In my limited clinical experience (I am an internist specializing in breast disease), I have never heard of the clinical use of supplemental prolactin. I have read a study (not in humans, but in rodents, I think) in which human recombinant prolactin was used to boost lactation). I do not believe that recombinant prolactin is available for use in humans at this time. Has anyone considered trying metoclopramide? It is doubtful that it would work given her extremely low levels of prolactin, but this can also serve as a means of further diagnosing her condition as it serves as sort of a stimulation test for the production of prolactin. In response to your question about PCOS, I feel compelled to mention that this mom's history brings to mind two conditions which should be considered. I'm glad to see that she has an upcoming appointment with an endocrinologist who should be able to look into these further. First, chronically low prolactin levels in and of themselves (whatever their cause) can cause menstrual irregularities and problems with fertility. Hence her difficulty conceiving may have been due to low prolactin levels all along. Second, there is a group of rare conditions (some with autoimmune etiologies and some which are due to inherited gene defects) in which the patient presents with "polyglandular failure" (the dysfunction of multiple endocrine organs. In this mom's case, her thyroid problem and what sounds like a possible partial ovarian failure along with the low prolactin (from her pituitary gland) may all be a result of such a syndrome. There are many other organs which may be affected including the adrenal glands which produce cortisol and the pancreas which produces insulin. The fact that she has a normal random cortisol level does not rule out problems with her adrenal gland- a special stimulation test would be necessary to rule out problems with the adrenal.) Finally, you did mention that there was no evidence of a post-partum hemorrhage. However, I would hope that the endocrinologist would also want to firmly rule out the possibilty that she has Sheehan syndrome from birth related pituitary necrosis. I'm sorry that I am not aware of any treatments available to supplement her prolactin level at this point (and I apologize if this post has become too medically wordy!) Jayne Charlamb, MD Breast Care Center Syracuse, NY *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html