Could my pituitary tumor have stunted my growth and caused these problems?

[yourstruly223]

I am 6'1 and weigh 190 pounds I have a low sex drive and no morning erections my sex drive had diminished since age 14.Before that I was always horny and masturbated whenever I got the chance.I thought it was just puberty im now twenty and never horny and have to constantly stimulate my penis to stay hard.I recently found out I have a pituitary tumor.I want to get it removed so I can have a regular sex drive it's driving me crazy.My doctors says my hormones are normal.I also have brain fog headaches trouble thinking and concetration problems it seem like im living in a dream.Do you think my tumor is causing these problems please help

[rumpled]

Artifact in regards to an MRI means some "thing" that they cannot account for - it can be the machine, movement, light (not for an MRI though), aliasing (occurs when the field of view (FOV) is smaller than the body part being imaged), zipper artifact (if someone opens the door to the room), etc. etc. - so there can be a lot of artifact - was it noted on the report?
For big, expensive machines, they are sensitive little things...

You are tall and an endo that I knows treats others for pituitary disorders says you are normal... unless something changes, I would move on for now. You know that men peak and things just normally ebb and flow - and you would not be like you were at 14 forever. Maturity is not fun that way.

[yourstruly223]

Do you think that cause the first one was without contrast that they might of made a mistake about the 6 mm pit microadenoma.My regular doctor got the mri results back from peninsula imaging they said something about artifact on the first mri im not sure what that means.But they said everything was normal on that  mri with and without contrast and my doc said that was good news and that I have nothing to worry about and that my hormones were normal.But he also said the he could send me back to john hopkins for there opinion.The first time I was there roberto salvatori took my hormones and checked my testicles and said everything was normal and not to worry.So what should I do now or should I just move on.

[rumpled]

A CMP tells the doc... very little IMHO. You would have to have a liver or glucose or other abnormality - but that may or may not happen with pituitary.
I don't see a single pituitary test.

The lesions can be tiny and fall between slices. If you are satisfied about the testing and imaging, by all means, give it a rest and come back to it later.

[yourstruly223]

I just got my compared mri results back and they said I have no abnormalities and everything is normal.So it seems I have no pituitary tumor the first mri was done without contrast when they found the tumor and the second was with contrast and they said everything is normal.I hope it really is gone.

[testdeprived]

did  u look at my posts dude

[yourstruly223]

comp. metabolic panel are these normal levels
sodium,serium 139 mmo1/L (135-145)
potassium,serum 4.3 mmo1/L (3.5-5.2)
chloride,serum 103 mmo1/L  (97-108)
carbon dioxide,total 24 mmo1/L  (20-32)
calcium,serum 10.1 mg/dl (8.7-10.2)
protein,total,serum 7.3 g/dl (6.0-8.5)
albumin,serum 4.6 g/dl (3.5-5.5)
globulin,total 2.7 g/dl (1.5 - 4.5)
a/g 1.7 (1.1-2.5)
bilirubin,total 0.4 mg/dl  (0.0 -1.2)
alkalie phosphatase,s 66 iu/l (25 - 150)
ast(sgot) 24 iu/l (0-40)
glucose serum 89 mg/dl (65-99)     bun 10 mg/dl (5-26)  creatinine,serum 1,11 mg/dl (0.76-1.27)                              

[yourstruly223]

comp. metabolic panel are these normal levels
sodium,serium 139 mmo1/L (135-145)
potassium,serum 4.3 mmo1/L (3.5-5.2)
chloride,serum 103 mmo1/L  (97-108)
carbon dioxide,total 24 mmo1/L  (20-32)
calcium,serum 10.1 mg/dl (8.7-10.2)
protein,total,serum 7.3 g/dl (6.0-8.5)
albumin,serum 4.6 g/dl (3.5-5.5)
globulin,total 2.7 g/dl (1.5 - 4.5)
a/g 1.7 (1.1-2.5)
bilirubin,total 0.4 mg/dl  (0.0 -1.2)
alkalie phosphatase,s 66 iu/l (25 - 150)
ast(sgot) 24 iu/l (0-40)
glucose serum 89 mg/dl (65-99)     bun 10 mg/dl (5-26)  creatinine,serum 1,11 mg/dl (0.76-1.27)                              

