spstriken, noniman, thanks for your replies.
I will go ahead and re-do the blood test and then see what happens. I guess an MRI would at least rule something out.
I’m wondering what else could cause high Prolactin levels apart from a Prolactinoma?
search high prolactin and progesterone.
There was a case study that noted elevated prolactin levels in a Finasteride user. The study is currently not available on the forum due to file attachment issues, but once it’s online again you should read it.
Also, a few others have been tested for prolactin and have come back with high or elevated prolactin post-drug… some have had MRIs and found no issues with prolactinomas. I wouldn’t expect much from the MRI other than to rule out this area of investigation, but as the drug can alter various hormonal ratios (Testosterone, Estrogen etc), that would be my area of focus.
There is paper by a Veterinary physician on the forum where the doctor observed that animal with Estrogen dominance have
1-hypothyriod
2-low testosterone
3-malfunctioning Adrenals
4- Animals are tired and fatigued and irate.
I think he mentioned high prolactin as well. Some body can find the paper here.
yes spstriken, dont forget estrogen dominance = low progesterone. Also, it appears you need not have high estradiol as a man to have estrogen dominance, just an uneven ratio of progesterone to estradiol.
Here is something else I found fascinating from talking to my endocronologist. One of the only hormones that cycles in the human body…progesterone. Anybody sometimes feels like there is some cycle to this?
My endo thinks its possible that Estrogen Dominance supress the thyroid which causes all the problems. She beleives that Progesterone increases something called Kinans, and these Kinans realese histamine into the body, which of course create havoc for the adrenal glands and further supreses the production of Progesterone in favor of cortisol.
I am starting a treatment this week of 10 mg of natural progesterone administered…rectally. She also wants a blood test for progesterone, she says if it high and I am still exhibiting all these signs its possible that the production of progesterone is not the problem, that perhaps its the metabolism of it. We shall see.
I just got the results from my latest Pituitary hormone tests, but haven’t heard back from the Endo yet.
- Prolactin 264 mu/L (75-375) - Conversion: 12.4 ng/mL
- Macroprolactin Negative
- LH 2.8 iu/L (2.0-12.0)
- FSH 4.2 iu/L (1.7-8.0)
Prolactin was quite a lot lower than the previous test, and within the normal range, so perhaps an MRI wont be considered necessary now.
After getting LH/FSH & Prolactin tested three times over the past few months, there seems to be a clear trend. LH is low, FSH is slightly low and Prolactin is high. Looking at the range on lef.org, my Prolactin levels are consistently above their optimal range for men of 2.1–5 ng/mL.
From what I’ve read on the subject so far, it does seem that elevated Estrogen or “Estrogen dominance” can cause high Prolactin levels in men. High Prolactin then suppresses LH/FSH. I haven’t had any Estrogen levels checked yet, but will do soon.
As all numbers in my latest LH/FSH & Prolactin tests were in range, my Endocrinologist basically said I was fine and had no endocrine problems. He said if I was still experiencing ED, I should try Viagra.
It’s frustrating to get this conclusion from the top Endo at one of the best hospitals in London, but not surprising. He said he will take another appointment if I want it, so I may try and get some more tests.
But moving on… I met with a functional medicine doctor last week who seems more promising. He’s an MD but has a progressive approach and specialises in thyroid/endocrine issues. He took blood samples to run some extensive lab tests - I will get the results and find out his opinion in mid Jan.
Just got a letter from the Endo I saw last year. I emailed him a few questions after he previously said there was nothing wrong with me. My main question was: is it normal to have 2 out 3 tests for LH come back low and out of range?
His reply was quite interesting. Basically he said the gonadotropins (LH/FSH) were likely being suppressed by my slightly elevated Prolactin. He explained that Prolactin is a stress hormone which can be raised by a variety of things including “environmental stress”.
He repeated that there is nothing wrong with my Endocrine system and there is no evidence that Finasteride use has had any long-term effect on Testosterone or other hormone levels. He suggested I meet again with my GP and explore other areas to resolve my symptoms.
Not particularly helpful but I thought the point about environmental stress raising Prolactin was interesting and worth posting.
He sounds like a moron the same as my own GP If I was you I would not waste my time seeing him.
I wont be going back that doctor again.
I’ve just had a second meeting with a different doctor who does “functional medicine” and it’s looking interesting so far. I will post about the treatment plan soon.
Last week I had the second meeting with a new doctor to review my lab results. He identified these issues:
- Low T3 thyroid hormones
- Low LH and Testosterone
- Low adrenal function
- Fatty acid imbalances
- Very low vitamin D
- Low levels of various minerals & vitamins
- High blood glucose
He prescribed supplements to correct the vitamin and mineral imbalances, Tribulus for LH, DHEA & Pregnenalone for adrenals plus probiotics. He also recommended limiting sugar intake.
