High prolactin

Chiron

Chiron

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Canada
Could someone here help me figure out why my prolactin level is above normal? I'm male, early 30's.

I take 25mg DHEA, 50mg pregnenolone, 500mg L-tyrosine, and 400mg CoQ10 every morning. I was on prednisone 5mg for a year and between April-June of this year I was on high dose prednisone for another IBD flare. In August of this year I got off prednisone completely, but not without the help of the hormone supplements.

I've bolded the hormones that are out of range.

Prolactin 22.2 (3.8 - 20.6)
Estradiol 86 (<157 pmol/L)
Testosterone 30.8 (8-28.8 nmol/L)
DHEA 9.5 (<15 umol/L)
Progesterone 2.6 (0.4-1.8 nmol/L)
AM Cortisol 324 (125-536 nmol/L)
TSH 0.87 (0.32-5.04 mU/L)
ACTH 19.3 (1.6-13.9 pmol/L)

I do also have thinning hair in the male baldness pattern, but I also have iron deficiency anemia which may be contributing to that. It would've been useful to get DHT tested but it wasn't included. This is the first time I've had estradiol tested so I don't even know what my norm is.

My sex drive is fine, but I don't engage with it very often because if I do, I'm exhausted for days. I thought that maybe the low TSH could mean my pituitary wasn't working but the high ACTH indicates that it probably is. The high ACTH is probably the pituitary trying to get my adrenals working after a year of prednisone. AM cortisol could be higher -- my norm is usually in the 450 range.

Progesterone is high likely because of the pregnenolone. My testosterone is naturally high. Last year at the endocrinologist I wasn't taking anything and my T was above normal. That said, I was last tested during a period in my life when I was going to the gym regularly. This T reading is from basically having a sedentary life.

When I stop DHEA and pregnenolone I get unremitting diarrhea within 24 hours that is both debilitating and ties me to the toilet. I got a referral to an endo again but it will be months before I see her.

Any ideas about the high prolactin? Thanks in advance, I know this is a lot of info.
 
Last edited:
Chiron

Chiron

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84
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Canada
Thanks alicec... I have also been considering the dopamine angle lately. I am COMT -/+ so dopamine is expended more easily in my body. I've started by taking 500mg L-tyrosine in the morning to see if it would help, and it does seem to increase my mental capacity. I'm considering adding something like mucuna puriens which contains 15% L-dopa by volume. Maybe all this is, is that I need more dopamine.

I was reading that B6 and zinc deficiencies can also contribute to this. So I'm not sure. Hormones can be such a guessing game.
 
A

alicec

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Chiron said:
I am COMT -/+ so dopamine is expended more easily in my body.
Click to expand...

I assume you are referring to rs4680, AKA V158M. Approximately 50% of people are +/- for this SNP so this represents average or normal dopamine breakdown rate. Approx 30% are -/- and so break it down a little faster while approx 20 % are +/+ and break it down a little slower. There are different advantages and disadvantages for slower and faster breakdown - you occupy the middle position.
 
Chiron

Chiron

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84
Location
Canada
alicec said:
I assume you are referring to rs4680, AKA V158M. Approximately 50% of people are +/- for this SNP so this represents average or normal dopamine breakdown rate. Approx 30% are -/- and so break it down a little faster while approx 20 % are +/+ and break it down a little slower. There are different advantages and disadvantages for slower and faster breakdown - you occupy the middle position.
Click to expand...

Yes that's the one. So from what you're saying, my COMT configuration is not that important?
 
A

alicec

Senior Member
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1,572
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Australia
Chiron said:
Then if I'm lacking dopamine to counteract prolactin, what could be the possible source of the dopamine deficiency?

(Thank you for taking the time to answer me)
Click to expand...

Lots of things can affect neurotransmitter balance - you would need to do more research based on your own circumstances. You might not find any particular reason but it could be worthwhile trying dopamine boosting supplements to see if it makes a difference. You may need to try these intermittently to overcome downregulation of dopamine receptors in response to the dopamine boost.
 
B

bthompsonjr1993

Senior Member
Messages
177
Chiron said:
Could someone here help me figure out why my prolactin level is above normal? I'm male, early 30's.

I take 25mg DHEA, 50mg pregnenolone, 500mg L-tyrosine, and 400mg CoQ10 every morning. I was on prednisone 5mg for a year and between April-June of this year I was on high dose prednisone for another IBD flare. In August of this year I got off prednisone completely, but not without the help of the hormone supplements.

I've bolded the hormones that are out of range.

Prolactin 22.2 (3.8 - 20.6)
Estradiol 86 (<157 pmol/L)
Testosterone 30.8 (8-28.8 nmol/L)
DHEA 9.5 (<15 umol/L)
Progesterone 2.6 (0.4-1.8 nmol/L)
AM Cortisol 324 (125-536 nmol/L)
TSH 0.87 (0.32-5.04 mU/L)
ACTH 19.3 (1.6-13.9 pmol/L)

I do also have thinning hair in the male baldness pattern, but I also have iron deficiency anemia which may be contributing to that. It would've been useful to get DHT tested but it wasn't included. This is the first time I've had estradiol tested so I don't even know what my norm is.

