Prolactinoma Support Group
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 by too much prolactin in the blood or by pressure of the tumor on surrounding tissues. Prolactin stimulates the breast to produce milk during pregnancy. After delivery of the baby, a mother's...
Hi All, I am new here and so glad this group exists. Have any of you ever wondered if your prolactinoma could be caused by taking oral contraceptives? I am questioning that they may be causing mine. Here is some background.
*Had a miscarriage in 2004
*Started taking oral contraceptives in 2005
*Felt "off" late 2006. Had a slightly elevated prolactin level and MRI showed tiny prolactinoma.
*I quit taking oral contraceptives and my prolactin level soon went back into the normal range with no meds and a second MRI showed no tumor.
*I got pregnant in 2007 and had a baby in early 2008.
*November of 2008 I quit breastfeeding and went back on oral contraceptives. Until then my period was normal, within a month of starting back on OC, my period more or less disappeared. Recently I felt a little "off" maybe with some blurry vision and occasional head aches and decided to check the boobs...sure enough, I can express milk! I had bloodwork today and will have an MRI on Saturday. I just know the tumor is back and I really feel that it could be caused by the oral contraceptives.
I would love to hear your stories and see if any of you have had similar experiences with a prolactinoma occuring shortly after taking the pill. I was planning on discontinuing use of the pill this month so I can get pregnant...guess that will have to wait :( I will still discontinue use of the pill and see if the tumor shrinks on its own again...I would think that would be a pretty good indication that the pill is my problem if the same thing happens twice. Let me know what you think!
*Had a miscarriage in 2004
*Started taking oral contraceptives in 2005
*Felt "off" late 2006. Had a slightly elevated prolactin level and MRI showed tiny prolactinoma.
*I quit taking oral contraceptives and my prolactin level soon went back into the normal range with no meds and a second MRI showed no tumor.
*I got pregnant in 2007 and had a baby in early 2008.
*November of 2008 I quit breastfeeding and went back on oral contraceptives. Until then my period was normal, within a month of starting back on OC, my period more or less disappeared. Recently I felt a little "off" maybe with some blurry vision and occasional head aches and decided to check the boobs...sure enough, I can express milk! I had bloodwork today and will have an MRI on Saturday. I just know the tumor is back and I really feel that it could be caused by the oral contraceptives.
I would love to hear your stories and see if any of you have had similar experiences with a prolactinoma occuring shortly after taking the pill. I was planning on discontinuing use of the pill this month so I can get pregnant...guess that will have to wait :( I will still discontinue use of the pill and see if the tumor shrinks on its own again...I would think that would be a pretty good indication that the pill is my problem if the same thing happens twice. Let me know what you think!
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I went to the doctor a while ago to see about my allergies. He rubbed my arm and stuck things under the skin. Nothing. He poked and prodded, his phlebotomist drew so much blood people thought that we were dating. The tests all came back negative. Then one day I went back and I told him that I had found the cause of my allergy.It turns out, I am allergic to betrayal.
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This isn't really bipolar related but there is never anyone on the parenting groups, this is the most active group I've been in.My 6yr old son has really bad seasonal allergies and they're in full force right now. He gets a terrible cough; he coughs all day and all night, making it hard for him to sleep, and his nose runs.I've tried every allergy medicine, OTC and RX, and none of them affect his...
I told my doctor all this but she said pills should not cause prolactin levels that high. Anyway - I stopped taking the pills immediately. Fast forward one month - I go back in to have her check my prolactin levels again.....they are are 42 now!!! She said it actually might be the pills. I am still going to see an endocrinologist in 3 weeks to see if the levels decreased more.
In my mind, doctors do NOT know everything, nor does anyone know all the possible side effects of a drug. There are obviously are a lot of women here who have had "coincidental" increases in prolactin after starting the pill....