Prolactin is a hormone that’s made by your pituitary gland. High levels of prolactin suppress TSH or Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone. Prolactin is balanced by progesterone and dopamine, so when people have a dopamine deficiency, or progesterone deficiency, their prolactin will increase, and that will decrease the function of the pituitary’s production of thyroid-stimulating hormone.
The imbalance will show up on your labs, perhaps, if you’re lucky, as the TSH is low, but not quite out of the reference range. This is why it’s important to know that there are “optimal” or “functional” levels. .
Prolactin also suppresses luteinizing hormone (LH) in women. Excess prolactin can cause infertility. In men, excess prolactin depresses testosterone so they have low libido. High prolactin can cause tumors that are called prolactinomas.
The bottom line is that excess levels of prolactin, whether caused either by a tumor or some other problem, can suppress your thyroid function.
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