[testdeprived]

i just called NIH
they take your name, address, and personal info
they ask what dr will be able to mail them your records.
they tell you that they are mailing out a packet with a letter for yo uthe patient, and a letter for the dr who is i ncharge
they tell you to keep your letter and to give the dr her letter.
your doctor mails everything in and then in 4-6 weeks fro mthe date that nih receives it all they make  a decision
you get a letter back saying yes you are a candiate or no you are not one


first step for you is to find a dr who is willing to refer you to them. my dr is a lovely woman, who encouraged it. she told me if my neuro endo wasnt good to ask my neuro endo to refer me...and my neuroendo refused...so she said she will refer me herself.

obviously since my neuro endo refused..not all drs are nice like my primary.


also i replied to your mens health post i think you should read it

[testdeprived]

the dr in the expert forum said in ur thread he tried calling you

[testdeprived]

im currently trying to get into nih, you have to call them. i doubt they will take us...seems they only take people who beefit their research. rumpled was denied, but she applied as a multi diseased case..i just applying as pituitary...idk what  iwill do when they deny me!
im waiting to apply to nih until after the dr in the expert forum reviews my mri

[yourstruly223]

How would I go about gettin into nih I have a appointment next week with my doctor to go over my mri with and without contrast next week.To see if my microadenoma grow any I should be gettin another referral to john hopkins when I go this time i'll make sure I get a copy of my bloodwork and let you guys see.My endo their was named roberto salvatori he looked at my blood work last time and said everything was normal but I don't know which hormones he took last time.This time Ill make sure he checks all of them.But I also wanna go to NIH how would I go about gettin seen their my symptoms are gettin worse.I also have a disc with my mri on it what is this for and how can I see my tumor on it.

[rumpled]

I am not familiar enough with male testosterone levels to comment on it but you are in normal levels.
Your doc only ran a TSH... useless on its own as as it is a pituitary test but you don't have the thyroid tests that you don't have any comparison to see how the thyroid is doing. I feel best at a much lower level. You are in normal levels there - even in the new levels (your lab is using old levels).
Prolactin is edging up to the top of the level.
Rest are normal.
Your doc is only running very basic, not very many tests - he can hardly tell a thing. He does not have full loops.

[yourstruly223]

do my hormones look normal these are the results my regular doctor took Im going back to him this month to go over my mri comparisons and labwork.I am 20 years old man and my Testosterone, Serum is 428 ng/dl limits are 249 - 836.Prolactin is 14.5 ng/ml limits are 4.0 - 15.2.TSH is 2.650 uiU/ml limits are 0.450 - 4.5000.Am Cortisol is 12.9 ug/dl limits are 6.2 - 19.4.Are they normal.

[dianakat]

Well, it has not stunted your growth lol. You consider 6'1" stunted? Rest assured you are fine in that area. My boyfriend had pituitary tumors and he is only 5'3". Unless your whole family is around 7 feet tall you certainly haven't lost any growth. The other symptoms, however, definitely sound like it could be the tumor! I agree, get it checked out as soon as possible. See an endocrinologist, a regular doctor really can't help you much here.

[rumpled]

I would get a copy. I know of others that see that doctor and like him very much but I have never seen him. If your numbers are normal now, having surgery will not make then normal - you will have to take replacements.

[yourstruly223]

I just got a mri with and without contrast yesterday they gave me a disc with the mri on it.If I have this could I make my own appointment with a neuro endo.And do you no if John Hopkins is a good hospital for pituitary tumors.My endo was roberto salvatori there he did my bloodwork and said everything was normal.I called and asked for the levels and he said don't worry everything is normal.But he wouldn't give me any numbers.And do you know if I get my tumor removed would my hormone levels return to normal

[rumpled]

The NIH docs are good but you need a doctor referral and fit the criteria for a clinical trial.