I’m going to follow the protocol for three months, then repeat the blood tests and see if there’s any improvement.
What type of doctor was this? An MD or a naturopath?
The doctor is an MD who practices “functional medicine”. This is generally a mixture of traditional and alternative medicine, based on extensive testing.
I haven’t posted for a while and figured it was time to update my story…
It’s been roughly 8 months since my last post. So what have I been doing since then?
From February to April I followed a protocol designed by a doctor in London (mentioned in my previous post).
The first few weeks were quite a rollercoaster ride. A few days after beginning the supplements I started having extremely vivid dreams (and nightmares), which often involved waking up with my heart pounding. This freaked me out and I emailed the doc. He said my cortisol levels were so low that the sudden introduction of the pro-hormones (DHEA/Pregnenolone) was probably a shock to my system. He said to take them every other day for a while. I did that and felt OK.
Around the second week I started feeling much, much better. My energy levels were incredible. I actually felt like my “old” self again - as in my pre-PFS self. I also experienced something which was a bit like getting an electric shock at the time - a normal orgasm. Unfortunately these improvements started to fade away over the coming weeks.
I had a second round of blood tests in May. Some things had improved - vitamin D and some other minerals had returned to normal levels as a result of supplementation. However, Testosterone was even lower, and LH had not improved.
At this time I did testing for gut bacteria and found significant overgrowth of negative bacteria and a mild overgrowth of yeast. I did a 1 week course of drugs to combat this (Gabbroral and Sporanox).
My doctor decided I needed to take bio-identical thyroid hormones alongside the pro-hormones, so I started taking a pill containing T4 and T3 in addition to the DHEA/Pregnenelone etc.
I noticed an clear improvement after starting the thyroid hormones - the normal orgasms returned and energy levels improved. I continued this protocol for three months and re-tested everything in August. Again the results were mixed but slightly better, with some select improvements (such as B12 & Zinc) and a small increase in Testosterone and LH.
The latest test results also showed my cholesterol levels were too low (total was 145) which could explain the lack of hormones (I just read a similar post on this issue by beekay) - so I need to increase my fat intake.
So bringing things up to the present…
My current daily protocol is:
- Novothyral (T4 & T3)
- Pregnenelone
- DHEA
- B-Complex
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin A
- Magnesium
- Zinc
- CoQ10
- Probiotics
- Psyllium Husks
Note: If you’re going to take any supplements you should really get your levels checked first - to make sure you actually need them and you’re not going to end up making things worse.
My diet is gluten and grain free and very low sugar (max 25g fructose per day).
So overall some really exciting stuff - it’s incredible to feel somewhat “normal” again and to realize this is not a permanent state.
Going forward I am concerned about taking the thyroid hormones and pro-hormones for a long time - I don’t want to get dependent on them. So I may try taking a break soon to see what happens.
Last week I had a meeting with my doctor to discuss the latest lab results (see previous post) and to get some new results from a “Urinary Organic Metabolites” test. These results showed a major bacterial overgrowth. The exact bacteria types were not identified but apparently the levels pointed to the Clostridium genus.
I’ve just started a 1 week course of antifungal drug Grisefuline (Griseofulvin) and an antibiotic called Targaxan (contains Rifaximin). I’m 3 days into it and feeling pretty awful at the moment - hopefully it’s part of the process.
A few months ago my doctor said that due to my continuing fatigue (despite taking pro-hormones and T3), he felt it was worth checking Mitochondrial function.
The results showed a low-normal level of ATP. My doctor was surprised and thought it would be lower, although he said everyone has a different optimum ATP level, and mine could be higher than it is now.
Other parts of the test did show some problems. Cell-free DNA was very high. This measures DNA from damaged cells which is now floating around in the blood. Low levels are present in healthy people. High levels are associated with serious illnesses including auto-immune diseases, severe infections and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The test is non-specific however, so we don’t know which cells are being damaged.
Superoxide Dismutase was very low, including Zn/Cu-SOD, which protects nitric oxide pathways and could be a link to ED.
I’m now going to add D-ribose, B3, Copper and Acetyl-l-carnitine into my current regimen to address these issues.
I’ll be doing some more tests in January to try and figure out the cause of the high Cell-free DNA.
So how do you feel now?
In your Sep-09 post, you sounded like things were going well, with noticeable improvements.
OhioGuy,
I feel much better than I did a year ago, but I’m not cured, which is why I’m running new tests etc.
Although I’ve had some real improvements, I still have the typical PFS symptoms - just not as bad as before.
Hopefully I’ll make some changes to my regimen and continue the improvements over the coming year.
Vanish,
What’s the name of this “functional medicine” doctor?
Cheers!
Breather, have sent you a pm with details.