In short: At 38, after two years of my period becoming irregular, I was diagnosed with a 7mm pituitary microadenoma. While I waited for scans and started medication, I stopped doing harder workouts (cardio workouts, longer Pilates sessions, took more rest days) and leaned almost entirely on yin yoga and meditation. Here’s what actually helped, what didn’t, and why I (FINALLY!) stopped exercising for how my body looked and started exercising for how it was working.
Written by Emma, co-founder of The Merrymaker Sisters and MerryBody. Pilates teacher since 2017, Yoga Teacher since 2023, Yoga Alliance approved YTT provider. Last updated September 2026.
What happens when you’re waiting for test results?
Waiting for test results… is never nice. Your sleep goes weird, your appetite goes weird, you feel tense and your mind runs the same words on repeat for days. For me, because I was lucky enough to receive a figure-outable diagnosis, this waiting period was the worse part.
When my doctor said “we need to test for a brain tumour”… that was the last sentence I was expecting. I’d gone in about my period, I thought I was heading into early perimenopause (which was making me anxious already). Anyway, off to a CT scan, stat.
I had a panic attack inside the machine. Not because of the machine. Because of the feeling of the unknown and because Damiano’s father suffered and sadly passed away from a brain tumour, and I had only just started to move through the trauma of watching that happen (I talk for myself not Damiano). And also the grief is still very much there, I think grief is always there, we just learn to live with it.
So there I am, lying in this tube, heart going fast, those two words on a loop.
Brain. Tumour.
Damiano was very positive through out… which helped a lot! I mean, if he’s not freaking out, after what he went through, it’s going to be fine! Later he told me he was very much freaking out but hiding it.
The CT came back clear. Which sounds like the happy ending, but it wasn’t the ending at all.
Why did it take two years for me to investigate more?
Because there was always a good reason, and every single one of them was true!
My period cycle went from around 30 days, to 45, to 60, and eventually to 90. And each time it stretched out, something big was happening in my life: Damiano’s Dad got very sick, Carla had just had baby Denny so work was changing, we went to Italy to be with Damianos Dad, trying to manage a business through all this.
Stress. It was obviously stress. Everyone said stress, as did my doctor at the time and I really thought it must be this! Because, although probably on the surface I was mostly dealing with all these ups and downs, deep down I was a stressed anxious mess.
Fast forward a year or so. Right before my big family Italian Wedding adventure last year (we flew from Australia to Rome, had a month of holiday with my family and then did a road trip form Rome to Puglia with Damiano’s family too and got married), I realised my period was ticking onto a 90 day cycle. The longest I’d gone without a period (since it disappeared for 2 years in my early 20s… another story). I did a pregnancy test before we left, and briefly mourned the Vino and Aperols. Negative. Fine. Just weird period stuff, something to sort out when I get home! Don’t stress (that certainly won’t help!).
Then I turned 38 and the maths was starting to give me anxiety.
Damiano and I would love to have a baby, and the stars had sort of finally aligned. After many shitty relationships… well, finally now I have a great man, business is going well (haha there are always ups and downs!) and I’m 38, so of course, we don’t have forever for this to happen. So off I went to the doctor to actually deal with it. Yes, I probably should have got my eggs frozen at 35… but I have always had the feeling of, well, if it happens it happens!
So i went to the doctor to find out about my period situation and also coincidentally my neck was sore, and I’d been dizzy for a whole week. So a few things to check!
I have never in my life been dizzy for longer than a moment. A week of it feels like standing on a boat you can’t get off.
You know when you just know inside that something isn’t right? This was me at this moment.
This combination of period issues and dizziness was what got the doctor to order the CT scans and also extra blood tests. Tests of hormones and other things that I’d never been tested before.
If your cycle has been weird for a year or more, ask for a prolactin blood test. My GP ordered it, and that single test is the reason I have answers today.
Mine came back at 2900 mIU/L. The range for a non-pregnant woman is under about 440. So then next step, brain MRI scan. This time around I did not have a panic attack (I did cry). But I was less anxious as we were beginning to realise (with the prolactin so high) it was a pituitary gland tumour and in most cases it’s a benign tumour.
