A prolactinoma is a benign tumor of the pituitary gland that produces a hormone called prolactin. It is the most common type of pituitary tumor. Symptoms of prolactinoma are caused...
|
I'm New and I'm Scared
|
Watch this |
| View More Posts Ignore |
A couple of weeks back, my husband was diagnosed with Prolactinoma. This is definitely new and raw. The tumor is 11 x 14 x 10 ml, which is apparently about the size of a Peanut M&M. Although I know it is benign, we are still waiting to go to the Endocrinologist to see if he believes medication or surgery will help. Also, my husband is having these problems and we do not know if all his symptoms are related back to the tumor. This is a list of what he's experiencing:
a) Headaches (we know this is related to the tumor) - the headaches have gone from weekly headaches a month ago to daily headaches. He has been prescribed Vicodin to relieve the pain. b) Vision Problems c) Short Temper - he broke down the other night because he doesn't know why he cannot control his temper. He says he doesn't feel like himself when he gets angry and it's as if he cannot control it. Please help - if anyone has any advice or suggestions. We still don't know if the Endocrinologist will require surgery or if he will feel medication will be enough. Posted on 04/01/08, 09:04 am |
| 6 Replies | Add Your Advice |
| View More Posts Ignore |
There appear to be various medicines that are also used to shrink a pituitary tumor. I am waiting for a CT scan to see if mine is still small enough to take this approach, but from the sound of it your husbands may be treatable without surgery. Ask your doctor about it. 
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
Well, hello and welcome to Team Prolactinoma. I understand your fear and I will tell you this condition is treatable. Medication will work, to some degree...your mileage will vary, however. This is very challenging and yes, temper and suicidal depression go along with this illness. But there is help and hope, but be prepared for life to never be the same as it was before.
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
I'm sorry you're in so much pain. Sometimes I think it is harder on the spouse then the actual patient. I don't really have any solid advice for you. But if I were in the position you described I would try to see what kind of things could temporarily help your husband's emotional state until the prolactinoma can be addressed. This could include talking to one of your doctors about some kind of medication. Or perhaps there are wholistic treatments that could help? Things like St. John's Wart aren't just for hippies. But I have no idea if that would be good for someone with a prolactinoma or bad.
You may find that the treatment - whether it be drugs or surgery - will improve things quickly. Hang in there and do your research! You may also want to check out this website: http://www.pituitary.org/
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
Hang in there...things can get better. the meds that the endos prescribe help to control the tumor and can help your life get back to normal. the meds can often have negative side effects, but can go away with time and can be controlled to a certain extent. It may be a difficult journey to get things back to normal, but don't lose hope. If you do your research and fully understand your options, I'm sure you and your husband will make the best decision for him to get back to where he was before prolactinoma. It's been about 5 yrs since I learned of my prolactinoma and I feel that my life is pretty much back to normal. Times can be tough at times with the meds I take (dostinex) but how I feel now is far better then before I was treated. My best wishes go out to you and hope that the journey through treatment is a successful one for you.
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
Headaches, visual distrubances and changes in mood can all be symptoms. The pit gland (where the tumour is) is very close to the optic nerve and it deals with hormone stuff hence the possibility of mood swings. If his endo does decide to go down the meds route which seems likely this may improve some of the symptoms but I (and I know there are others)do suffer from side effects of the pills. When are you going to see the endo again - write any questions down beforehand.
# Good luck.
|
|
|
|
||
| View More Posts Ignore |
It's likely that he will be given medication to take care of it and that will help...but I believe that also finally knowing what is going on will help. As soon as we hear tumor we are terified! Your anxiety and his will ease as you go along and realize that it isn't as bad as you made it out to be in your head (parden the pun) :)
My daughter was diagnosed last year, and since then I am amazed at how many people have this problem. For whatever reason that helps me to feel a little better about it.
|
|
|
|
||
Before taking any medications did any of you have headaches as a symptom of your pituitary tumor? My Endocrinologist …
I've been reading through the posted discussions and it both helps and hurts. It helps to know that what I'm going …
Hi I'm Katie,17. I have recently been diagnosed with a pitruitary tumor. The endo doesn't know if its a …
