March 22, 2006
Tumor Update
As you know this tumor sits on the pituitary gland and cause a hormone to be released. This hormone is called prolactin. This is a hormone that is normally found in pregnant women or post pregnant women which causes their mammary glands to lactate (hence pro-lactating hormone prolactin). This obviously is not found in men and no I do not lactate. But you can understand then why this is harmful to men and in women it causes their bodies to believe they are pregnant and in both genders there are other hormones that cease because of this hormone being present. One affect is has is a since of diabetes because your body stops producing certain hormones because the prolactin is present and glands like the thyroid gland and adrenal glands have adverse reactions. More importantly the hormones of testosterone and estrogen for both genders stop producing. The hormone prolactin can be present in men and normal levels are up to 18.12. When I went in last year for the first test of this hormone level my numbers were sky high at 356.
The medicine I am taking is called Dostinex. This is a prolactin inhibitor and is used to halt the production of prolactin. This has proven to be very successful. In December, I had a blood test and they found my count had come down in less than a year from 356 to 167. I went back March 13th for another blood test and my prolactin level was 31.5. That is the awesome news!
However, there is a draw back…
I have to start taking steroids to combat the effects that the prolactin has done. The benefit of steroids are that I can bulk up as I work out but the bad new is that I am opening myself for prostate problems and liver problems which could include enlarged prostate, prostate disease, or prostate cancer. The doctor hopes that the steroids will increase my energy level and of course strength.
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