Often if you have an MRI report with a pituitary tumor, you can self-refer to a neuro-endo - have you tried that?

[yourstruly223]

My primary physician keeps sending me back and forth to get blood work im getting tired of this mess he needs to just send me to a neuro endo.I know he is doing that just for money.I want to feel normal again im getting so depressed over this and just want this to be over with.It's like all they care about is money they send you back and forth back and forth.When they could just be direct with the problem and solve it.I heard the surgery has a high success rate so why don't they order me one so I can live my life.I'm only 20 and feel 90.I'm always tired low libido fizzing in middle of head confused depersonalize detached constant pressure it makes me wanna get a hangar and do surgery myself.My question is NIH a good hospital cause the doctors in crisfield md suck.It's like the twilight zone down here doctors have no clue.

[rumpled]

You can't just get it removed. You have to know the type - only certain types are removed the rest are treated medically - you really want to avoid surgery and if you do get surgery there are risks and odds are you will have to take at least one medication for the rest of your life, maybe more.

As for where to go - that you have to decide - I don't have all the facts you need to decide where to get care but it can be hard to get into NIH.

[yourstruly223]

If I were to get surgery would the symptoms go away and also could a pit tumor cause difficulty concentrating thinking fatigue depersonalization pressure.I wanna get it removed so I can live my life and go to school.Do you think I should stick with john hopkins or go to nih.

[rumpled]

You can try NIH (look on the clinical trials website) and ask for a neuro-endo at JH as your guy is only doing baseline. Pit tumors tend not to grow much so in 6 months it should be the same size and the guy is going to dismiss you what an id... anyway, testing is what you need and he did not even order bioavailable testosterone which covers all forms of testosterone. LH, FSH, dhea sulfate and estrogen too - as estrogen converts to testosterone and sex binding hormone - but the guy is not really looking. Find a neuro-endo. TSH alone is useless - you need Free T3, Free T4 and antibodies at least once to see if you have auto-immune disease.

[yourstruly223]

Do you know of any good neuro endo's in maryland I live in the crisfield area.I went to john hopkins and the doctor did my blood work and said everything was normal.My micro adenoma is 6mm and they said they will monitor it every 6 months.I am due for another mri this month.My primary physician is also going to do some blood work he is going to do my prolactin,total testosterone,tsh,3rd generation,am serum cortisol level and a comp metabolic panel.These are all the things that are x off on the labcorp paper for the blood work.My primary physician also said he will send all the info about me to john hopkins.I just want this thing removed caused I have headaches pressure lethary and depersonalization and dream like reality sometimes also low sex drive and lack of erections.I only can get a erection through manual stimulation if I watch something that turns me on sometimes it gets erect but goes back down without stimulation.I just want this thing removed so I can live a normal life.You guys are like pituitary specialist im sure you guys would be exceptional in the field.It's doctors that study that and know less than you guys.I really appreciate the help peace and love.

[horselip]

Years ago the Pituitary Network Association was running a campaign that said something like : Sex is a nine letter word P I T U I T A R Y and Paris Hilton was the face of the campaign, i kid you not. http://www.pituitary.org/library/library_detail.aspx?page_id=2336

There are some very good articles at there site about the libido and the pituitary gland it really is connected!

[rumpled]

Libido issues are common with hormonal issues, especially pituitary disorders. Your doctor is saying everything is normal however, you did not say what type of tumor it is - so I am suspecting that your doctor is not a neuro-endocrinogist and the doctor you have did not perform enough testing to determine what type of tumor it is. There are also special eye tests do such like visual fields to check on your optic nerves. So likely your tumor is causing your issues (not height though) and you need to get copies of your testing and your MRI report and find a pituitary center. Read up on pituitary testing and make sure your doctor is testing you correctly - lab error can also be a factor - time of testing makes a difference and some tests require special handling.