Prolactinoma Support Group

I also meant to cite the following:

http://content.karger.com/Produkte...

I am very interested in the connection between depression and the pituitary and separately, but obviously related, the use of anti depressants and the pituitary. Thanks for posting these-- I hope that more studies follow especially ones that control for medications that they may have been treated wtih.

*interesting that they all were micoradenomas and that the ones in the suicide group were mostly non-functioning. am i reading that right?

Actually the article was stating that, by estimate and by observation, that people with Pituitary adenomas were 1.9 times as likely to be found within the Pituitaries of the suicide victims.

I've tried several SSRI and SNRI classes of antidepressants and none of them touched it.

It seems as though I've gained the greatest ground with a Norepinephrine modulator (Strattera) and with Testosterone replacement for the provision of glucocorticoids in the HPA axis of the brain.

The Prolactinoma, I believe, scours Dopamine from deep within the limbic system of the brain. I also believe there is interplay between Dopamine levels and Serotonin/Norepinephrine levels in the brain.

The SNRI class of drugs, such as Effexor, may have the greatest potential effect on this condition.

I also have paid very close attention to the employment of Omega-3 supplements, namely Lovaza, which is an 8X (Prescription Strength) supplement that is highly purified and that doesn't cause any fishy taste nor does it raise your triglyceride levels.

I also employ the use of an Alpha-Stim device to promote Neurotransmitter release in the limbic system and it's been a God-send also.

Right. I got the 1.9 times-- but I was just commenting that they were all MICRO adenomas and also interesting that I believe there was a higher instance of functioning tumors in the non-suicide group....

These may not be statistically relevant, but it was interesting to me.

They do throw a number of demographics out there. I would be curious to see some other studies.

In working at a Crisis Center, I have counseled two people who had Acromegaly and they have extreme bouts of depression.

I was reading something from a PsychoNeuroEndoCrinologist, from MD Anderson, and he was asked...(I paraphrase), "who among the Pituitary Adenoma sufferers do you think suffer the most emotionally" and he said, "The Proactinomas".

It would make sense as Prolactin is an antagonist to Dopamine and the Dopamine pathways in the brain regulate a lot of different functions, including mood.

My first panic attack occurred in 1993 and my Endocrinologist said, due to the slow growth of the neoplasias, that it could very well have been acting up in those days...which was 13 years previous.

so interesting. i've had three major, crippling episodes of depression in my life but always (thankfully) reacted positively to medication-- Celexa and, later, Wellbutrin. Once stable for a year plus, I would go off the medication (with doctor's supervision)-- but was wary for teh return of symptoms. I feel like those medications saved my life... but I worry what effect they may have had on my pituitary function and whether they contributed to the adenoma. I stopped meds most recently @2001and I've felt VERY LEVEL since then and the prolactinoma was diagnosed this spring 2009. For that reason, I do not think it was the other way around for me (the adenoma causing the depression)... but the dopamine/prolactin relationship is Very Interesting to me.

I remember reading that nonfuctioning tumors generally grow at a different pace than functioning tumors-- but can't remember which is faster/slower-- do you know?

Many of these neoplasias grow to large size and they grow fairly rapidly. They are usually "soft" and almost impossible to remove as they get wrapped around the carotid arteries, or optic nerves and the neurosurgeon can only take out so much.

The harder tumors grow very slowly and have a tendency to "encapsulate".

This is my understanding, as a layperson, about Prolactinoma's.

I know mine is 9.5mm and it's stable in size, geometry, and position.