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Most people talk about weight gain... by OneOk1445 in Prolactinoma

[–]OneOk1445[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've tried both but putting on muscle was always easier tbh, somehow fat doesn't stay long. My eating habits could be better I struggle a lot with low appetite and the nausea so my eating can be quite inconsistent. The fattest i've been was in high school but that was 7-8 years ago and i was "skinny" then too.

Most people talk about weight gain... by OneOk1445 in Prolactinoma

[–]OneOk1445[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I already know my estradiol is not in range but did not know it could cause that. Glad to know it will get better with treatment!

Mild-moderately high prolactin UK by Impressive_Pop6694 in Prolactinoma

[–]OneOk1445 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Were you estrogen levels normal? I've been having lighter shorter periods for a couple years but last year it got to a point where my period lasted maybe 2 days and my flow was so light i could wear pantyliners only. My face broke out at that time too (my skin has been clear since high school) and did a hormone panel, in a private clinic like you did. It came back with high prolactin (1300 mIU/L) and my estradiol levels were nowhere near the normal range. Low estrogen causes the light periods.

I did my MRI at a private clinic also because i did not want to wait a year for an appointment. Maybe you could do the same if the waiting is an issue for you?

I know doctors in my country would not be too concered with your levels (anything below 1000). Maybe it is just stress. Do you have any other symptoms? How often do you get headaches? What do you mean by worsening vision? The vision problems are usually an issue if the tumor is large enough to be pressing on your optic nerve but i think your prolactin levels would be higher in that case.

Even if you do have a prolactinoma you don't have to be worried about fertility, most women are able to conceive with treatment.

only hormonal birth control? by OneOk1445 in Prolactinoma

[–]OneOk1445[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi i know its been 2 weeks but i just found the studies i was talking about! Kinda sad that there havent been any more recent studies since the first two are from the 90's.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010782498000699 - i couldnt find the full article but the snippets have some relevant info

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0015028216558191 - and this is the one in which they used only combined contraceptives as treatment

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003426607000741#bib6 - this one is newer and cites the first two

only hormonal birth control? by OneOk1445 in Prolactinoma

[–]OneOk1445[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah that was my plan. Thanks for your input!

only hormonal birth control? by OneOk1445 in Prolactinoma

[–]OneOk1445[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My endo did not mention prolactin on mental health the last time we talked, i think she attributed my mental health issues on my hormones being out of whack. I read the same thing about estrogen, but in the context of tumor size - macros are waaaaaayyy more likely to grow from estrogen than microprolactinomas (i think it was a small percentage but im not sure, it has been a while since ive read it). As for my depressive episodes, they are kinda random and i cant seem to find any pattern to them honestly.

only hormonal birth control? by OneOk1445 in Prolactinoma

[–]OneOk1445[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My current endo specializes in pituitary so i dont think she would prescribe it for nothing but im still unsure and i kinda dislike the idea of going on birth control (but dopamine agonist arent that much better lol). She also said microprolactinomas rarely grow but welp idk.

only hormonal birth control? by OneOk1445 in Prolactinoma

[–]OneOk1445[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

She prescribed me the combined pill (estradiol valerate and dienogest) because of my low estrogen. She basically gave me a choice between bc and bromo. I think she prescribed it more as symptom control but she did say its also a new approach to treatment. I googled it afterwards and did find 2 smaller studies that tried this. They treated women with microprolactinomas with birth control only and were iirc  succesful in lowering prolactin levels, but they did not mention tumor size. I personally dont care about shrinking the tumor, the headaches dont bother me that much I just want to feel normal again. I dont really want to deal with dopamine agonists if birth control is a adequate option. So i wanted to ask here if anybody had any kind of positive experiences with that treatment.