My Story

The chronicle of the journey from infertility, to miscarriage, to finally raising twin girls born in June 2012.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Prolactin Levels

Today's post is odds and ends.  First, a new definition:

Maybe / Maybies - All potential children in various stages of pre-birth development from egg to just prior to birth.  Uses = "They will be thawing one of my maybies for the next frozen transfer" and "I really hope this maybe sticks" as well as "me and my maybe are craving ice cream".

News of the day:

My prolactin levels finally came back.  47.  Normal range is 4-23ish.  For some perspective, when I reported prolactin at 56 to my GP, he kind of freaked the hell out and we went into "I probably have a brain tumor" territory.  Elevated prolactin levels are what halted our March FET cycle.

So I'll be back at the doctors office in the morning after a fast, and a technician will strive to locate a vein that isn't burying itself in terror of being poked yet again, so we can see if that number was a fluke, or a pattern.

Now, the night before I tested, I spent about 12 hours crying hysterically.  And prolactin levels will spike in a time of stress so it's possible that my elevated numbers are a fluke.  That's why we are all supposed to remain as relaxed as possible while trying to conceive, prolactin prevents conception and stress raises prolactin.  So when the doctors tell you to relax, it's not a platitude, there is a chemical reason for that advice.

Now, when I did my estrodial shortly before we transferred, I asked what my prolactin levels were.  Considering my recent medical history, I just assumed that those would be tested from whatever blood was taken shortly before transfer.  But it wasn't.  They DIDN'T test my prolactin levels.  At all. 

I'm still open minded to my current number being a fluke caused by my stress.  But if my testing tomorrow reveals that the number is elevated even when I'm relaxed, I'm going to have some REAL issues with what they did.  If my numbers are normal, we'll never know if the lack of that test might have been an issue.  If they come back elevated, than my doctors were really fucking negligent.

1 comment:

  1. Just what I was suspecting! What a mess. I'll be surprised if the numbers turn out to be just a fluke. But I'm a pessimist.

    How is anyone supposed to stay calm through and IVF cycle anyway?

    I have no idea what kind of advice to give about whether or not to switch clinics.

    I guess just go with your gut feeling. And keep us posted!

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