.

 

Sara - March 7

Hi bl, I just got done my 2 weeks on parlodel and my levels went down just a bit, from 36 to 25. The doctor still wants me to take them but for 4 months and they upped the dose to 1 1/2 pills a day. I hope I get use to them b/c the side effects (mainly nausea) are terrible.

 

antoniac - March 10

I am looking at all these posts and i cannot believe the prolactin levels you are reporting as mine was actually believe it or not 17000 when discovered 2 years ago i had actually had high prolactin for 8 years ish before it was discovered, i have just been given the go ahead to try for a baby though my levels are still around 500 ish so now i am totally baffled

 

Sara - March 10

Hi antoniac, I have never seen such a high prolactin number. Did you have any symptoms to indicate a high level? Have you had an MRI of your brain/pituitary gland? Best of luck.

 

antoniac - March 11

Hi sara yes my periods stopped about 8 years before but the thing was i had not long had a contraceptive coil fitted and a doctor (not my usual one) said that it was to blame so i didnt think anymore of it. It wasnt until i had the coil removed for good 2 years ago my periods didnt return and so a blood test was done and the doctor told me that he was positive with such a high level that i must have a pituatry tumour. I was admitted to hospital immediatly and my endo said he had never heard of such a high level himself, he normally dealt with patients with levels of no more than 200 and i felt absolutly fine, i was in hospital for 3 weeks while several tests and 3 MRI's were done and to everyones amazment there was no tumour just the gland itself was very swollen. I have been on dostinex for 2 years now and still struggling to keep the level down, the thing that does my head in the most was that i actually felt better before this was found out.

 

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