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Hormonal tests: cortisol, prolactin and protein
Last reviewed: 05.07.2025
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[ Cortisol and its importance in maintaining hormonal balance
Cortisol is a hormone that is called the stress hormone. It is produced by the adrenal glands.
To correctly determine the level of cortisol in the blood, you need to do a test for the level of cortisol at 08:00.
If your cortisol levels are too high, it may mean that you are stressed. And stress can be caused by lack of sleep, lack of other hormones in the body besides cortisol, it can be the body's reaction to medications, as well as psychotropic substances.
And, of course, these could be so-called constant everyday stresses: worries about relatives, problems with superiors, frequent and long business trips.
High cortisol levels are 20 mg/dL or more.
It can indicate not only domestic troubles and disruptions in daily life, but also complex illnesses.
In turn, too low a level of cortisol in the body can mean constant and incessant stress. Too low a level of cortisol is below 9 mg/dl. Because of this, the kidneys cannot function properly, doctors call this condition renal exhaustion or renal failure.
To avoid such consequences, you need to check your blood cortisol levels in a timely manner.
And by the way, if everything is in order in your body, then your weight will remain normal and there will be no fluctuations.
Prolactin and its role in weight control
Prolactin is a hormone produced by a part of the brain called the pituitary gland. If you want to accurately determine the level of prolactin in the body, the analysis for this hormone should be done between 07:00 and 08:00. Then it will be accurate.
What can elevated prolactin levels mean? This can be evidence of a very serious disease – a pituitary tumor. Then surgery will be required.
Symptoms of such a disease may include deterioration of vision, increased production of other hormones, ovulation disorders, menstrual cycle irregularities. And, of course, unjustified and incomprehensible weight gain without additional examinations. And sometimes quite significant.
Please note: if you have all of these symptoms, be sure to see an endocrinologist to determine your prolactin levels.
What to do if prolactin is higher than normal?
In combination with a sharp deterioration in vision, you will need to undergo magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, in particular, the pituitary gland - the place where prolactin is produced, as prescribed by your doctor.
The doctor will determine the cause and decide whether surgery is necessary. In addition to (or instead of) surgery, you may be prescribed a course of dopamines, which counteract excessive prolactin secretion.
When you regulate the level of this hormone in your blood, your weight will also regulate itself – you will no longer need to make titanic efforts to reduce it.
A protein that binds certain sex hormones
You absolutely need to know the level of protein in the blood to have a good controller for binding sex hormones. After all, this is the role of protein. In case of need (say, illness), it has the property of releasing the required amount of sex hormones in order to establish hormonal balance in the body.
If the process of secretion of this protein is disrupted, there may also be a disruption in the balance of estrogen or testosterone, which leads to disruptions in the functioning of the body.
If you produce more testosterone than usual, and at the same time produce less estradiol than normal, you may have an increased appetite. And this, of course, does not lead to weight loss.
In addition, with such a hormonal imbalance, you accumulate fat deposits more actively.
If you contact an endocrinologist in time for examination and treatment, he will help to establish the balance of protein substances in the body, which means that both your weight and well-being will soon return to reasonable limits.
Take care of yourself and be healthy.