Less poly question but...

ElMango

Member
This is less poly related and more...I'm just not sure where else to go and ask this.

I have having idiopathic nipple discharge; it started last year and was caused by my IUD at the time, had that removed, then it resolved; I had medical testing to disprove cancer and a pituitary tumor and was generally disbelieved by most doctors and it was inherently traumatic. Since then I have done work to no longer be anxious about having my breasts touched/played with (which I enjoy and don't want to give up)

Now today it has resurfaced. At this point, it points to two possible outcomes. (I am seeing another doctor about it ASAP so, I'm not trusting the interwebs):

-Stimulation caused
-Menstrual cycle caused

Now, I'm 28. I've never had this issue in the last 15 years of menstruating save for when I had the IUD. So I'm hesitant to think that. But I've also done nipple play stuff since I started having sex so...again, that isn't a definitive answer. Also...Like...even if it IS caused by that I really don't want to have a basic no fly zone around a body part, especially since I ENJOY it.

Has anyone else had this problem? Has anyone had breast issues and still managed to NOT stop having fun with them? I've lived through it before and had to do the no fly zone to make things unbiased and while it wasn't hell it definitely made sex less fun and more stressful since we all, especially me, had to be SO mindful of things.

At this point I'm feeling so overwhelmed. None of my partners have had any issues like this. Two of which are cis men so...they do their best but like...

Sorry for posting something not really poly related.
 
You can click on the ! in the upper right corner of your OP and a mod can move it to Fireplace.
 
I worked for 25+ years as a lactation specialist/consultant. My organization had a robust Internet presence. I do not understand why you do not "trust the Internet." Just weigh all the information and see what may apply. Many doctors know next to nothing about lactation. That is why we need IBCLC lactation consultants.

I am having idiopathic nipple discharge; it started last year and was caused by my IUD at the time. I had that removed, then it resolved. I had medical testing to disprove cancer and a pituitary tumor...

Your IUD contained hormones, I take it? Any hormonal birth control can initiate lactation. Kevin's links confirm this.

...and was generally disbelieved by most doctors, which was inherently traumatic.

After they ruled out cancer, your doctors (a PCP and a gynecologist?) didn't "believe" you were lactating? Any woman, even men, adoptive mothers, women with breast reduction which cuts ducts, grandmothers in traumatic times, can and have lactated for orphaned babies. It takes frequent nipple stimulation, usually by a baby or a breast pump. But frequent attention from a lover can also cause some lactation.

There are also "galactagogue" foods and plants, such as fenugreek (found in faux maple syrup) and oatmeal, which can begin or increase a milk supply.

Since then I have done work to no longer be anxious about having my breasts touched/played with (which I enjoy and don't want to give up).

Now today it has resurfaced. At this point, it points to two possible outcomes. (I am seeing another doctor about it ASAP so, I'm not trusting the interwebs)...

I firmly believe it is always important to personally research your own body and its conditions. No one cares about your body more than you do. Doctors are specialists and often just look at one part of your body. PCPs are often undereducated about conditions. Some doctors are brusque overworked and arrogant jerks who just brush you aside if they can't throw a drug or surgery at you.

-Stimulation caused
-Menstrual cycle caused

Now, I'm 28. I've never had this issue in the last 15 years of menstruating save for when I had the IUD. So I'm hesitant to think that. But I've also done nipple play stuff since I started having sex, so again, that isn't a definitive answer. Also, even if it IS caused by that I really don't want to have a basic no fly zone around a body part, especially since I ENJOY it.

Has anyone else had this problem? Has anyone had breast issues and still managed to NOT stop having fun with them? I've lived through it before and had to do the no fly zone to make things unbiased...

Unbiased?

... and while it wasn't hell, it definitely made sex less fun and more stressful since we all, especially me, had to be SO mindful of things.

Many partners do not mind a little milk, even from a fully lactating mother! It's extremely nutritious and wonderful, after all. Your breasts are producing colostrum. It's highly concentrated with nutrients.

I breastfed 3 children for a total of 10 years. My kids' father did not mind the milk one bit. In fact, he liked it. He did the same stuff to my boobs as he always liked to do.

At this point I'm feeling so overwhelmed. None of my partners have had any issues like this. Two of which are cis men so...they do their best but like...

I do not know what you mean by, "but like..." If you have asked only female sex partners, that is a very small research group. That's why we have the Internet. (By the way, we're on the Internet right now.)

