The body relies on a series of hormones, each with its own purpose. Just like progesterone, estrogen and many others, prolactin is an essential hormone for women’s reproductive health. What’s more, prolactin has everything to do with pregnancy!
Function of Prolactin
The pituitary gland is located in the brain, and is responsible for a series of hormones, including prolactin. The main role of prolactin is to stimulate milk production in women.
Right after childbirth, the body sends a signal to the pituitary gland, indicating that the baby has been born. The pituitary’s response is to release prolactin as a signal that breastfeeding will begin1. However, it’s not just after childbirth that prolactin can appear. It can show up suddenly in a woman’s body due to several other factors.
The pituitary gland can send signals to produce prolactin even if the woman hasn’t given birth. This explains the various cases of women who produce milk at some point in their cycle.
An increase in prolactin can also occur in men! Contrary to what you might think, they can indeed produce minimal amounts of prolactin if the pituitary sends that signal. However, the consequences
of prolactin in the male body are a little different than for women.
What Causes an Increase in Prolactin?
An increase in prolactin, or hyperprolactinemia2, can be caused by other health complications, such as anorexia, liver and kidney disease, polycystic ovary syndrome, and hypothyroidism. Some medicines may also raise the levels of this hormone, such as some psychiatric medications like risperidone and haloperidol and medicines such as metoclopramide.
Some tumors in the pituitary gland can also cause prolactin levels to rise considerably. In these cases, the doctor must assess whether surgery is needed, though these cases are rarer.
There are also other, more common factors that can influence prolactin levels, such as hypoglycemia and intense physical exercise. Everyday stress, or even the anxiety of wanting to get pregnant, can cause this increase.
Consequences of High Prolactin
A rise in prolactin levels can cause a woman to produce breast milk at inappropriate times. But if this increase is very high, it affects the levels of other hormones, such as estrogen. So, high prolactin can lead to amenorrhea3, meaning the absence of menstruation. That’s why women with high prolactin levels may stop ovulating, and consequently are unable to get pregnant.
Not every delayed cycle means a woman isn’t ovulating. If you have doubts, the best way is to check with an ovulation test. When there is a hormonal imbalance affecting the cycle, an ovulation test can provide important clues about what is wrong.
For this reason, any sign of fluid leaking from the breast should be investigated by a doctor, especially in women who want to become pregnant. It can also cause painful intercourse and loss of libido.
High prolactin levels in men can cause sexual impotence, loss of libido and a reduction in sperm count, as well as consequences like breast enlargement. Prolactin elevation may cause a temporary type of infertility in both men and women.
Test to Detect High Prolactin Levels
The test to check prolactin levels is a blood test after at least 8 hours of fasting. The difference with this test is that it requires at least 30 minutes of rest beforehand so the hormone can stabilize in the body. Prolactin values should be less than 25n/mL in women who are not pregnant, and less than 15ng/mL in men.
Results Above Normal Range
Values above 100ng/mL already stand out and deserve a closer look. In this range, the problem is often a medication. Much higher values can be a sign of tumors in the pituitary gland. In any case, abnormal values deserve attention.
Increase in Prolactin Caused by Medication
If it can be confirmed that the increase was caused by a medicine, in most cases, it is enough to stop its use for prolactin levels to return to normal.
If it is an increase not related to medications or tumors, prolactin levels can be lowered with drugs like cabergoline. Women or men who have already had abnormal prolactin levels should have regular check-ups with their doctor to rule out a new increase after treatment.
Women who want to get pregnant should check their prolactin levels. This test is very important in a series of pre-pregnancy tests, because prolactin can interfere with other essential hormones for getting pregnant.
Discharge from the breasts? Seek a doctor for prolactin tests.
Readers’ Questions:
How to lower prolactin naturally?
It is very difficult to lower prolactin naturally. Some studies suggest that the herbal supplement vitex may help, but the results are inconclusive.
Normally, the most common treatment to reduce prolactin levels is medication like cabergoline. It is important to remember that you should never use medicines without a doctor’s prescription.
How to control prolactin?
As this is a problem of the pituitary gland, there is no way to predict when it will happen.
