High prolactin levels

[Pinkheather]

Hi,

I hope I’m posting in the right place. Has anyone had this as a cause of recurrent miscarriage? TTC 16 months with 3 miscarriages, went for initial bloods before a referral could be made last week and everything came back normal other then really elevated levels of prolactin.

how high was your prolactin levels? I had a miscarriage in June and my blood test showed high prolactin levels 1482

Hi @rachsword
Mine were 950 first time then I just had a repeat test and they were 730. They are basically putting it down to stress.

I had a high level - 835. (Not during pregnancy)

Was vastly reduced on a second test and also put down to stress and possibly some painkillers I had been taking at the time

When have your tests been taken? I’m so sorry to hear about your miscarriages. I hope the doctors can give you some answers

I have been referred to an endocrinologist. Now taking vitex, vit b6, zinc, vit e, vit d and folic acid been taking for a while and hoping it will come down naturally

@Youngatheart00 first test was cd 2 and second was cd20, I have now had some other tests too which have flagged up some issues so I don’t think it’s down to the high prolactin.

Just out of interest, what is the normal level in England for a non pregnant and non lactating mum?

@rachsword that’s great you have been referred, hopefully you can get some more answers. My GP referred me to the endo but they weren’t interested, now been referred the the gynaecologist instead but my telephone appointment isn’t until December!

@rachsword it said 620 is normal but after researching seems that 0 - 400 is.

My blood report shows 25-629 as the ‘normal’ range

@sunkiss I am waiting to hear from the endocrinologist. Perhaps because my levels were over 1000 they wanted to investigate but I am sure it will be a while for the referral. I am trying to take Vitex etc to bring it down. The funny thing is I don't have any symptoms apart from long cycles. I hope they manage to sort you out soo ! @Youngatheart00 thanks for that I have also heard b6 300mg spaced out 3 times during the day is just as good as the pills one gets.

@Youngatheart00 I had the first test around 3 weeks ago and prolactin levels were 1482 . I had a blood test done exactly 2 weeks later and was 1374 so I am happy it's going down. Been taking Vitex agnus castus and now taking various vitamins too

@Pinkheather I am so sorry about your miscarriages 😓 how high were your prolactin levels?

@rachsword they like it under 440 but it can fluctuate - even if you have been rushing around before the blood test that can cause an elevated result. They don't worry too much if it's under 900 but mine was consistently about 1500 so I have to take medication for it. Check with your consultant re agnus castus - if the high prolactin is caused by a pituitary issue you shouldn't take it

@Weswoo thanks for that. If it went down at the next blood test doesn't it mean it could be working. Also what level indicates a pituitary tumor? I am wondering if acupuncture could be good

@rachsword not necessarily because it's only gone down by a small amount - mine fluctuated around within that range. I do have the tumour (which is harmless by the way!) - I was put on the medication and my levels were down to around 400 within about 5 weeks

@Weswoo did you have any symptoms? the interesting thing is that I had a miscarriage in June. Could a miscarriage cause a pituitary tumor? if it is that it must be a very sudden thing because how would I have even fallen pregnant with such high prolactin levels. Also maybe 2 weeks later would have been too quick to check. What harm would vitex do if it was a tumor? sorry to ask so many questions but this is all so new to me and have so little knowledge on all this

the reason I had my hormone levels checked is because I just turned 41 in June and been trying to conceive since my last one was born in 2017. I decided to have my hormones checked and this came up. My LH was 1.9 on day 3 of my cycle and FSH was 2.1 my Eastradiol was 37 I am sure that was suppressed because prolactin was high

@rachsword the only symptom I had was light periods. It can cause some people's periods to stop altogether and it can cause sight problems if it is big enough to press on the optic nerve. I am sorry to hear about your miscarriage. It wouldn't cause the tumor (its just one of those things) but prolactin does rise during pregnancy your raised level could simply be a result of that. Or if you have been very stressed. I don't know what vitex does but I was advised not to take it when I asked my consultant. They will likely repeat bloods and do an MRI if necessary. I have no ongoing problems or symptoms, I just need to remember to take a tablet once a week!

I guess I am trying to convey that even if it is a tumor it is nothing to worry about and is very easily treated

@Weswoo thanks so much for your consolation! Coming to think of it the period i had before I fell pregnant was actually really light. The one I had just recently wasn't too bad but coming to think of it maybe my prolactin levels were always higher than average and that's why my pregnancy didn't stick. Let's see what happens. Does high prolactin affect LH and FSH?

I know I am definitely not at menopause stage as it would be very high

@rachsword the extent of the advice I had on that is that it can affect sex hormones function (and those are the ones they check every time I have a check up). It can cause you to not ovulate (hence why some women's periods stop)

@Weswoo it's quite interesting how I never knew what prolactin levels meant until this day!

My brother had high prolactin levels due to medication but his came down after they changed his meds!

It also raises during breastfeeding. Hope you get your appointment soon and get some answers but whatever it is they'll be able to fix it. Good luck!