Prolactin Hormone Replacement

Prolactin is a hormone that is present in both males and females.  But it is only in females that this hormone is found more and that it has more active roles to play. Within the female body, prolactin hormones play an important role in increasing breast milk secretion at the time of pregnancy.

It enables women to become ready for the upcoming baby. But the problem is that at times prolactin hormone may not be secret in the right amounts. The secreting gland of the prolactin hormone is the pituitary gland.

At times due to tumor formation on the gland or due to any other reason your pituitary gland may be malfunctioning resulting in a mistimed or very high secretion of the prolactin hormone.

As a result of this untimely hormone secretion, you will be having problems and difficulties in getting pregnant. At times excess secretion of prolactin hormone may make the woman miss out on her periods or irregular the overall ovulation cycle altogether.

Within the males, it can bring up some problems such as causing the breasts to enlarge and loss of facial and body characteristics of a male. In all, it can reduce the working efficacy of the testosterone hormone.

But sometimes patients both male and female may develop a situation known as hyperprolactinemia which is less prolactin hormone than usual.

Due to this the woman may not be able to produce milk during the times of pregnancy. It is during this time that you will need to undergo prolactin hormone replacement.

Doctors these days have found lab alternatives to the natural prolactin hormone. And this is a special surgical process in which doctors will induce a lab variant of synthetic prolactin into your body. Let’s get to know about it in a bit more detail.

Why you may need the prolactin hormone replacement therapy?

Prolactin hormone replacement therapy is not for everyone. It is only designed to cater to help the females and even those sub-section of females who are experiencing problems in their menopause. Using this replacement therapy will help you to find relief from the symptoms of menopause and effectively delay it.

Here are some of the reasons why the doctors may inform you to undergo hormone replacement therapy for the prolactin hormone.

• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Vaginal dryness
• Pain or itching sensations during intercourse
• Loss of bone
• Having low sexual drive
• Changes in mood
• Having an irritable behavior
• Problems with sleep

Some other conditions occur due to hormonal deficiency or excess secretion of hormones that develop and it is during these cases too that the prolactin hormone replacement therapy will work usually too.

Here are some conditions that testify you have low prolactin hormone levels

Prolactin hormones in women keep declining generally as they tend to age. But some abnormal conditions or some other disorders, may both directly or indirectly affect the secretion of the prolactin hormones. These conditions too can reduce the levels of prolactin hormone to unusually low levels and then you may have to visit the doctors to find out whether you may need the prolactin hormone replacement therapy.

Here are some of those conditions during which your prolactin hormone levels may drop significantly and you may be asked to undertake the hormone replacement therapy for the lab version of prolactin.

Menopause

It is a condition that eventually tends to approach women around the mid40s. You are officially known to be having the menopause condition when you have missed all your ovulation cycles for a year without being pregnant or breastfeeding a child or being sick. During the approaching years of menopause, the ovarian size may shrink and thus the amounts of hormone may fluctuate. This can create symptoms in women such as hot flashes or vaginal dryness.

Other hormonal conditions

There are some other conditions such as breast cancer, infertility, and endometrial hyperplasia that can cause problems in the secretion of this hormone and cause it to become less effective. In turn, you may need the prolactin hormone replacement.

When should be the ideal time to see a doctor?

Menopause is a condition that every female will have to experience during the mid-40s. to some, it may happen early while for some women it can happen in a later stage during the 40s.

At times the symptoms experienced within women can vary as well.  For some women, the symptoms of prolactin hormone during menopause may not bring about any difficult or unbearable symptoms.

But for some, the conditions of menopause can bring in unbearable symptoms of severe type as we have given you some above. You may have to experience a lot of pain and discomfort along with the symptoms. If you experience chronic periods, abnormal periods or bleeding, or infertility well, that is the time you may need to seek the suggestions and guidelines of a doctor.

What is the diagnosis and test for hormonal replacement therapy?

If you are around the age of 45 so the doctors may first ask you to undergo the menopause test. Any symptoms that you are experiencing need to be told to the doctors. This will help them to find out whether you are indeed undergoing the menopause cycle. Doctors sometimes may also ask you about your past medical history and if you are currently undergoing any other disorder. It also asks you about your lifestyle as well.

At times you may be experiencing the symptoms of menopause earlier than 45 years too and in this case, doctors will suggest you undertake blood tests first. Doctors will check for any signs of abnormality as well that relate to menopause to find out if you need prolactin hormone replacement if at all.

Some of the common types of treatment for this include having estrogen creams, and tablets. It will induct some changes in the vagina.

Progesterone cream supplements are also sometimes applied to the external skin. It may help you to get over the low levels of prolactin and so on.

Also Read:

Prolactin Hormone in Pregnancy

How to Reduce Prolactin Hormone Naturally