Hyperprolactinemia
My official diagnosis. A blessing and a curse when it comes to mommin’. My first round of child bearing was a piece of cake. The smooth kind of story that would annoy any woman having fertility or pregnancy issues. I stopped taking my birth control for one month and boom! Knocked up. I had zero days of nausea or really any symptoms at all. Only the constant pee trips and general discomfort that happens once you have a beach ball sized belly. My delivery was also a straightforward natural birth without any significant drama (I know, I’m annoying!).
My son’s infancy revolved around breastfeeding and I became an over-producer as my son demanded to eat all. the. dang. time. Fast-forward to his first birthday. He quit breastfeeding on his own about 2 weeks after he turned 1. I had a hard time slowing down the milk production and tried all the tricks to wean my supply. Tight sports bras 24/7, only pumping when absolutely miserably engorged, not letting the warm shower touch my chest, etc. It was a struggle! I mostly wanted to stop to have another baby. I had plenty of breastmilk stored in the deep freezer to last that kid another 5 or 6 months. But I needed my period back. Never returned while breastfeeding or weaning.
I finally stopped pumping and becoming engorged when my son was about 18 months old. Still no period. Saw my OBGYN, they put me on Provera to try and reset my hormones. I also lost 15 pounds to try and get things on track. Failed that trial. Also, I hated Provera - made me feel psychotic and borderline suicidal. Never again! Then the holidays happened. Gained the weight back.
Went back to the OBGYN office, but this time I saw the Nurse Practitioner who was very proactive. Had blood work drawn, pelvic exam, pelvic ultrasound. All normal results except my Prolactin levels were crazy high and it was making my Estrogen levels practically non-existent. I was then referred to an Endrocrinologist. The Endocrinologist did more bloodwork and I completed an MRI of my brain to make sure I did not have a pituitary tumor that was causing the Prolactin to be secreted. No tumor. Started on Cabergoline, just finished 3 months of that medication. Here we are. Still no period, no pregnancy, and the milk leakage that was still persisting up until this point has at least slowed down.
The human body is a wild thing. Conditions can be so different from one person to another, or even just during different seasons of the same person’s life. So now I am working on getting very healthy again with clean eating and exercise. I am leaving the rest up to God’s perfect will and timing.
