High prolactin: causes and symptoms of hyperprolactinemia in pregnancy and not
High prolactin is a physiological condition in pregnant women, but it can also have different causes and become a real disorder, called hyperprolactinemia. Prolactin is a hormone produced by the pituitary, a gland located at the base of the skull, whose main function is to allow the production of breast milk after childbirth.
High prolactin is linked to a condition of infertility: its main symptoms are precisely amenorrhea (ie the absence of a menstrual cycle for a period of at least 6 months) and galactorrhea, ie the leakage of breast milk from the nipples, even when you are not pregnant or breastfeeding. With high prolactin levels, ovulation is suspended and if this is normal during pregnancy or after childbirth, it can instead represent a worrying symptom if you are not expecting a baby: among the different causes that cause "hyperprolactinemia c" is in fact presence of adenoma or benign tumor of the pituitary gland.
Prolactin, according to normal values, is contained in the blood only in small quantities and its concentration is regulated by dopamine, another hormone that acts as an inhibitor against it. During pregnancy, the women's body prepares for breastfeeding after childbirth and prolactin levels become high. In these cases, therefore, high prolactin does not represent a form of disorder: it becomes such (and therefore we speak of hyperprolactinemia) when high levels are found in women who are not expecting children or even in men.
Let's find out more closely together what can be the different causes of high prolactin in the blood, such as the symptoms with which it occurs, the normal values and the therapies necessary to recover from hyperprolactinemia.
What Causes High Prolactin Levels?
High blood prolactin can be due to very different causes. If in blood tests the prolactin levels are elevated, the most common explanation could be - as we said - an ongoing pregnancy: our hormone is produced in a greater quantity to prepare the mammary glands for the production of breast milk.
Elevated prolactin levels can also be caused by excessive stress or of a psychological or physical nature: hyperprolactinemia has been found, for example, following bereavement, heart attacks, burns or anorexia nervosa. cause this increase in prolactin production, as well as chest injuries.
Among the other causes of high prolactin we find the polycystic ovary syndrome, which can lead to alterations in the menstrual cycle up to infertility; hypothyroidism; disorders of the pituitary gland (hence the production of the hormone); pituitary adenomas, ie benign tumors of the pituitary gland. The latter is one of the most common causes of hyperprolactinemia: adenomas are found in 30% of women with high prolactin not in pregnancy.
Further reasons are the intake of antihypertensive drugs or drugs that act on the nervous system (from antidepressants to antipsychotics), or linked to hormone therapy with estrogens or used for gastrointestinal disorders; kidney failure; cirrhosis of the liver, Addison's disease (which can involve an "alteration of the" hormone of prolactin); excessive stimulation or sucking of the nipples; sleep-related disorders that significantly change the sleep-wake rhythm.
What are the symptoms of high prolactin?
The symptoms of hyperprolactinemia are easy to identify, especially the main ones we have already mentioned in our introduction: amenorrhea (lack of menstruation) and galactorrhea (leakage of serum from the nipple, even if you are not pregnant).
Other symptoms of high prolactin may be the presence of multiple ovarian cysts, hypogonadism (inadequate secretion of sex hormones by the gonads), swollen breasts, infertility and decreased libido, chronic pain during sexual intercourse, miscarriage, ache recurrent headaches, unjustified visual disturbances, osteoporosis.
When prolactin levels are elevated in men, the symptoms are similar: galactorrhea and gynecomastia (i.e. overdevelopment of the breast), decreased libido, erectile dysfunction and impotence, reduced hair and muscle mass, infertility. If you believe that your man may suffer from it, here is a useful video on how the andrological examination for male infertility works:
What are the normal values of prolactin?
Normal prolactin values are always indicated as reference values in the blood test report obtained after collection from the laboratory. However, indicatively, the normal values of prolactin in an adult woman range from 2 to 29 ng / ml. In a pregnant woman, however, the values can reach even over 200 ng / ml.
After the birth, the values tend to drop: if the woman does not breastfeed, they do it within two weeks, otherwise by three months. Hyperprolactinomy is generally diagnosed in non-pregnant women with values above 250 ng / ml.
How is hyperprolactinemia treated?
The therapies indicated to treat hyperprolactinemia vary according to the cause that caused it. If you are in the presence of adenoma or benign tumor of the pituitary, you will need to undertake a specific drug therapy. Surgery, in these cases, is very rare.
If the cause of the hyperprolactinemia was an ongoing drug treatment, an alternative to the drugs administered should be sought, but without suspending any ongoing therapy without the consent of the treating physician.
For more scientific information on high prolactin, you can visit the Humanitas website.