What is a pituitary microadenoma, in plain language?
It’s a small benign growth on the pituitary gland, which sits at the base of your brain and runs your hormones, it’s like the master to the endocrine system. Mine is 7mm, which makes it a micro (under 10mm), and it’s in what my endocrinologist called a good position, meaning it isn’t pushing on my optic nerve. I had the eye test for blind spots and all of that. Came back fine, phew.
There might be a bit of pressure near my right sinus. I say “might” because I can’t tell anymore whether I’m feeling something real or whether I’ve just started inventing things (since I only felt it after the diagnosis hahaha).
What did movement look like after a pituitary gland tumour diagnosis?
I didn’t stop. But I changed nearly everything about what I was doing, and I changed it for a completely different reason than I ever had before.
When I was going through all this diagnosis, this is what my exercise looked like:
- Yin yoga, most days. Long holds, on the floor, barely any effort. Some nights it was literally one shape for five minutes and that was the practice. That counted.
- Meditation, most days. We have a meditation in MerryBody called Healthy Body Healthy Mind. I wrote it years ago, imagining something like a manifestation for good health but with far less woo. Just something to keep your morale and your hope up when your body isn’t playing nicely. I did not for one second picture myself needing it for my own health. I used it constantly.
- Less Cardio and strength. Not gone. Just shorter, more gentle, and only when I actually felt like it.
If you’ve been here a while you know my relationship with diet and exercise has been a thing… maybe for you too? Years ago my period went missing for two whole years because of excess dieting and too much exercise. I’ve wondered whether all that up and down contributed to where I am now. Also probably micro plastics, forever chemicals and all the other endocrine disrupters we are constantly surrounded with (urghhhhh!). Haha, best not to over think this… do what we can with what we have.
But sitting there with a fresh diagnosis, I was extremely clear about one thing. The absolute last thing I needed to be thinking about was what my body looked like. I needed to move for what was going on inside it. So I eased up on everything, and I set two goals that had nothing whatsoever to do with appearance:
- Feel okay through this medication.
- Get my period regular.
That was it. That was the fitness plan.
Did meditation help, or did it make the spiralling worse?
It helped. But not straight away. Sitting still with a scary thought can give you a lot more room to have the scary thought! There were sessions where I cried, where I stopped halfway, where my mind was so busy.
But I did it anyway, daily, and I didn’t worry if sessions “were bad”. Sometimes my meditation is juts 3 deep breaths wherever I am.
How I’ve handled the medication (cabergoline) and its side effects
This is my experience, not advice.
I googled the side effects of cabergoline and freaked myself out, which I’d suggest you do not do. Headaches, insomnia, strange vivid dreams, moods up and down, impulse control issues. I’ve had some of those! I also watched an interview with an older gentleman who developed a gambling addiction on a dopamine agonist (this is what it is). Even the endocrinologist warned me about potentially impulsive shopping sprees (haha). What I’ve come to understand is that the serious impulse control side effects are strongly linked to much higher doses than the ones used for something like mine.
What’s helped me most, practically:
- Yin in the evening when my sleep was terrible. 15 minutes on the floor beats lying in bed telling my brain to shut up at 2am.
- Not scheduling anything demanding on the days I know I’d feel yuck. The day after medication, is usually with a morning headache and feeling blahhh.
- Treating a low mood as a side effect, and not as my whole personality changing into something crazy. That reframe saved me so much self-criticism! Haha urghhhh.
- Writing things down, so I could tell my specialist what was actually happening instead of guessing on the spot.
And then here’s the part that still still amazes me. Three weeks into cabergoline, I got my period. Then about 40 days later, I got it again. And then 28 days again. And 27 days again! It’s been regular ever since. My prolactin was down after three weeks and has stayed low, and the other levels came back fine too. After years of it going whacky, watching a medication work that fast and that well… was kind of crazy to witness.
My endocrinologist (who measures a whole lot more hormones and cortisol than a regular GP does) has been so helpful, and the plan now is another MRI in February. Hopefully the tumour has shrunk a lot, or gone entirely. I’m really hoping! Then I’d swap to a different medication. If I get pregnant later great, if I don’t, that’s ok! I already have 2 nephews and plan on being the best ever aunty (regardless).
