Hey everyone,
Wow, things have been crazy for me the past few years. I have been keeping a secret from many of you since October 2019. And I think that I am now ready to tell you guys what has been going on in my life. Please don't be offended if you're one of the many who are finding out from this post. I only told a few close people, or told people when I felt that it was necessary.
My whole life I've been getting migraines, but around 2013 they came almost daily. I was even brought to the ER once because I was in so much pain that I couldn't walk or open my eyes. My migraines just got worse from there. I had headaches so frequently, that I began to feel bad for missing out on things.
I even started to feel like my family and friends thought I was lying when I told them I had a headache. I'm sure they didn't, but I felt like the girl who cried wolf, minus the lying part, if that makes sense.
In October of 2019, I started to experience some interesting things happening to my body. For the sake of my own privacy I do not want to go into great detail here. I went to Planned Parenthood for a pregnancy test.
It didn't make sense for me to just go to the store and buy one, because I know they aren't super accurate. I needed to be sure because the symptom I was experiencing was concerning. 5 minutes after I took the test, they told me I was not pregnant.
The doctor wanted to do a breast exam to further investigate. After she did the exam, she told me that due to the family history of breast cancer, along with a lump she felt in my right breast, that she wanted me to get a breast Ultrasound.
"Prolactinoma is a noncancerous tumor of the pituitary gland. This tumor causes the pituitary to make too much of a hormone called prolactin.
Although prolactinoma isn't life-threatening, it can cause vision difficulties, infertility and other problems." -mayoclinic.org
She told me that I don't need to panic about it, but if I ignore it, I could go blind. And they mailed me a referral for an MRI. She also told me that the normal levels for Prolactin are 2.8-29.2ng/mL and mine results showed mine at 37.7ng/mL
My family and I tried not to panic. I was supposed to be getting insurance through my job around November 16th, so we just needed to wait til then to schedule an MRI.
Time went by and in January 2020, I became a member of Kaiser Permanente through my dad's insurance. But since I was going to turn 26 in February we had to get this figured out, and have the possible brain surgery done by the end of the following month.
January 17, 2020: I drove from Nevada to California for my first appointment. I brought all my paperwork and laid everything out for my new primary doctor. He immediately ordered blood tests, an MRI and referred me to a Endocrinologist. He knew we were in a rush to figure everything out and he wanted my MRI results to be in before my appointment with my Endocrinologist on January 24th.
That day I had 7 vials of blood taken from me. Those of you who know me on a personal level know I HATE NEEDLES. So that was a super fun experience for me.
I returned to Nevada and called around for imaging centers in California. The soonest they could see me was February 10th, which was cutting it very close but I made the appointment. For days, I called the center back, during my lunch break and on my way home from work to ask about cancellations.
On January 22, 2020 around 6pm, the imaging center called me and said "we had a cancellation for tomorrow morning at 9am, would you like the spot?" I said heck yes, called my bosses, packed my bags and drove back out to California.
January 23, 2020: My mom and I got to the imaging center early. And I went in for my first MRI. It was 45 minutes long, and about half way through they pulled me out to take more images with contrast, meaning a had to deal with another needle.
Also, let me tell you, I didn't think I was claustrophobic at all, but as soon as they started to roll me into that machine the world started to spin. I had to keep my eyes closed the whole time. The ticking of the MRI was sooo loud, and I was very uncomfortable. But it was worth it. I'm including a photo my mom took of me below.
January 24, 2020: I saw my Primary Doctor that morning. I gave him the CD with the pictures of my brain, that the imaging center gave me as a keepsake. We were hoping that he would be able to look at it and give us answers right away, but the images were not working in any of his office computers. He also told me that my Prolactin levels came back from the previous bloodwork and they looked normal. My level was now 22.3ng/mL.
Later on that day I finally had my first appointment with the Endocrinologist. He did a breast exam and basically said we can't do anything until we get the results back.
January 27, 2020: I got a call from my Endocrinologist saying that I did have a Prolactinoma, it was visible in the MRI. About 6mm, so surgery was not needed. I was prescribed a medication that I have to take 2 times a week. The doctor said that he wanted to check my levels again in 6 months.
As of today, March 18th, 2021, I have had a follow up appointment, and I am please to say that the tumor is shrinking. There still is a possibility of surgery if the medication ceases to work.
Thank you to everyone who has been here for me through this process and those who are still supporting me. As well as those who have read to this point. If you guys have any questions or comments do not hesitate to reach out to me. I will always respond, blogger's promise.
Wow, things have been crazy for me the past few years. I have been keeping a secret from many of you since October 2019. And I think that I am now ready to tell you guys what has been going on in my life. Please don't be offended if you're one of the many who are finding out from this post. I only told a few close people, or told people when I felt that it was necessary.
My whole life I've been getting migraines, but around 2013 they came almost daily. I was even brought to the ER once because I was in so much pain that I couldn't walk or open my eyes. My migraines just got worse from there. I had headaches so frequently, that I began to feel bad for missing out on things.
