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Hyperprolactinemia is a condition which means there is too much prolactin in your blood. Prolactin is a very important hormone for the female reproductive system, and is produced by the brain’s pituitary gland.
In women, prolactin is normally responsible for breast development and milk production during and after pregnancy. This hormone also plays a role in regulating your menstrual cycle.
Effect of hyperprolactinaemia on fertility
Quoted from Babycenter, after you give birth, high prolactin levels in your body often stop your menstrual cycle. If you haven’t given birth and have high prolactin levels, it can lower your estrogen levels and interfere with ovulation, thus causing irregular or absent periods, affecting fertility.
High prolactin levels also cause low bone density and can cause some mothers who have difficulty getting pregnant or breastfeeding to produce milk (known as galactorrhea).
Causes of hyperprolactinemia
There are many causes of hyperprolactinemia, although in up to 40 percent of cases, the cause is unknown, there are many known causes including:
- A noncancerous tumor in the pituitary gland that produces high levels of prolactin, known as a prolactinoma. It affects 50 to 60 percent of women with hyperprolactinaemia.
- Overactive cells in the pituitary gland
- Disorders that cause an increase in white blood cells (histiocytosis)
- Tuberculosis, a disease that attacks the lungs
- Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism)
- Various medications such as certain antipsychotics, antidepressants, and antihypertensives
- Damage to the chest area (for example, from shingles or surgery scars)
- Cirrhosis, or severe injury to the liver
- Chronic kidney failure
- Cushing’s syndrome, which results from high cortisol levels in the body
- Trauma to the hypothalamus
- Empty sella syndrome, a condition that means areas of your brain are enlarged
- Lymphocytic hypophysitis, an inflammatory condition of the pituitary gland
- Sarcoidosis, a disorder that causes inflamed tissue to develop in the body’s organs
If you are concerned that your medications may be causing your menstrual irregularities and ovulation problems, talk to your obstetrician or reproductive endocrinologist so they can help you identify the problem.
Symptoms of hyperprolactinaemia
Some of you who suffer from hyperprolactinemia may not have any symptoms, but a blood test can show whether your prolactin level is higher than normal.
The doctor may also do a physical examination and an MRI. If you do have symptoms, they are usually:
- Irregular or missed menstrual cycles
- Infertility
- Milk production when not pregnant or breastfeeding
- Changes in menstrual flow
- Loss of libido
- Dry vagina
- Hot flashes
- Low bone density
- Pain in the breast
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