My sex drive is fine, but I don't engage with it very often because if I do, I'm exhausted for days. I thought that maybe the low TSH could mean my pituitary wasn't working but the high ACTH indicates that it probably is. The high ACTH is probably the pituitary trying to get my adrenals working after a year of prednisone. AM cortisol could be higher -- my norm is usually in the 450 range.

Progesterone is high likely because of the pregnenolone. My testosterone is naturally high. Last year at the endocrinologist I wasn't taking anything and my T was above normal. That said, I was last tested during a period in my life when I was going to the gym regularly. This T reading is from basically having a sedentary life.

When I stop DHEA and pregnenolone I get unremitting diarrhea within 24 hours that is both debilitating and ties me to the toilet. I got a referral to an endo again but it will be months before I see her.

Any ideas about the high prolactin? Thanks in advance, I know this is a lot of info.
Click to expand...


I am a male in my mid 20's and I also have high prolactin. I believe it is caused by low dopamine
 
drob31

drob31

Senior Member
Messages
1,487
This is going to sound weird, but have you ever abstained from orgasm for long periods of time?

This will raise dopamine and lower prolactin significantly.

I have the same issue with orgasm and being tired for days. This is simply peeling the layer back and revealing the issue, but abstaining from orgasm may give you a protective layer against fatigue, and I mean for 30-60 days at a time.

Although a prolactinoma could raise levels very high.
 
Chiron

Chiron

Messages
84
Location
Canada
drob31 said:
This is going to sound weird, but have you ever abstained from orgasm for long periods of time?

This will raise dopamine and lower prolactin significantly.

I have the same issue with orgasm and being tired for days. This is simply peeling the layer back and revealing the issue, but abstaining from orgasm may give you a protective layer against fatigue, and I mean for 30-60 days at a time.

Although a prolactinoma could raise levels very high.
Click to expand...

Yes I've done this before. Longest was 6+ months. It's not impossible, but it is challenging because I have a high libido and celibacy feels like I don't get to enjoy my sexuality very often.

But I'm not sure what else to do at this point. I doubt I have a prolactinoma, otherwise the levels would be much higher.

I'm wondering at this point of it's some kind of vitamin/mineral deficiency.
 
drob31

drob31

Senior Member
Messages
1,487
Chiron said:
Yes I've done this before. Longest was 6+ months. It's not impossible, but it is challenging because I have a high libido and celibacy feels like I don't get to enjoy my sexuality very often.

But I'm not sure what else to do at this point. I doubt I have a prolactinoma, otherwise the levels would be much higher.

I'm wondering at this point of it's some kind of vitamin/mineral deficiency.
Click to expand...

What about abstaining for 7 days at a time? Your test levels should naturally peak every 7 days after orgasm, so you would theoretically optimize your test levels as well.

I'm not sure about a deficiency as the only thing lost in sufficient quantities would be zinc. However dopamine is drastically affected. I think there is a relationship to dopamine spikes and thyroid.
 
Chiron

Chiron

Messages
84
Location
Canada
Thanks again for taking the time to respond to me... I really love this community!

drob31 said:
What about abstaining for 7 days at a time? Your test levels should naturally peak every 7 days after orgasm, so you would theoretically optimize your test levels as well.

I'm not sure about a deficiency as the only thing lost in sufficient quantities would be zinc. However dopamine is drastically affected. I think there is a relationship to dopamine spikes and thyroid.
Click to expand...

Abstaining isn't really a problem for me, it's when it gets long term (1 month or more) that it starts getting unpleasant. I think the other thing is that as I developed auto-immune, as I became weaker and had to switch to a much cleaner / purer lifestyle, I became even more sensitive to everything. For instance I don't eat much sugar or caffeine so if something has any of those in it, I find it mind altering. I can taste the sweetness of a carrot now.

My point is... maybe my prolactin levels aren't pathologically high, but I am much more sensitive to it now.

When the above test was done, I had sex 2 days prior. So prolactin was still elevated but test was abnormally high.

So I dunno. I'm curious what the endo will say.

From my research, the things that cause high prolactin are: high TSH, low magnesium, low calcium, low vit D, low vit b6, too many orgasms, prolactinoma, reduced dopamine.

The only thing from that list I haven't figured out is calcium. I can't take mineral supplements because they give me diarrhea (that's why I inject mag, but you can't inject calcium), and I can't do dairy because of lactose / casein intolerance. Leafy greens are too fibrous. One thing I'm about to try doing is grind up organic egg shells into fine powder and start sprinkling the powder into things. I do have osteoporosis from prednisone so maybe it's somehow low calcium throwing off the prolactin. One piece of research I found says that the prolactin increases calcium absorption in the bowel, so if you're very low in it, prolactin will go up. It's the only factor I can think of.
 
Chiron

Chiron

Messages
84
Location
Canada
Prolactin is an important regulator of intestinal calcium transport
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17823618

Another thing I was just thinking of this morning is that... I'm taking DHEA and pregnenolone. Maybe my liver is breaking hormones down slowly, so they linger more. Maybe that's why prolactin remains high? In that case, I could maybe benefit from taking indol-3-carbinol or sulforaphane to help with the breakdown of hormone byproducts.

It's pretty much a guessing game at this point though :(
 
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