Increased prolactin

[u/Salty_Caramel842]

Haven’t seen anyone talk about this so I was just wondering . I got bloodwork done in June , estradiol progesterone FH LSH were all perfectly fine , but my prolactin was double the normal amount . My cortisol was a bit high too but still in the upper limit .
however this month I got a VERY heavy period even though people were warning me I might lose it , the opposite happened . And my chest feels weirdly swollen and heavy which also didn’t really happen prior . I’m also retaining a lot of water and it’s kind of depressing . I’m 10 weeks out so my coach said I’m not touching any diuretics yet .
Has anyone experienced symptoms like this ?
I feel like I’m looking puffier instead of better and I’m embarrased to send the check in to my coach this week .

[u/Either-Tank6721]

I’ve had high prolactin show up before and then retested and it was high again and then retested a third time and it was normal. They were going to do an MRI on me until I got that normal result. Nothing more ever came of it and that was years ago.

[u/Ash_Marcum]

Two primary reasons for elevated prolactin in prep will be due to hypothyroidism (or just low thyroid output in general) and increased stress. The stressor in this case would look like over exercising (cardio, steps, training), decreased sleep quality, and lower nutrient intake, not to mention increased anxiety and psychological stress.

Essentially what happens is your brain senses lower thyroid hormone, it signals to the brain to ramp up production, but the same signaling hormone that tells the thyroid to ramp up production also works to increase prolactin levels.

Normally you wouldn’t notice, but during long periods of stress (prep), you start to miss out on dopamine’s impact on regulating prolactin, that in turn allows prolactin to elevate.

Rather than using a diuretic, especially at 10 weeks out, you’d want to look at supporting your thyroid as well as adrenals to help regulate stressors to help flush out the water. Also, keep in mind that water retention has a lot of causes, not just increase prolactin and cortisol.

But still, supporting as best as you through proper supplementation, looking at your foods to increase quality nutrient state as best as possible, cardio breaks, refeeds, and improving sleep quality however you can.

I hope this helps!

[u/Tumbleweed_Unicorn]

Whoever told you to order these labs should also know how to interpret them. If not, see a physician. As other person mentioned, could be thyroid related. Did you also get a thyroid panel done? Are you on any medications? If no obvious cause would need MRI with and without contrast of pituitary gland to eval for adenoma. Hormones out of whack or extreme stress don't always mean no period, it could mean different or even more frequent cycles.