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Hello,
I went to my doctors for a check up and I had him check my hormone levels and he alerted me that my prolactin is 25.3. I have been taking ainterol PM breast cream and pills on and off for the last several months. Is this okay? I checked online and I am hoping it’s not a tumor growth in the pituitary gland. Any advice?
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21-12-2021, 03:01 AM
(This post was last modified: 21-12-2021, 03:02 AM by
thegirl1951.)
(21-12-2021, 01:42 AM)Mike_98 Wrote: Hello,
I went to my doctors for a check up and I had him check my hormone levels and he alerted me that my prolactin is 25.3. I have been taking ainterol PM breast cream and pills on and off for the last several months. Is this okay? I checked online and I am hoping it’s not a tumor growth in the pituitary gland. Any advice?
https://www.ucsfhealth.org/medical-tests/prolactin-blood-test ;
The normal values for prolactin are:
- Men: less than 20 ng/mL (425 µg/L)
25 is not much higher than the suggested max level.
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(21-12-2021, 01:42 AM)Mike_98 Wrote: Hello,
I went to my doctors for a check up and I had him check my hormone levels and he alerted me that my prolactin is 25.3. I have been taking ainterol PM breast cream and pills on and off for the last several months. Is this okay? I checked online and I am hoping it’s not a tumor growth in the pituitary gland. Any advice?
Men — When a high blood prolactin concentration interferes with the function of the testicles, the production of testosterone (the main male sex hormone), and sperm production. Low testosterone causes decreased energy, sex drive, muscle mass and strength, and blood count (anemia). If levels remain low for several years, bone strength may decrease (osteoporosis). High levels of prolactin in the blood also cause difficulty in getting an erection, as well as breast tenderness and enlargement.
sounds like what the PM is for and the range is like 29 for non pregnant women. Maybe someone else with actual knowledge will chime in.
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Did the doctor say anything beyond noting the elevated level? For most blood tests the ranges are considered reference ranges, that is just what has been observed in the majority of people (i.e., the area under the bell in a bell curve). Only a few tests have specific conditions associated with their values, and even there these are statistical correlations. So a HS-CRP (high sensitivity C-Reactive Protein) test associates ranges with probability of a cardiac event, and if you are even a little over the reference range it is a clear danger sign. But for most tests the reference range is not that significant. Usually when something has a range of say 10-30 and you are at 35 I ask the doctor what it means and get a response like "lots of things cause slight elevations, we don't really start to worry until it is over 300". In one such case the doctor said 3000! In other words, in serious disease the numbers are one to two orders of magnitude higher than the top of the reference range. And that seems to be the case with Prolactin levels, at least vis a vi a prolactinoma. From what I've read they wouldn't start to suspect prolactinoma until your test came back at 500, not 25. So absent the doctor expressing more concern, and I usually ask what these things mean and suggest you do so, I wouldn't worry. You are taking supplements that are expected to result in increased prolactin levels. I'd probably be thrilled to discover my prolactin levels were above male but still in the normal range for a non-pregnant female.
Two other important notes. Medications can cause a rise in prolactin levels, including some blood pressure medication. So depending on what else you are taking your doctor (assuming he doesn't know about your supplementation) might assume one of those was causing the elevation. And second, I'm not a doctor. Talk to your doctor if you are at all concerned.
