Throughout this text we will understand what prolactin is, what it is for in men and women, and if it is serious to have high prolactin. This hormone is important in our body and that it is high or low is a sign of some disorders or changes in our lives, so there will be cases in which we will need medical help.
Hyperprolactin or high blood prolactin is common in some women and also in men. A priori it is not necessary to be alarmed, since it will be the doctor who will analyze our case individually. In the following sections we will learn more about this hormone that makes an appearance in men and women.
It is not considered a serious disorder, so we must be calm, but it is advisable to have periodic check-ups and clear up doubts quickly, since the causes are various and the symptoms sometimes do not even manifest. In fact, they can sometimes be confused with a number of other disorders, with loss of body hair being one of the common symptoms.
What is it?
Simply put, the high prolactin or hyperprolactin It is a hormonal disorder that causes the affected person to have very high levels of this hormone in the blood. The causes and symptoms are the most varied and curious.
This hormone is also known as luteotropin and is generated in the pituitary gland and has a specific function, especially in women, and that when we are pregnant we can generate milk in the breasts. This hormone will be at high levels during pregnancy, postpartum and lactation.
It works as follows: when the baby sucks on the nipple, the hypothalamus blocks the secretion of dopamine and inhibits the action of prolactin, increasing the levels of this hormone in the blood while our child is feeding. By the time the baby stops, the amount of hormone secretion is reduced. This serves to create milk for the next feeding.
It is not a medical emergency, nor should we be very alert. Only our doctor will be able to give instructions on how to proceed from now on and that can only be done by assessing each case individually and personally.
Something curious is that the symptoms are not always reflected, so we only realize these high levels of prolactin in the blood when we perform a blood test or medical test that involves blood extraction.
Causes
There are several causes that give rise to these high levels of hormone in the blood, but not all the profiles always coincide with the causes, nor with the symptoms that we will see below in another section. That is why it is of vital importance that we find a committed doctor who is willing to study our case in a personalized way.
- Anorexia.
- Diseases of the hypothalamus.
- Hypothyroidism
- Polycystic ovary syndrome.
- Renal problems.
- Anxiety medications.
- Liver diseases.
- Menopause.
- High blood pressure.
- Gastric ulcers
- Stomach acidity.
- By taking drugs derived from opium.
- Birth control pills.
Symptom
The symptoms of high prolactin are not always obvious. What's more, there are those who see that they have high levels of this hormone in their blood and do not develop any of the symptoms that we say below. We are going to separate it into men and women so that the symptoms are clearer, since having high prolactin does not affect equally.
Men
- Erectile dysfunction.
- Problems during sexual intercourse to maintain an erection.
- Breast growth, better known as gynecomastia.
- Loss of muscle mass.
- Fall of body hair.
Women
- Vaginal dryness and pain during sexual intercourse.
- Irregular menstruation or even absence of it.
- Production of breast milk without being pregnant or lactating.
- Acne.
- Growth of body and facial hair.
common symptoms
- Infertility.
- Vision problems.
- Mild headaches.
- Lack of sexual appetite.
- Low bone density.
- Low pituitary production of other essential hormones.
Diagnosis and treatment
The diagnosis of this type of situation is usually through a specialist, but as we said it is not a critical or urgent situation, although it depends a lot on each case, situation and the health of the patient.
To make the diagnosis and see the prolactin levels in the blood, a simple blood test and there the values and the level of thyroid hormone in the blood are checked. Depending on the levels, conclusions are drawn, for example, through this test, thyroid problems are also ruled out, as well as that the cause of hyperprolactin is related to the thyroid.
The main thing is to rule out pregnancy, since many people do not know that they are pregnant, but notice strange changes in their body. If pregnancy is ruled out, the next imminent step is to perform an MRI of the brain and more specifically of the pituitary gland.
As for the treatment, it will be the doctor who decides how to act, but there are various options, from oral medications that help lower prolactin, such as surgeries to remove the tumor and radiation to shrink the tumor.
Tips to download it
There are a series of recommendations and tips to lower prolactin in the blood naturally, but they are tips that we should consult with a specialist, since our health could be affected. For example, consume Red meat, and an excess of this consumption together with little physical activity can lead to cholesterol, overweight, hypertension, etc.
Apart from the medication and other medical remedies that we have discussed, there are also other options such as the ones that we are going to give below:
- Take nuts such as walnuts, almonds and peanuts.
- Choose foods rich in protein such as red meat, oily fish, dairy, soy, etc.
- Always green leafy vegetables.
- Preference over red fruits.
- Take nutritional yeast.
- Seafood like prawns and prawns.
- Reduce strenuous exercise.
- Lower stress and anxiety levels.
- Visit an endocrinologist.
- Gynecological reviews.
- Be careful with medication changes.
- Try to sleep and rest well.
- Improve nutrition.
- Promote good lifestyle habits.