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Prolactinoma and Secondary Adrenal insufficiency diet recommendation.

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fendertele
fendertele

Just wondering if anyone is in a similar situation or is clued up with this stuff.

I have a prolactinoma which caused low test,low hgh, secondary hypogonadism and secondary adrenal insufficiency.

So far my treatment is 15mg hydro cortisone daily and Cabergoline x 2 a week and i have been on it for a few years and since then the tumor has shrunken and all my levels have fixed themselves i've been told.... but my body is still not able to produce it's own cortisol so i must stay on the HC i have also developed acid reflux and i'm on ppi and i can't lose weight yet.

As said am gaining a lot of weight..... so i am wondering is there a specific diet i should try ? watching my calories and exercise just aint working.

I have read people with adrenal insufficiency have high pottasium and low sodium so need to balance this with diet, is this also true with secondary adrenal insufficiency.

And lastly how does one know when to stress dose ? does the body give off a sign ? as i workout hard but feel tired the next day and fatigued but dont feel anything right after the workout to think of stress dosing.

Thanks for any advice.

Please don't suggest talking to my endo as i don't see them for another 4 months so would like to try some things out on my own.

1 like, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • dambudzo
    dambudzo fendertele

    Posted

    hi

    re the stress dose : have you seen the 'sick day rules? there's a chart and other details on the pituitary foundation website. it explains types of situation eg surgery / diarrhoea etc and how to alter your dose of hydorocortisone accordingly.

    they also have some information on diet. but i think it is pretty much standard 'healthy eating' type advice. which you are probably following already. not sure about the sodium though - that is a bit more specialist. you could try to telephone the pituitary foundation nurse helpline - i've rung a couple of times and it was very useful to talk to her. or is there an endocrine sister at your hospital whom you could telephone for advice? 

    i must admit that when i talked about weight gain to the endo the answer was that it is quite difficult to lose weight while on steroids..... (sigh).

    what are you taking for the acid reflux? i found omeprazole helped, although it does mean yet another tablet to swallow. 

    good luck with it all and congratulations on the shrunken tumour! 

  • fendertele
    fendertele

    Posted

    yeah im on the omniprazole* also i don't mind the actual pill itself as it is a saver indeed just worried long term it may be bad ?  can't bear thinking what my insides look like with that acid burning my insides up.

    Yeah i watch what im eating, but i was considering paleo of to reduce the acid reflux and also for weight loss as i think grains is the big difference for putting on the pounds for me aswell as all the added sugar through the day... my only worry is such a radical diet may cause problems with the adrenals recovery etc.

  • dambudzo
    dambudzo fendertele

    Posted

    i think i'd be wary of trying radical diets without the advice of a registered dietician, just to make sure, as you suggest, that it doesn't have an impact on your adrenals, or in fact on any other part of your biochemistry, given that everything is interlinked.

    do you eat yoghurt? i've heard that that can soothe the reflux. but the endocrine sister at the hospital advised me NOT to eat yoghurt at the same time as the HC because apparently it can affect absorption.....

     

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