Hi juanitoc. I'm sorry that your tumor has grown. Not sure if you want a female's perspective, but I started my treatment with bromocriptin, which normalized my prolactin levels in about 6 weeks and eventually shrunk my tumor to virtually nothing...I now take cabergoline (less side effects for me) and haven't had to consider surgery with my particular situation and don't really know how pituitary tumors behave in women vs men. Have you tried bromocriptin? Is it possible that the tumor may react/shrink with bromocriptin versus dostinex? I completely agree with you, too...amazing this small gland can have a huge impact on us! Cheers. :)

Juanitoc, are you taking the brand Dostinex? Or the generic Cabergoline? Your tumor is very small and I am curious to know what symptoms led to your diagnosis. My brother did not have any symptoms until his right eye sight diminished but at that time the tumor was about 5 cm. It seems that men get diagnosed when the tumor has grown a lot as they do not seem to have symptoms to alert of the problem before. Anyway, my brother's tumor shrunked to half its size with cabergoline at 6 months of treatment and prolactin level is normal (it was very high when diagnosed). The dr. told him that the tumor will continue to shrink as cabergoline is working well for him. If your tumor is small like yours, it can be monitor and if it does not cause symptoms I believe there is no need to remove it. If it continues to grow, may be you can switch medications (if you are taking the brand Dostinex may be you can try the generic cabergoline, they have different inactive ingredients). How high was your prolactin level? Because it seems that the medication has worked to get it to the normal level.

I'm taking cabergoline, but my doctor refers to it as Dostinex. Sorry if I've muddied the waters by using the terms interchangeably. Haven't tried bromocriptine--the doctor said it has many side effects. Cabergoline's side effects aren't too bad.

I know that prolactinomas in men tend to be discovered at a late stage. This seems to be because obvious symptoms (such as lack of menstruation in women) are lacking in men. Also, it seems that many men in general seem to ignore symptoms until they become severe. I guess I was more vigilant than most (or less concerned about appearing like a tough guy) and told my doctor relatively early in my condition that I hadn't been feeling very virile and was depressed, tired, and irritable a lot. That led to testing and an eventual referral to an endocrinologist who found the small tumor through an MRI.

I don't remember exactly how high my prolactin levels were prior to taking cabergoline, but I seem to remember them being somewhere agove 200. They are now down to about 7, which is normal.

Thanks for your replies.