Is there a link with thyroid and pituitary gland problems??

[TreorchyGal]

I'm currently under the endo for pituitary problems so was wondering if my cancer in my thyroid could affect it??

[Jackie]

Hi It is a fairly established fact now that problems with Pituitary gland usually result from a bang on the head, it need not be severe, in fact as a child it may be just a very slight bump. It is usually first found, many years later as a low TSH it does of course effect the thyroid function.It is not normally a tumour.There is a good article by the BBC radio about it, from a medical programme a yefr or so ago.

Best wishes,

Jackie

[ThyroidThora]

Hi,

I too have thyroid cancer and am under the care of an endocrinologist and the cancer hospital. Your pituitary gland is makes Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) and elevated TSH causes thyroid cancer to grow. Therefore, Levothyroxine is given to suppress the production of TSH and stop the cancer growing/returning. Have you had your thyroid cancer removed? Mine was in the right lobe and was removed nearly 1 year ago on the 28th February, 2013. My left lobe was not removed and it was hoped it would do the work of both sides and hasn't. So, I have to have Levothyroxine to suppress my TSH and alleviate my now hypothyroid state.

If you need someone to talk to about thyroid cancer you are welcome to keep in touch and PM me. You may not find many people on this site with thyroid cancer because most people using this service have hypothyroidism. All the advise on this site is good but sometimes you need to message someone in the same situation as yourself for them to understand what you are going through.

Take care.

[TreorchyGal in reply to ThyroidThora]

I had a total thyroidectomy last year and now it has come to light about my possible pituitary problems ie high prolactin levels. I'm due to have my dye MRI and ultrasound results next week to see if that's the cause of my infertility. I know it's not the RAI as I refused it due to the fact it would be 6 months before I could try for a baby.

Thank you for the reply

[ThyroidThora in reply to TreorchyGal]

Hiya,

I'm sorry you are having problems getting pregnant but didn't your specialist recommend RAI after your TT? What type of cancer did they remove? The RAI would have killed the thyroid cells (good and bad) so that you wouldn't (fingers crossed) have it grow back. I always thought that prolactin was mainly linked to milk production although I think it can have an effect on ovulation. Perhaps your high levels of prolactin are stopping ovulation because after you have a baby you would normally produce your own breast milk and breast feeding stops you from becoming pregnant again so soon after the birth. It's a form of natural contraception to give the delivered baby the maximum chance of survival. Where you diagnosed as having an underactive thyroid at any time? Hypothyroidism (under active) causes problems with fertility and miscarriages and the pituitary gland produces TSH to signal to the thyroid to make the necessary thyroid hormones to sustain our metabolism and life. An underactive thyroid results in very high levels of TSH from the pituitary and this can cause cancers. Your condition is very puzzling and it seems like your endocrine system is out of balance. Have they checked your hypothalamus and other organs within your endocrine system?

I hope they get to the bottom of it for you soon.

[TreorchyGal]

I had follicular thyroid cancer. I was recommended to have it but I'm being monitored by my oncologist every 2 months incase my TSH increases. It wouldn't have been found if my whole neck was scanned after a parotid gland tumour was found. Nothing else has been checked.