laktating wuz nawt part of plann...

my body never ceases to amaze me in its complexity, and in its ability to throw a wrench in my gears.

for months i've had frequent (even more frequent than normal) headaches, as well as sore, achy eyes...i've been more irritable than normal, had heavier, irregular periods, and my breasts are overflowing a D cup bra. i figured that my Effexor dose was a contributing factor, that stress was a factor, eating goat cheese was maybe even a factor. turns out it was something well out of my control, and something i really should have thought of earlier.

my prolactin levels are high. higher than normal anyways. for years i've had sub-clinical hypothyroidism. basically it means that i have thyroid levels which are low, but not to the point that it's required treatment. i've been monitored, and the levels rise and fall, rise and fall, but never become clinically significant to the degree that an endocrinologist wants to treat me in any way. so apparently one of the things that the thyroid impacts is the pituitary, by limiting the release of prolactin. if the pituitary doesn't get enough of whichever hormone from the thyroid, it continues to release more and more. eventually what can happen is a benign pituitary growth, which then further inhibits the signals to the gland, thus exacerbating the whole situation.

i need to go back for more tests of course, but at this point i'm kinda hoping it is a tumour. which sounds silly to say, but it will be an instant pick-me-up to just take the appropriate medication, shrink the growth, and feel happier and more peppy.