Bromocriptine

Bromocriptine is used to suppress prolactin, the hormone that stimulates milk production. An excess of prolactin (hyperprolactinemia) in women can stop the ovulatory process by inhibiting the release of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). Bromocriptine is occasionally combined with clomiphene.

How It Works

How It Works

Bromocriptine is used for the treatment of disorders associated with hyperprolactinemia, including amenorrhea (lack of menstruation), with or without galactorrhea (a secretion of milk from the breast that is not associated with breastfeeding), infertility or hypogonadism. It has also been combined with clomiphene as a fertility treatment for women who do not have an excess of prolactin, including women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

Bromocriptine mimics the neurotransmitters in a woman’s body that inhibit prolactin secretion in her pituitary. It can also shrink an adenoma, a benign tumour that grows in a woman’s pituitary gland that can cause excess prolactin secretion.

In addition to the usual battery of tests, a patient’s prolactin levels are tested before bromocriptine is prescribed. Bromocriptine works relatively quickly.