prolactin secreting tumour + hypothyroid

[ammy111]

I have been having hypothyroid issues for for nearly 8 years now.Only recently I have been diagnosed by a doctor and seeking treatment. The doctor also found out I have a pituitary tumour, it is a prolactin secreting tumour. Is it possible that because my thyroid issues weren't treated earlier on that this caused the prolactin secreting tumour to grow on my pituitary gland?

[Super_sally888]

Hi,

Mine is a microadenoma.  It is about 5 mm in size.  They monitor it with MRI approximately every 2 years. So far it has always been stable.  However, my prolactin levels are usually high and I needed to take a medication called bromocriptine when I wanted to get pregnant.

Usually they wouldn't do surgery unless the tumor is large / growing - medications don't work.  There can be considerable collateral damage from surgery.

I don't know if the adenoma caused the hypothyroid.  However, my TSH is always very low now and doesn't seem to respond to changes in thyroid medication.  So maybe it is affected.

My doctor won't consider that there is any other pituitary problems arising from this, so nothing else has ever been tested. So far I'm managing, so I don't push the issue.

  

[LazyMoose]

"so is it possible the prolactin secreting tumour could have caused the hypothyroid issue as well? Is that what you were saying?" -

not the prolactin, but the fact that your pituitary is malfunctioning to some point and pit controls the thyroid. Detailed questions for the pituitary are best for a doctor that knows this. What you have learned are good questions to ask a doctor.

[ammy111]

what other pituitary hormones need to be checked ? What did you mean by, 'sometimes the prolactin secreting cells can displace the other cells?
My tsh last time it was chechked was 3. So maybe the tumour isn't haven't an affect on the pituitary gland otherwise it would be low-undetected? Corect me if Im wrong.

How have you been coping anyway, have you had your tumour removed? Did you have any thyroidissues as well?

[ammy111]

so is it possible the prolactin secreting tumour could have caused the hypothyroid issue as well? Is that what you were saying?

I did have a saliva  test for my adrenals a year ago, cortisol was elevated morning and midmorning. Not sure if I can rely on them now though, cause those results are old. Dhea is also elevated slightly, and still is with new blood tests. I think cortisol may be a problem at night as well cause I dont get to sleep till 2-3am, and wake up constantly. Im not sure if there is anything more I can do to lower cortisol, Ive taken  many supplements including magnesium, B Vitamins, zinc, vitaminC. And I have been on the super strict low carb diets, which didn't seems to help much at all. I was thinking about taking something called Phosphatidyl serine to lower cortisol. Not sure what else to do to address this prob, doctors dont say much about it.

I have to wait a couple months to see another doc about the tumor. The last doc that found out about it, didn't even know the size of it. So Im not sure what options will be taken. Can the Pituitary gland be damaged at all from the surgery?

Thanks again Mosse

[LazyMoose]

"I have elevated testosterone and estrogen
, and have just started progesterone"

-  good those were tested, as pituitary has some influence on those. Now check adrenals, as pituitary influences cortisol from the adrenal glands too. Most blood cortisol tests have two ranges for morning and afternoon testing these are not as accurate as saliva cortisol but still good to get. Cortisol levels should be the highest in the lighted AM hours.

What were your options for treating this tumor? I think they have some sort of pill that can shrink some Pit tomors now........?  not sure though.?

So it is possible that your thyroid issues are from the malfunctioning pituitary AND in addition to Hashimoto. Hashimoto is from antibodies, antibodies are not from the pituitary gland. So you could be hypothyroid from two separate things going on at once.

[Super_sally888]

Hi,

I also have a prolactin secreting microadenoma.  These are often incidental findings, and only detected if women have issues with infertility and or breast discharge.

they don't know what causes them, but not caused by thryoid.

You need to have the other  pituitary hormones checked because sometimes the prolactin secreting cells can displace the other cells.

I would think hasimotos and secondary hypothyroid  could coexist.  The big thing for thyroid is that they should check ft3 and Ft4, not rely on TSH as it may be low.

[ammy111]

I do have Hashimotos, antibodies are <60 last time it was checked. What other hormones need to be checked? I have elevated testosterone and estrogen, and have just started progesterone.

Im just not sure what caused this prolactin secreting tumour. From what Ive read prolactin is usually elevated due to hypothyroid, Im just wondering after all these years of not getting the proper treatment prehaps this is what could have caused it. Iam only 24. I feel like I need to find the cause otherwise this will keep coming back even if I do have it removed.

thanks

[LazyMoose]

Most likely the reverse is true. Pituitary controls the thyroid. Not the other way around.

Hypothyroid is in two catagories:
1)caused by Hashimotos with high antibody levels
2) standard hypothyroid without antibodies, caused by many posiblities

So if you dont have Hashimoto, your thyroid issues could be caused by your pituitary malfunctioning.

It is important to get ALL other hormones checked as well - Pit has an effect on these too.