Your doctor will order for blood culture for detecting the overproduction of prolactin. A complete blood profile will give clear picture of normal levels of other hormone also. Sometimes your doctor may order for imaging tests like CT scan or MRI scan of brain to find out how far the tumor has developed.
Treatment :
The main purpose of treating prolactinoma is to reduce the size of tumor and regularize the secretion of prolactin hormone to normal level. The treatment method should also ensure normal function of pituitary gland in future. Medications and surgery are two options of treatment for prolactinoma. Oral pills are given for decreasing the prolactin secretion and to give relief from the above symptoms. Medications are effective in reducing the tumor size but you have to continue taking medications for long term.
Dopamine agonists like bromocriptine, and cabergoline are effective in shrinking the tumor and decreasing the level of prolactin secretion. For pregnant women bromocriptine is the best possible safe drug for treating prolactinoma complications. However you have to consult your doctor about the possible side effects before getting pregnant with this problem. Bromocriptine is known to produce side effects like nausea and lightheadedness. But these are minimal side effects and not seen in all people who take this drug.
Drugs like cabergoline may produce adverse effect like heart valve leakage and compulsive behavior in some cases. Surgical intervention is needed only if the medications are not effective in stopping the prolactin secretion and the pituitary tumor is excessively large in size causing pressure on the neighborhood nerves. Trans-sphenoidal surgery is the procedure in which the tumor is removed gently through nasal cavity without causing any damage to the brain. In transcranial process, craniotomy is to be done for opening the skull and removing tumor. In most of the cases surgery will provide relief from symptoms. But in some cases, pituitary tumors recur even after surgery. Radiation therapy is also done for shrinking the tumor.