Some women lactate a little bit before their periods. I used to always be able to express some drops in the few days before bleeding started. If you couldn't ever do this, but now you can, after having used hormonal birth control, since you have ruled out cancer, I'd guess your body's hormonal production was thrown off by your IUD and is still changed. Maybe permanently.

Sometimes we produce a bit more prolactin, and sometimes we produce the same amount, but our bodies begin to react more strongly to it. It is also possible your breasts are having a kind of delayed adolescence and have changed just a bit recently.

HTH
 
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Thank you Kevin!

I worked for 25+ years as a lactation specialist/consultant. My organization had a robust Internet presence. I do not understand why you do not "trust the Internet." Just weigh all the information and see what may apply. Many doctors know next to nothing about lactation. That is why we need IBCLC lactation consultants.

I'm a major "let's research on google this before going to the doctor." Like, in total, I've probably spent longer researching this than any doctor I saw. I was never ever referred to a consultant.


Your IUD contained hormones, I take it? Any hormonal birth control can initiate lactation. Kevin's links confirm this.

It's what I found with research, and literally not my endocrinologist, gyno, and 3 GPs agreed. Only ONE was willing to accept it as a potential thing.


After they ruled out cancer, your doctors (a PCP and a gynecologist?) didn't "believe" you were lactating?

They didn't believe it could be from the IUD. I was told I didn't need a breast ultrasound, or mammo only manual exam; I only got an MRI of my head. No tumor there.

But frequent attention from a lover can also cause some lactation.
I literally put kinesio tape on my nipples and had no sexual contact with them for months and it really changed nothing. Doctors just shrugged and were like "guess it's not that"

I also found all the foods to avoid and took them out.


I firmly believe it is always important to personally research your own body and its conditions. No one cares about your body more than you do. Doctors are specialists and often just look at one part of your body. PCPs are often undereducated about conditions. Some doctors are brusque overworked and arrogant jerks who just brush you aside if they can't throw a drug or surgery at you.

Agreed. I totally bring print offs (and am in medicine and have to educate my patients about how doctors are wrong too sometimes and to insist on the care you need). And, because of where I live, it's not considered urgent so to see ONE specialist it takes 9 months. Only to have none really know anything.

Now I know that, since it's both side and clear it is more likely to be really harmless and more likely to be a PMSy thing. WHich I can deal with. That being said the internet is also broad so...like cancer comes up and I have to talk myself down from THAT rabbit hole.


Unbiased?



Many partners do not mind a little milk, even from a fully lactating mother! It's extremely nutritious and wonderful, after all. Your breasts are producing colostrum. It's highly concentrated with nutrients.[/quote]

I don't think it's even milk. When it was the IUD it SOMETIMES had white, but now it is 100% clear. My partners aren't bothered by it at all. They don't even notice if it happens. Which, is nice, but it bugs me. A lot.

I do not know what you mean by, "but like..." If you have asked only female sex partners, that is a very small research group. That's why we have the Internet. (By the way, we're on the Internet right now.)

They're good for comfort but also aren't women. So even their comfort isn't quite the same for me. It may be weird I know.

Some women lactate a little bit before their periods. I used to always be able to express some drops in the few days before bleeding started. If you couldn't ever do this, but now you can, after having used hormonal birth control, since you have ruled out cancer, I'd guess your body's hormonal production was thrown off by your IUD and is still changed. Maybe permanently.

In Canada, at least in my city, I was never, ever, ever told this could remotely happen at all. Literally, NO doctor heard about hormonal IUDs possibly doing this. Fuck, my old GP is the whole reason I accidentally got pregnant and needed an abortion. My (then copper) IUD shifted, but hadn't come out. I asked her, "does it still work". She said "Oh yes completely!" Aaaaand...yeah. Not so much. The abortion clinic was like "they're very wrong".

Sometimes we produce a bit more prolactin, and sometimes we produce the same amount, but our bodies begin to react more strongly to it. It is also possible your breasts are having a kind of delayed adolescence and have changed just a bit recently.

HTH

This I didn't know. Again, no doctor said "you could just be more sensitive now". Even when I asked. One GP was like "I don't know so lets send you to the experts", but that was literally the best I got.

Thank you so much though, this helps a lot! I feel like, if anything, it's not knowing. And the fact that this has been an issue fo rso long and I've been ignored for so long, and misinformed; the only person who fixed it last time was me demanding to take out the hormonal IUD because hubbies got vasectomies...which my (again now old GP) told me I had basically fucked up their lives because what if we get a divorce and then they can't have kids. Yeah, never saw her again after that.

