I saw this interesting post im newsnet alt.support.depression.medication which may be of interest:
Lampi wrote:
> Been going through the motions (great Pdoc though) to set me straight.
> Doing my PhD, almost done. Extremely high stress.
>
> Doc may have given the Clonazepam for the stress stuff, but I'm not sure.
> Am active, heavy but normal bodyfat.
>
> History: Something going on dopamine-wise 'cause all of this started to
> get resolved after my diagnosis with slight hyperprolactinemia.
Do you know how high your prolactin level was before starting treatment?
I have hyperprolactinemia with the level being 733(Something like that?)
before treatment. This was discovered by a gynecologist who referred me
to an endocrinologist for further testing and treatment.
> Was
> given bromocripting (Parlodel) to suppress, and raise testosterone
> (which it did).
Were any other hormones tested apart from prolactin and testosterone? I
had other blood tests done plus an MRI which showed a *benign* pituitary
tumour which was causing my high prolactin levels. I used Parlodel for a
while and then switched to Dostinex(Cabergoline) which has less
side-effects for me... right now my prolactin level is low(12).
> I thought depression was from low Test, GP thought I
> should see a Pdoc. Found to be slight ADD, got Wellbutrin, then ritalin
> was working fine, then notice these weird fuzzy/cotton headed days, that
> nothing helps. Then upped the bromo dose, which seemed to counteract
> this fuzzy headed thing (never heard of it). Was thinking about possible
> Reward Deficiency, or that constant stress is killing my dopamine,
> putting me in the shitter? Anyone else have this at all? Please comment
> at will!
High prolactin can lead to all sorts of emotions... I had really high
anxiety... bromocriptine is a dopamine agonist so it would help you feel
more happy/content I think though I don't think it's a good idea to use
it for depression unless the depression is directly connected to your
prolactin levels. Stress and exertion can raise prolactin levels which
shouldn't be a problem for most folk.
If you haven't seen an endocrinologist yet I would if I were you: it's
no good treating a mood disorder without a thorough check-up on the
hormones if there's a chance they could be causing your symptoms.
I don't know of a newsgroup for prolactin issues but there is an MSN
group: http://groups.msn.com/pituitarytumor
Don't let the term "tumour" scare you: pituitary tumours are usually
benign and are mostly treated with Parlodel or Dostinex. With slightly
raised prolactin you may not even have such a tumour or if you do it
would be tiny... mine was only 4mm.
Hopefully this was more helpful than scary, good luck!
Vashti
Lampi wrote:
> Been going through the motions (great Pdoc though) to set me straight.
> Doing my PhD, almost done. Extremely high stress.
>
> Doc may have given the Clonazepam for the stress stuff, but I'm not sure.
> Am active, heavy but normal bodyfat.
>
> History: Something going on dopamine-wise 'cause all of this started to
> get resolved after my diagnosis with slight hyperprolactinemia.
Do you know how high your prolactin level was before starting treatment?
I have hyperprolactinemia with the level being 733(Something like that?)
before treatment. This was discovered by a gynecologist who referred me
to an endocrinologist for further testing and treatment.
> Was
> given bromocripting (Parlodel) to suppress, and raise testosterone
> (which it did).
Were any other hormones tested apart from prolactin and testosterone? I
had other blood tests done plus an MRI which showed a *benign* pituitary
tumour which was causing my high prolactin levels. I used Parlodel for a
while and then switched to Dostinex(Cabergoline) which has less
side-effects for me... right now my prolactin level is low(12).
> I thought depression was from low Test, GP thought I
> should see a Pdoc. Found to be slight ADD, got Wellbutrin, then ritalin
> was working fine, then notice these weird fuzzy/cotton headed days, that
> nothing helps. Then upped the bromo dose, which seemed to counteract
> this fuzzy headed thing (never heard of it). Was thinking about possible
> Reward Deficiency, or that constant stress is killing my dopamine,
> putting me in the shitter? Anyone else have this at all? Please comment
> at will!
High prolactin can lead to all sorts of emotions... I had really high
anxiety... bromocriptine is a dopamine agonist so it would help you feel
more happy/content I think though I don't think it's a good idea to use
it for depression unless the depression is directly connected to your
prolactin levels. Stress and exertion can raise prolactin levels which
shouldn't be a problem for most folk.
If you haven't seen an endocrinologist yet I would if I were you: it's
no good treating a mood disorder without a thorough check-up on the
hormones if there's a chance they could be causing your symptoms.
I don't know of a newsgroup for prolactin issues but there is an MSN
group: http://groups.msn.com/pituitarytumor
Don't let the term "tumour" scare you: pituitary tumours are usually
benign and are mostly treated with Parlodel or Dostinex. With slightly
raised prolactin you may not even have such a tumour or if you do it
would be tiny... mine was only 4mm.
Hopefully this was more helpful than scary, good luck!
Vashti