I even started to feel like my family and friends thought I was lying when I told them I had a headache. I'm sure they didn't, but I felt like the girl who cried wolf, minus the lying part, if that makes sense.
In October of 2019, I started to experience some interesting things happening to my body. For the sake of my own privacy I do not want to go into great detail here. I went to Planned Parenthood for a pregnancy test.
It didn't make sense for me to just go to the store and buy one, because I know they aren't super accurate. I needed to be sure because the symptom I was experiencing was concerning. 5 minutes after I took the test, they told me I was not pregnant.
The doctor wanted to do a breast exam to further investigate. After she did the exam, she told me that due to the family history of breast cancer, along with a lump she felt in my right breast, that she wanted me to get a breast Ultrasound.
I set my appointment for the Ultrasound almost immediately. I had to call around for pricing because my job at the time was not offering insurance. Before I went in for the ultrasound, I went back to Planned Parenthood for blood work.
The doctor wanted to check my Prolactin level.
November 4, 2019 : The day of the ultrasound came along, after having been exposed to a few people, I wasn't happy about this, but I did what I needed to do to figure things out.
The doctor wanted to check my Prolactin level.
November 4, 2019 : The day of the ultrasound came along, after having been exposed to a few people, I wasn't happy about this, but I did what I needed to do to figure things out.
I thought I would have to wait a long time for the results of my ultrasound, but I only had to wait a few minutes. There was a lump in my right breast, but, it was non-cancerous, and not causing my symptoms.
Around November 5, 2019: While I was working I got a call from Planned Parenthood. They told me that my Prolactin level came back at an above average level, suggesting that I had what is called a Micro-Prolactinoma.
Although prolactinoma isn't life-threatening, it can cause vision difficulties, infertility and other problems." -mayoclinic.org
She told me that I don't need to panic about it, but if I ignore it, I could go blind. And they mailed me a referral for an MRI. She also told me that the normal levels for Prolactin are 2.8-29.2ng/mL and mine results showed mine at 37.7ng/mL
My family and I tried not to panic. I was supposed to be getting insurance through my job around November 16th, so we just needed to wait til then to schedule an MRI.
Time went by and in January 2020, I became a member of Kaiser Permanente through my dad's insurance. But since I was going to turn 26 in February we had to get this figured out, and have the possible brain surgery done by the end of the following month.
January 17, 2020: I drove from Nevada to California for my first appointment. I brought all my paperwork and laid everything out for my new primary doctor. He immediately ordered blood tests, an MRI and referred me to a Endocrinologist. He knew we were in a rush to figure everything out and he wanted my MRI results to be in before my appointment with my Endocrinologist on January 24th.
That day I had 7 vials of blood taken from me. Those of you who know me on a personal level know I HATE NEEDLES. So that was a super fun experience for me.
I returned to Nevada and called around for imaging centers in California. The soonest they could see me was February 10th, which was cutting it very close but I made the appointment. For days, I called the center back, during my lunch break and on my way home from work to ask about cancellations.
On January 22, 2020 around 6pm, the imaging center called me and said "we had a cancellation for tomorrow morning at 9am, would you like the spot?" I said heck yes, called my bosses, packed my bags and drove back out to California.
January 23, 2020: My mom and I got to the imaging center early. And I went in for my first MRI. It was 45 minutes long, and about half way through they pulled me out to take more images with contrast, meaning a had to deal with another needle.
Also, let me tell you, I didn't think I was claustrophobic at all, but as soon as they started to roll me into that machine the world started to spin. I had to keep my eyes closed the whole time. The ticking of the MRI was sooo loud, and I was very uncomfortable. But it was worth it. I'm including a photo my mom took of me below.
January 24, 2020: I saw my Primary Doctor that morning. I gave him the CD with the pictures of my brain, that the imaging center gave me as a keepsake. We were hoping that he would be able to look at it and give us answers right away, but the images were not working in any of his office computers. He also told me that my Prolactin levels came back from the previous bloodwork and they looked normal. My level was now 22.3ng/mL.
Later on that day I finally had my first appointment with the Endocrinologist. He did a breast exam and basically said we can't do anything until we get the results back.
January 27, 2020: I got a call from my Endocrinologist saying that I did have a Prolactinoma, it was visible in the MRI. About 6mm, so surgery was not needed. I was prescribed a medication that I have to take 2 times a week. The doctor said that he wanted to check my levels again in 6 months.
As of today, March 18th, 2021, I have had a follow up appointment, and I am please to say that the tumor is shrinking. There still is a possibility of surgery if the medication ceases to work.
Thank you to everyone who has been here for me through this process and those who are still supporting me. As well as those who have read to this point. If you guys have any questions or comments do not hesitate to reach out to me. I will always respond, blogger's promise.
Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
Francis of Assisi
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