In 2018 I was a happy go lucky, just married 29 year old going about my business. Occasionally I started to notice droplets of clear/white liquid coming from my right nipple, I did the common (wrong) thing and ignored this for quite a while trying not to think much of it and put it to the back of my mind.
Deep down I knew I needed to go and get seen so eventually I decided to visit my Doctor who was great, took my concerns seriously and then referred me to a breast specialist, here I was examined and scanned and thankfully nothing sinister was found. They ordered blood tests, I’d never had one before and was terrified of needles (even fainting during flu vaccines) but dragged my husband along with me and had them done. It revealed I had high Prolactin (the hormone that controls lactation). From there I was referred to an endocrinologist (doctor who specialises in hormones) and had to have an MRI scan in case the high levels were due to a tumour on my pituitary gland. Luckily the results came back clear so the high levels just seemed to be my norm and I was prescribed a tablet (Cabergoline) once a week to regulate the levels of prolactin in my body.
At this point I had been on the contraceptive pill for about 8 years and was having a regular periods which gave me no reason to think anything wasn’t quite right in that department however this period was ‘fake’ and was only happening due to the week break from the pill, it was explained to me that it’s unlikely I’d even been ovulating as high levels of prolactin stop that process. This is often what makes it unlikely to conceive while still breastfeeding.
I came off the pill and had no periods for a number of months which was proof I wasn’t ovulating, I was taking the weekly tablet and having regular blood tests and could see the levels of prolactin rapidly reducing and the leaking stopped. Eventually my ovaries kicked in and I started to have a menstrual cycle again all be it a little rough and not very regular at first. Over several months, it settled down and into a typical cycle duration. I was told to remain on this medication until got a positive pregnancy test.
At the time of all this happening we weren’t yet planning to start a family, I just wanted to check there was nothing serious causing the leaky nipple. Looking back I am so glad I went when I did otherwise I’d have been starting this whole process at a time when I was really ready to try for a baby, we would have been unable to conceive and would have needed to start the testing process to find out why adding 12+ months to the timeline.
I conceived in June 2019 and luckily had a good pregnancy resulting in a healthy baby boy.
I’ve been back on Cabergoline for over a year now (half a tablet every other week) in order to have a regular menstrual cycle in anticipation for trying for baby number 2 at some point in the future.
Once I am done having babies I have no idea if I need to take Cabergoline going forward long term or if I would stop and should my prolactin rise again then have no periods/ovulation. I will cross that bridge when I come to it and weigh up the risks/pros/cons.
If you are concerned about anything regarding your own health, hormone levels or menstrual cycle please book an appointment to discuss with your GP and request some blood tests.
*no photos here as no one wants to see a picture of a leaky nipple (unless you're a a bit of a creep)
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