Taking Cabergoline for high prolation levels

I just wondered does anyone else take Dostinex for high prolactin levels. I have been taking it for two years and it worked well but the down side is that my mental health has got a lot worse, depression, mood swings, anxiety, panic attacks and sucidal thoughts. I wondered does anyone else get this with this medication, my doctor says its not the medication as i had mental health problems before i started them but i feel they have made me worse, am i wrong and just looking for something to blame buti just wanted to know if anyone else ever experienced this on this medication.

[rumpled]

Hmmm.... it sounds like you need more symptom control. In that the pituitary is not being helped as those sound more like the pit, not the medication. Pituitary lesions have a lot of emotional and mood symptoms and it may be that you have more going on than just the prolactinoma. You never had mental health problems! It was the pituitary!

Have you had other testing on the rest of your other pituitary hormones? Is your endo a normal (aka diabetes endo) or a neuro-endo? You need to go to a pituitary center and get someone competent to check you out with a full set of testing.

The doc you have does not understand the emotional aspects of pituitary tumors - so not sure if he understand any aspect. If you put that in the search engine, you can find papers and books on it.

[inneedofhelp82]

He is an endocronlogist not sure what part he specializes in. I did have panic attacks years ago before i was even diagnoised years ago. They just got worse lately, my prolactin levels are totally normal now though, my endo says the medication isn't the cause of it. I have had a lot of blood tests done and they were all normal. I couldn't get an appointment to see him until July and its been well over a year since i last saw him. Thanks for the reply i did google that stuff it was very interesting.

[rumpled]

Always get copies of the blood tests - I learned the hard way not to trust the docs as I was told oh it is normal and I got a copy and it was not... so when you go there or call now, get some copies (or call the lab for the last set).

The doc may not be testing enough, or overlooking things such as what should be at the high end of the range is at the low end. Ranges are ranges but they ...well... eh!

For instance, if the endiot is just running a standard thyroid panel, useless! TSH is not useful to regulate meds when you have a known pituitary issue so you need to know the FT3, FT4 levels.

I would go to a pituitary center. The guy probably thinks this is simple, but pituitary is NOT.

[inneedofhelp82]

Thanks for all the help, i can't see anyone until July so i will talk it over then with him and i will mention all the thyroid tests. I could get my own GP to maybe get a copy of the last tests taken and see what they think. Thanks again

[quickslvrgrl]

It IS the Medication.  I started having morbid thoughts about death after 4 months of cabergoline.  I started having SEVERE panic attacks about 7 months in.  My doctor said the same thing, " It's not the medication."  This is BS.  I have NEVER had a problem w/panic attacks, being afraid to die, etc.  I am a 27 year old stable person and this medication makes me crazy.  Avoid all caffeine & alcohol as this makes the panic worse.  I would look into anti-anxiety meds if you're going to stay on cab.  I started 1/2invg my cab dosage and I feel better.

[horselip]

yes I second that motion. I had a very rough time "mentally" with anything that affected/affects dopamine. I ended up having surgery 'cause I could not handle the side effects of the meds. It is great that that you are feeling better with a lower dose and avoidance of other triggers.
Horselip

[inneedofhelp82]

Just to update, i stopped the cabergoline in April i couldn't cope anymore i was so scared i felt like i was loosing my mind, and i was right by July, August things were settling a bit, i still have anxiety and panic but not as extreme, my psychiatrist agreed it was the cabergoline making me worse and even the endocronoligst agreed that yes maybe the cabergoline was making my mental health worse. They are now checking the levels every six months he said if they go too high i will have no choice but to take the cabergoline again but no i said no way. I hope the lower dose is helping i ended up taking half a tablet a week and it still affected me badly, hope it works out ok.

[rumpled]

Why do you have to take the cabergoline? Why not try parlodel? Why is that contra-indicated? Why not try another medication - there are others out there and may also be others in trial (like there are some available in Europe not available in the US) so...

Side effects - sadly an issue with many drugs! So surgery or radiation not an option? I myself would take surgery over radiation but you have to make choices...

