02/12/2026
Emerging evidence suggests prolactin is much more than a pituitary hormone. It's also produced locally by the spinal cord and immune system, where it can change how pain receptors respond, making even mild signals feel painful, and potentially contributing to PMS, migraines, and pelvic pain, including endometriosis pain.
Prolactin is supposed to be kept in check by dopamine, but when dopamine signalling drops (e.g, late luteal and with chronic stress), prolactin can rise. Prolactin also rises with higher estrogen.
You can support more sustained dopamine (and therefore lower prolactin) with strategies like outdoor light, social connection, moving the body, magnesium, zinc, iron, and vitamin B6. (Scientists are also working on how to block or downregulate prolactin.)
Here are a couple of articles about the potential role of prolactin in pain, migraines, and endometriosis:
• Identifying a link between prolactin and female pain: https://healthsciences.arizona.edu/news/stories/identifying-link-between-prolactin-and-female-pain
• Prolactin-induced sensitization of trigeminal nociceptors promotes migraine co-morbidity in endometriosis: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/03331024241313378
And stay tuned for my new book about periods!
