What is Prolactinoma
A prolactinoma is a benign tumor of the pituitary gland that produces a hormone called prolactin. It is the most common type of pituitary tumor. Symptoms of prolactinoma are caused...
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Am I going Crazy??
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My name is Sarah and I am 23 years old and a student. I was diagnosed with a prolactinoma in 2002 but due to lots of different reasons, I never wanted to get treatment for it. I was in high school and irresponsible in lots of ways, and didn't have the parental support to start treatment. Well, I finally started treatment 7 weeks ago with an endocrinologist who put me on .5mg cabergoline 1xweek. My tumor is 6mm and my prolactin levels were around 200 before starting the medication. I am feeling HORRIBLE since I started the medication and it just keeps getting worse and worse as time has passed. At first, I just felt very nauseous and down. Now, I am sick in bed for 2 or 3 days at a time, incredibly depressed, crying all the time and feeling like I have no energy at all.
I am in my 1st year pursuing a biology undergrad and I am falling more and more behind in my work as time goes on. I can't live like this. I am also so depressed and anxious that my fiance and I fight all the time and I am afraid he's going to move out or leave me because I'm so miserable. I just found this site and I am amazed to see so many other people going through similar problems. I would be so appreciative if anyone could give me any advise on how to get through this because I feel so alone and I'm not sure if I can keep this up for much longer. Thanks =) Posted on 11/05/09, 12:11 pm |
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You can get thru this, just keep coming to this site and venting, the support you need will be here. My 16 year old daughter was diagnosed with a large prolactinoma , pressing on her optic nerves about two months ago, she
has been on Cabergoline about 5 weeks and yes it is bothering her a great deal, intensified headaches , nausaus, dizzy, hot flashes and extremely tired. She is a distinquished honors student in her Sophmore year of HS and she is having a tough time keeping up, she is also missing about 1 day per week of school. Don't give up, if you need support just get in touch with someone here, this site has given me more support and information than anywhere else. 
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There's ways to manage this.
You are not going crazy. I will guarantee you, that there are people walking around this world...who have Pituitary tumors...that get the diagnosis of "bipolar disorder" and they are taking meds that are totally "off the mark". You would be surprised at how little doctors know about this condition. Google and I diagnosed mine four years ago. Thank God for Google!
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Thank you both for your replies and support! I actually just left the doctor who told me to stop taking the medication and see if my symptoms of nausea stop. I asked her what are the potential issues with not being on medication are and she said I won't be able to get pregnant. I told her I dont WANT to be pregnant anyways and that's why I started taking birth control pills once i started the cabergoline because apparently you start ovulating again.
My tumor has not grown or changed since 2002 without being on medication anyway so why bother going through the hell of cabergoline if I don't need to? This is my problem with conventional medicine. They put me on a drug I don't need to be on that is making me sick. They have to put me on Birth control, antinausea medication that makes me dizzy, and antidepressants to control the side effects. Does anyone else see the lack of logic in this?? I'm going to see a Naturopath on Monday to get a second opinion. I don't think any of the three endo's i've seen know what they're doing. She recommended surgery as an alternative to medication but why on earth would I do that if I could be severely hurt by brain surgery??? I'm sorry to vent this all out, but it helps... and I guess this is what this group is for! lol Thanks for listening!!
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I may be the odd ball here, but I've never heard of anyone having completely successful surgery on the Pituitary.
If I did, it was far outweighed by those who've had their pituitary glands damaged or destroy or their tumors were back in 2 to 5 years. Your mileage may vary, though.
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I sure did not.. surgery in 1978 for an invasive tumor.. not all of the cells were extracted.. the tumor I now have is not invasive, so far.
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Hang in there! I was diagnosed when I was 21 and in college..It was awful and I totally understand. I ended up dropped all classes for a semester except 1 so i could go to counseling at the school for free and deal with all of this stuff...It did get better. I had good luck with Dostinex and it lowered my prolactin. I felt absolutely nuts though when my periods stopped..I felt like PMS x 1000. We are here to support you!
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