DevinGirl
Well-known member
So I might have a tumor. *Dramatic pause for effect* I still have to make an appointment w/ a dr, so nothing’s official or anything. I’m just formulating some diagnosis of my own & after talking with the hospital’s Lactation Consultant, I think it’s pretty interesting. Since Bobby was born (mind you I didn’t breastfeed or pump) I’ve been producing milk. Not a lot, but some. Odd considering Bobby’s now 9. Lactation is a supply & demand game. There’s been absolutely no demand for my body to produce milk, so it’s basically inappropriate. There’s a fancy term for that as well – galactorrhea.
My periods are all over the place as well, I’ve never had a normal cycle. I had maybe 5 or 6 periods before I became pregnant with my son – so I didn’t get to establish a normal cycle to start with. Then after his birth I could skip months to even half a year without having one. For the past 3 months I’ve not had one. I’m not pregnant now btw. That’s another issue…I lost my virginity when I was 17 (I don’t count when I was raped at 14 ‘losing my virginity’, btw) up until now (I’m 24) & have virtually had complete unprotected sex for all the years in between without one pregnancy (& STD – thank God, gotta love those wild ‘back in the day’ days).
I have terrible headaches & some vision issues. So, initially I thought all of these things were unrelated. I haven’t been to a dr (gyno or otherwise) in an obscenely long time. Dave & I haven’t, until relatively recently, been financially okay to afford insurance. Plus the monthly trips to CO & lawyer/therapist fees to get Bobby back haven’t been cheap. I put my health on the back burner.
So, this past Saturday, I wake up with a terrible pain in my left breast. The whole thing feels, hot, achy, & really really tender. Being a lactation specialist, I’ve heard enough mom’s complain about mastitis. An infection that occurs when a milk duct is plugged (usually). There are also flu-like symptoms & fever that accompany mastitis. So, I talk to the LAC consultant & she starts asking me questions about my periods, etc & suggests that I see a dr. right away (I’m working on it, I just got health ins & conveniently they’re experiencing problems, so I have to wade through this mess with our benefits directors, blah blah). I might have a pituitary tumor.
Specifically it’s called Prolactinoma. It’s classified as a rare disease & its cause is unknown. Symptoms are: Cessation of menses (periods) not related to menopause, abnormal milk flow from the breast in a woman who is not pregnant or nursing (galactorrhea) infertility, decreased sexual interest, headache, visual changes. Pretty much, I fit the bill for those. I was thinking about the loss of libido that fits, too. I’m not trying to make the symptoms fit either, lol…I’m not wild about having a tumor.
By the way the prolactinomas are usually BENIGN. So that rules. They’re just masses that affect the way the pituitary gland does its thing. So everything gets out of whack.
Usually treatable by medication. If that’s not successful then they operate. The pituitary gland’s in the base of the brain, so I’m not wild about the possibility of the medication not working. Anywho that’s the new new with me lately. Just another chapter as Devin’s world turns
My periods are all over the place as well, I’ve never had a normal cycle. I had maybe 5 or 6 periods before I became pregnant with my son – so I didn’t get to establish a normal cycle to start with. Then after his birth I could skip months to even half a year without having one. For the past 3 months I’ve not had one. I’m not pregnant now btw. That’s another issue…I lost my virginity when I was 17 (I don’t count when I was raped at 14 ‘losing my virginity’, btw) up until now (I’m 24) & have virtually had complete unprotected sex for all the years in between without one pregnancy (& STD – thank God, gotta love those wild ‘back in the day’ days).
I have terrible headaches & some vision issues. So, initially I thought all of these things were unrelated. I haven’t been to a dr (gyno or otherwise) in an obscenely long time. Dave & I haven’t, until relatively recently, been financially okay to afford insurance. Plus the monthly trips to CO & lawyer/therapist fees to get Bobby back haven’t been cheap. I put my health on the back burner.
So, this past Saturday, I wake up with a terrible pain in my left breast. The whole thing feels, hot, achy, & really really tender. Being a lactation specialist, I’ve heard enough mom’s complain about mastitis. An infection that occurs when a milk duct is plugged (usually). There are also flu-like symptoms & fever that accompany mastitis. So, I talk to the LAC consultant & she starts asking me questions about my periods, etc & suggests that I see a dr. right away (I’m working on it, I just got health ins & conveniently they’re experiencing problems, so I have to wade through this mess with our benefits directors, blah blah). I might have a pituitary tumor.
Specifically it’s called Prolactinoma. It’s classified as a rare disease & its cause is unknown. Symptoms are: Cessation of menses (periods) not related to menopause, abnormal milk flow from the breast in a woman who is not pregnant or nursing (galactorrhea) infertility, decreased sexual interest, headache, visual changes. Pretty much, I fit the bill for those. I was thinking about the loss of libido that fits, too. I’m not trying to make the symptoms fit either, lol…I’m not wild about having a tumor.
By the way the prolactinomas are usually BENIGN. So that rules. They’re just masses that affect the way the pituitary gland does its thing. So everything gets out of whack.
Usually treatable by medication. If that’s not successful then they operate. The pituitary gland’s in the base of the brain, so I’m not wild about the possibility of the medication not working. Anywho that’s the new new with me lately. Just another chapter as Devin’s world turns
