My prolactinoma has grown :-/

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Kirsten, Please know you are, and have been, very much in my thoughts. You are a highly respected and valued member of our PT family so you're not completely alone. You're in a pretty scary place right now and we all understand that. Many of us here do believe in prayer and you're always in mine. We're here for you, just let us know what we can do. As always, I'm only a pm away. Sending lots of positive thoughts your way!!!

I cannot say it any better than this:

[Barbara]

Hi Kirsten,
I am sorry to hear about your tumor. But I also hope that medicine will have a good solution whcih will defintely be more advanced than 20 years ago. You know I had my brain tumor remived in 1994- and I would most certainly have died of it in 1974.
Plus as Karen said: the side effects of medication are not a must, they are a maybe.
I can imagine that that extra hormonal production wreaks havoc in your life. In hormones, even small dysbalances can have big effects. So let's hope that whatever happens makes your life better

[Kirsten]

Thank you everyone for your kind words, and prayers. I've been dealing with terrible headaches for 6 days, but I don't think it's the tumor, guess it's something in my cervical spine. It's a bit better right now.

robinh, the recommended medication are dopamine agonists, and their side effects are nausea, even vomiting, and - which scares me the most - phychosis. I fear everything dopamine-related; dopamine antagonists like MCP also make me feel very strange. Glad you don't need any more medication. Do you know the cause for your higher prolactine levels?

Barbara, yes, I know about the brain tumor you had removed, and I'm glad medicine was already that advanced in 1994 that they did such a good job! The strange thing, I fear the medication more than a possible surgery, due to the side effects. The surgery itself isn't so bad these days; as far as I know, they're removing the tumor through your nose... If I had the choice, I'd go for the surgery, even though it's won't be any fun, either. And yes, you're definitely right; everything hormonal is terribly messed up in my system. Not only due to the tumor in the pituitary gland, but also because of my autoimmune thyroidism. I don't think I'll ever have a chance for a "normal" life. Never had, as it seems...

[robinh]

The medication I took was Bromocriptine. I looked it up....yikes, glad I didn't do that before I took it. I might never had started it. I had CT scans and they never could tell me exactly what was causing the elevated levels. It is still quite high, but not enough for me to go back on the meds. Hoping it stays that way.

You have just had a tough time lately. Definitely hope things improve for you.

[Karen]

I don't think I'll ever have a chance for a "normal" life. Never had, as it seems...

Oh, dear gal, "normal" is just a state of mind! Think of yourself as a rare breed, a unique and special specimen of humanity! As you are, of course, just ask Luna and Lily!

[robinh]

Ditto to what Karen says!!

[Catty1]

"Normal" is a setting on a washing machine.

I gathered from looking at the links (it was a fairly quick look, I admit) that the pituitary is the master gland as it controls a heck of a lot of hormones in the body - including the thyroid hormone.

Your body may have quite an adjustment to the removal of the gland - but it may be waay better for you in the long run.

And just because the writeup on a med tells you the side effects, doesn't mean you'll get them! Ask your doctor how many people have taken the meds and how they are doing.

My meds had side effects - and the worst was over in a week as my body adjusted.