The Basics

I always thought that when we were ready to start a family, it would be easy. You stop taking birth control, you have sex, you get pregnant, right? Yeah... not so much.


I've been ready to be a mom for a long time. My husband took a little longer to get to that point. He always said "we" weren't ready. So this past August (2007) we were having one of our many "when we have kids" conversations. He said something, and I replied with "well we don't have kids yet". He then said "well get crackin' then!" I stopped taking my pill about 2 weeks later. I had a withdrawal cycle on 9/10/07 and expected that my body would just pick up where it left off before I started taking the pill almost 8 years ago. When I didn't start a period about a month later, I was excited! I thought it had happened the first month! How great would that be? I took a pregnancy test (or 2) and it was negative. Bummer. So I just figured my body was a little slow in getting things running again.

Fast forward to October... still no period. I was getting a little concerned, but I was due to see my OB/GYN for my annual visit, so I figured I would just bring it up then. I saw my OB on Halloween. He too, thought that my body just needed a jump start. He gave me Provera (progesterone) 20mg a day for 10 days. He said that should cause me to cycle and to expect it to be heavy and probably painful. So, I dutifully took my medication and waited, and waited, and waited. 3 weeks after finishing up my medication... still no period. I called my OB/GYN and went to see him again. He thought that maybe the dose wasn't high enough (even though it was a fairly high starting dose). So we went on to 30mg of Provera daily for 10 days. Again, no luck. At that point it was on to blood work. We also discussed possibilities of PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome) which we both thought was the case.

My blood work was done at the beginning of December. The FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) to LH (lutenizing hormone) ratio didn't immediately indicate PCOS and my other labs were within normal limits with the exception of my Prolactin. Normal levels for Prolactin are less than 25. Mine was 109! My doctor wanted to repeat the level just to make sure, as Prolactin can become falsely elevated by foods, exercise, and nipple stimulation. I had strict instructions on what do avoid and to come back and have my level re-drawn in 3 days. The repeat level came back just as high. I went home and did some research about elevated Prolactin levels. It all made sense. I had all those symptoms! So, my OB referred me to an Endocrinologist to manage my problem.

My Endocrinologist annoyed me from the start. I'm not a small girl, and I'm fully aware of this. When someone attacks my weight within 5 minutes of meeting me, I don't exactly put them at the top of my list. However, I figured I would give him a chance. He ordered more blood work and a MRI. Most of the time, elevation of Prolactin is caused by a benign pituitary tumor.

I finally got my MRI and blood work done in early March. The MRI did show a microadenoma on my pituitary gland. All my blood work was what we were expecting. So, at the end of March I was started on Dostinex. I take 1/2 tablet twice a week. Not too hard. However, all this time I still haven't had a period!

In the middle of April, I went back to see my Endo for a routine visit. He thought we should check my Prolactin level even though I had only been on my meds for 3 weeks. Needless to say, I was a bit skeptical. As it turns out, my body really liked the meds. My prolactin level came down to 9! As a result, the decision was made not to increase my dose since I was responding so well at the current dose. I fully expected to see a period for the first time in almost 8 months within a few weeks. The hubby and I were planning a vacation to Vegas at the very end of April and I figured that with my luck, my period would show up then. But... it didn't.
Now, I don't know about the general population, but my sex life tends to improve on vacation. I was hopeful that maybe I would just get pregnant and not even have a period. So, around the middle of May, when my period still hadn't shown up, I decided to take yet another pregnancy test (or 2 or 3). Again... negative. Sigh...
I'm starting to get very discouraged by this point. I'm pretty sure there is something else going on with me. I'm now 11 weeks into my Dostinex and almost 9 months without a period. I finally decided to go ahead and call my OB today to see what he thinks. I would really like to go ahead and see a Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE) as my current endo is not concerned with helping me get pregnant. A RE is not a doctor you just want to pick off your insurance list. My OB's nurse called me back pretty quickly today and said I should probably make an appointment to see him and we'll go from there.
I'm really hoping we can get something figured out.