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Prolactinoma: high prolactin, the signs, the tests, and the treatment
For anyone told their prolactin is high or that they have a prolactinoma, anyone with milk from the breasts or periods that changed or stopped, men with less interest in sex or trouble with erections, and anyone with a prolactinoma who hopes to get pregnant. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says a prolactinoma is a benign (noncancerous) tumor of the pituitary gland that makes too much of the hormone prolactin, and that in most cases it can be treated with medicines. This page passes on, by name, what NIDDK says: what it is and the signs; what else can raise prolactin, medicines included; the tests; the treatment (medicines, surgery, radiation); and pregnancy and breastfeeding. It builds the words to say and the questions to ask, and prints a card to keep with you.
A word with a dotted line under it, like this, opens its official definition, quoted from a U.S. government glossary.
Right now
- A sudden, very bad headache, sudden loss of sight, fainting, or a seizure? Call 911 (ours).
- Headaches, or changes in your sight, that are new or getting worse? NIDDK says a large prolactinoma can press on the nerves of the eyes and cause vision problems and headaches. Call your doctor today (ours).
- Told a medicine may be raising your prolactin? Never stop or change it on your own, above all a medicine for your mental health: only the doctor who prescribed it can decide (ours).
- Worn down, or thinking of ending your life? Call or text 988, any hour (ours).
More help
- Hormones, on this site: Heart, blood and hormones: find the right page · Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) · Getting ready for thyroid tests · Menopause.
- What it can touch: Eye care · Osteoporosis · Kidney disease · Period diary.
- A pregnancy: Pregnant, or with a new baby · Breastfeeding help.
- Getting ready: My medicines list · Get ready for your appointment · Rides to medical care · When you need a doctor and can’t pay.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911) · Gambling. All our free tools.
Your heart, blood pressure, blood sugar, thyroid or blood, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for a heart attack or stroke, blood pressure, AFib, heart failure, cholesterol, diabetes and prediabetes, the thyroid, anemia, sickle cell and menopause, on one list.
Other guides on this site that go with this page
Free to read. We chose these ourselves; no professional did. Each guide was written with AI and has not been reviewed by a professional. They are general information, not advice.
- When you can’t afford your medicine: what to ask, the programs that help, and buying online safely: when you can’t afford your medicine: what to ask, generics, assistance programs, Medicare’s Extra Help, a plan that says no, and safe online pharmacies.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 18, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) page Prolactinoma (last reviewed September 2019), in English and in Spanish. That page is not new, and your team may know newer advice. The numbers (about 40 percent of pituitary tumors; less than 1 centimeter; 3 to 4 days; 4 out of 5; about 10 times higher; after 2 years; about 90 percent and 50 percent; 4 to 6 weeks; 1 out of 3; up to half; a couple of months) are NIDDK’s. Ours: 911 for a sudden, very bad headache, sudden loss of sight, fainting or a seizure; calling your doctor today about new or worse headaches or changes in your sight; never stopping or changing a prescribed medicine on your own; telling your doctor about new urges to gamble, spend or shop; asking your surgeon how many of these operations they have done; the after-hours number on your card; 988; and the order of the steps. What we left out: doses, the references, the clinical-trials section, and NIDDK’s outside links. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.