What I’d tell someone who is waiting on results right now
- Your body isn’t the enemy even if it feels like it let you down. It’s telling you something, which is the exact opposite of betrayal. Mine spent two years trying to get my attention through my cycle and I kept explaining it away. I know, this is harder to read when the diagnosis is not positive. Sometimes… life and sickness is just unfair, there’s no further explanation required.
- Move for function, not for how you look. What you look like is far less important than your health. If key is to know this before the health scare!
- Gentle exercise counts. 10-20 minutes of yin yoga is not a lesser workout during a health scare.
- Do the feel good practice (for me, yin and meditation) on the bad days too. Even if it’s just a few deep breaths.
- Ask for the blood test. If your cycle (or anything) has changed and you keep getting told it’s stress, it might be stress! But ask for more tests.
- Don’t google at night. Write your questions down and take them to your specialist, who will answer them properly. This advice is for me too… HAHA!
About MerryBody, and why it works for times like these
MerryBody is our online yoga, Pilates and Meditation App. It is not treatment, it is not medical care. But it is a tool to help you look after your mind and body through all seasons of life. So often exercise apps are marketed to help you become healthier, maybe to get stronger, more flexible and to help you find your healthy weight … but they don’t talk about how they can also help you through times like this.
I feel like MerryBody is especially good for this type of season of life. Because we are not so heavily focused on the external transformation… but we are more for helping you feel good. And the way to feeling good changes depending on what is happening in life. Our classes range in time from 5 minutes to 60, there’s no calorie talk, no before and after photos, and nobody telling you to push through the pain.
You can try MerryBody here or download it in the app store.
Always merrymaking,
Emma
Frequently asked questions
Can I exercise with a pituitary tumour? That’s a question for your doctor or endocrinologist, because it depends completely on size, position and symptoms. For me personally, with a 7mm microadenoma that isn’t pressing on anything, I was cleared to move as I felt able. I chose to reduce the intensity while my hormones settled.
Should I stop exercising while waiting for test results? Not necessarily, but dialling down the intensity is sometimes a good idea (in my opinion). During my waiting period I stopped hard cardio and switched almost entirely to yin yoga and meditation. My goal shifted from fitness to feeling okay, and for me that was the right call.
Why did my periods become irregular? There are lots of possible reasons, including stress, weight change, over-exercising, perimenopause, thyroid issues, PCOS and elevated prolactin. Mine turned out to be elevated prolactin caused by a pituitary microadenoma, and it was only found because my GP ordered a prolactin blood test. If your cycle has changed significantly, ask for that test.
Does high prolactin affect fertility? Yes. Elevated prolactin can suppress ovulation, which is why irregular or missing periods are often the very first sign. In my case, treatment brought my prolactin down within three weeks and my cycle became regular again.
What kind of yoga is best when you’re exhausted or unwell? Yin yoga, restorative yoga and guided meditation. Long holds, on the floor, minimal effort. You’re not trying to build anything. You’re giving your nervous system somewhere quiet to be for a bit.
Is it normal to have a panic attack during a scan? I had one during my CT scan and cried during my MRI. Tell the radiographer beforehand if you’re anxious. They deal with this all day long and can talk you through it.
How long does cabergoline take to work? This is different for everyone and it’s a question for your doctor. In my case my prolactin dropped and my period returned within about three weeks.
| What it is | Online yoga, Pilates and meditation app |
|---|---|
| Classes | 650+ on demand, 5 to 60 minutes |
| New content | A new class every Monday, plus weekly curated plans |
| Price | $29.99 AUD/month or $134.99 AUD/year |
| Free trial | 7 days, full access |
| Made by | Emma and Carla, Gold Coast, Australia |
This post describes my own experience and is not medical advice. I’m a Pilates and Yoga teacher, not a doctor. If your menstrual cycle has changed, or you’re having persistent dizziness, headaches or vision changes, or you have any concerns about your hormones, please see a GP and ask for appropriate testing. Everything I’ve described here happened under the care of a GP and an endocrinologist.
