prolactin gynecomastia

[elcazador]

hey guys, havent posted in a while, for anyone who has not read my story, i an 17 years old and have mild prolactin induced gynecomastia.  Prolactin is made by ur pituitary gland, it has no real purpose in men, but men usually have low levels of prolactin.  My prolactin was a little high, 15 ng/dl being borderline i was 18, so not that high.  Basically what prolactin does is, it messes with the function of ur testes and lowers testosterone, which is why someone with high prolactin may get gyne.  Causes of high prolactin in males include tumors, idiopathic cases(unknown), and what i have, called ees(empty sella syndrome)  EES is when ur pituitary gland gets pushed over by fluid that somehow leaks into the area harboring the pituitary, and it can screw up the function of the gland, in my case it started making prolactin.  Anyway, i had lab tests, and my testosterone was a little under the norm, and so was my free testosterone.  My doctor put me on cabergoline, or dostinex(brand name drug).  this is supposed to stop prolactin from being made, so testosterone can be produced normally.  I first went on dostinex, about 2.5 months ago, i had a lab about 1.5 months ago, sure enough my testosterone levels were rising, and my prolactin was less than 0, due to the drug.  Testosterone takes time to go back up according to my endocrinologist.  I think i have seen slight improvements in my gyne since i started taking dostinex, although my doctor said it could take up to 6 months to see anything at all, i hope there is more good news to come.  If anyone has any questions about prolactin and gynecomastia, or any information to offer i will be checking back in the near future, hopefully this is a helpful post to people who have a similar problem, because it seems like there are very few people on these forums that know anything about prolactin and gynecomastia.

[Paa_Paw]

The pituitary gland sits in a notch called the Sella Turcica, Try to visualize a Turkish saddle and you'll get the picture. Surgical access is usually via the nose.

Beyond that, you are right, I really know very little relative to your condition.

Your condition seems to be a rare one, but it does illustrate an important point.  While Gynecomastia is harmless in itself, it can sometimes be an important symptom of other problems. In that context, I think it should be taken seriously and investigated.

Keep us posted.

Good Luck!

[MSJ108]

few other threads on prolactin induced gyno but the threads went nowhere

[elcazador]

actually it is a fairly common condition, most people show no symptoms and it is harmless(so nobody knows about it), i would not die from this if i did not get any treatment, it is just the probable cause of my prolactin being elevated.