[JDaw80]

Definitely ask your endocrinologist to look at other medications.  It's silly for docs to ignore quality of life issues, but it happens.  Until you press the issue, it is unlikely that your doc will devote much energy to helping you find an alternative to dostinex/cabergoline.  

As far as your side effects, I've been very fortunate in avoiding them (probably one of the few ways I've been lucky through this health nightmare I'm in right now).  However, I've heard that a lot of fiddling with dosage levels, etc. can actually cause side effects to emerge.  Did your doctor do a lot of adjustments to your medication?

Finally, you may be experiencing the effects of a hormonal deficiency or imbalance, which prolactinomas can cause.  You may need hormone replacement of some sort.  Good luck to you.  This stuff *****, but at least it's not malignant!

[inneedofhelp82]

That makes alot of sense i messed about with the dosage levels some weeks i took three quarters of one the next week i broke in half, then the week before i got really bad i was in hospital and they gave me the full tablet so maybe that made it worse, but even before that my anxiety was sky high. I was allergic to bromocriptine, they said they will check the levels in February and if they are too high they will discuss what to do next then, the last levels were on the up though so i hope they don't go too high.

[JungleJ]

Same Problem; I've taken myself off of it for a couple of weeks because during the PMS cycle; I am an nut, for 7-10 days hate everyone, want to disconnect from everyone and love them a day or two after menses begins.. anyone experiencing this?  and, how long after taking yourself off the medication do these side affects stop??? It affects my work and home life; major depression...

[rumpled]

I would talk to your doc about moderating the dose - you should not stop dosing as pituitary side effects will step in - and that appears to be what is happening. Those are much more emotional and can increase the size of your tumor. Pituitary tumors have a lot of emotional aspects and you have to be properly treated in order to minimize those effects.

Are you being treated by a neuro-endo at a pituitary center or at a regular endo office?  You need a neuro-endo.

[horselip]

I was in serious therapy before I was diagnosed with the pituitary thing. I thought that I was simply nuts. As did my docs.

At one point I was on three psych meds? None of them really ever worked either. It was not until the pituitary issues were sorted that I became myself again. So hold out the hope and work with your endos folks. The good ones know that pituitary probs affect us psychologically. This is not to say that you can't have both but the pituitary gland has a big effect on our sense of well-being. HUGE!
Horselip

[inneedofhelp82]

I was tried on bromcriptine but took an allergic reaction and had to get meds to take away the effect they never mentioned paradoel to me. I don't see them until February again but my levels were tested recently and they are rising again but slowly. I have a diagnosed mental illness which i have from i was 18 i only developed pitutary problems when i was 28, i was told it was stress of the mental illness which caused my prolactin levels to rise.
I have told them that regardless of high my levels rise i will not take dostinex again i never should have been given it there is a warning on it that it shouldn't be given to people with known mental illness as it affects the dopamine levels in your brain. It took months for the affects to wear of but my mental health has still been badly affected i am alot worse than i was before i started the meds.

I am not saying they are bad meds they worked well for me and i am not saying people shouldn't take them they save lives but unfortunately they almost cost me my life as i was hospitalized for attempting suicide.
The endo's just need to be more careful when prescribing them.

[rumpled]

I would have to wonder if you really just had a *mental illness* or if you had a pituitary issue all along. Pituitary issues really mess with the emotional state of almost everyone I have met - including myself.

It is a shame people are not screened first - and as well - you were not monitored well it seems? I bet if you had surgery your *mental illness* would magically go away - it has for so many of us - either gone or receded in a great way.

[horselip]

Hey there-
My prolactin levels are a little high still.(60-70) But I cannot take meds that affect my dopamine levels. They make me very manic and even cause hallucinations for whatever reason. So you are not alone.
Horselip

[inneedofhelp82]

I'm not sure rumpled i have often wondered that myself, but my mental illness was dx in 1994 and my high prolactin levels were dx in 2004 but i guess i will never know what caused what.

Horselip i can't tolerate the meds at all i would say i was very manic a few months ago they tried to put me on anti-psychotics i was that bad it was scary now i am of them i still panic and am anxious but not to the same extent, its whatever is in them that causes all the horrible side effects.