With finding out in March one husband has MS, and having other chronic health things...you kinda hit a point where it's like...fucking really? And it gets so overwhelming that...yeah. I just want it to be simple for at least a bit.
 
The average breastfeeding mother knows more about lactation than most (male) doctors, be he a gynecologist, endocrinologist or GP.

I learned when I was working as a lactation specialist (for La Leche League International, as well as a certified lactation consultant), that doctors are required to take only a few hour course on human lactation, and many think it is unimportant, and skip it.

Also, many doctors are still in the pockets of artificial baby milk ("formula") companies, so only give the highly important power of human milk lip service, at best.

As a side note: as an older teenager, my daughter started to grow a tiny beard. So did her younger sister. So had I, at age 21. And my mother also had a girl beard, well before menopause, when it is more common. My older daughter, being of a scientific bent, went to an endocrinologist. He tested her hormone levels and said they were in balance for a woman. Her testosterone was not high. He explained her skin was just more sensitive to it.

Women never talk about their beards! lol But many of us have one. My electrologist makes a living removing beards from women, girls (and even some men).

Anyway, that's another example of hormone levels being in normal range, but having a strong reaction to them.

The fluid in your breasts IS milk. Milk is made up of both fat and sugar water (as well as every nutrient and immuno-factor a human needs). It's the fat that makes it white. Think of cream and skim milk. Your premenstrual milk is not very fatty. Any time a baby nurses, the first milk that comes out of the breast, called foremilk, is watery and sweet with lactose. The water factor satisfies the baby's thirst. The sugar gives her quick energy. As she nurses, a fattier milk (hindmilk) is produced and released, which is important for weight gain and growth. That's why it is important for a baby to stay on each breast until she is full, and not be limited by time.

This is probably more than you need to know, but lactation is such a passion of mine.
 
The average breastfeeding mother knows more about lactation than most (male) doctors, be he a gynecologist, endocrinologist or GP.
Surprisingly, the male doctor I saw brushed me off the LEAST. He was a young doctor, (with as I found out later a very keen interest in mental health), so not only was he willing to be like "I...really don't know so I'll refer you and pre refer you for the MRI as well."

Her testosterone was not high. He explained her skin was just more sensitive to it.
Basically I was told "all of your hormones but prolactin are normal" My prolactin was above normal, but they had no cause and no solution. And no explanation. The highest it got was a 52, when the normal range ends at 20. All of this started when it was at 34.
So when I took out the IUD, and everything stopped (for 7 months as it turns out), I was just relieved. I got my body back. Having leaky boobs, as someone who doesn't want kids ever and never planned on this and was never warned this could happen, and never given more of an explanation than I could find myself...it all felt so...gods almost violating?


The fluid in your breasts IS milk. Milk is made up of both fat and sugar water (as well as every nutrient and immuno-factor a human needs). It's the fat that makes it white. Think of cream and skim milk. Your premenstrual milk is not very fatty. Any time a baby nurses, the first milk that comes out of the breast, called foremilk, is watery and sweet with lactose. The water factor satisfies the baby's thirst. The sugar gives her quick energy. As she nurses, a fattier milk (hindmilk) is produced and released, which is important for weight gain and growth. That's why it is important for a baby to stay on each breast until she is full, and not be limited by time.

This is probably more than you need to know, but lactation is such a passion of mine.

Hey, your passion is my gain; and my mom is an RN so there is rarely a such thing as the idea of TMI to me.

So even if it's clear and watery it's milk? Just the sugar-water rather than the fat?

Why on earth would I not have been referred to a lactation consultant? I have a family history of endometriosis and painful periods/ovulation. I've had one abdominal ulrasound that showed nothing so...they shut that door. This makes me wonder...can something like endometriosis make things whack out in this way?

At this point, I'm just hoping it's related to my menstrual cycle and it will just come and go monthly like cramps, or something even easier to deal with.
 
Surprisingly, the male doctor I saw brushed me off the LEAST. He was a young doctor, (with as I found out later a very keen interest in mental health).

Of course, there are fantastic male doctors and horrible female doctors. I was speaking generally.

Basically I was told, "All of your hormones but prolactin are normal." My prolactin was above normal, but they had no cause and no solution. And no explanation. The highest it got was a 52, when the normal range ends at 20. All of this started when it was at 34. So when I took out the IUD, and everything stopped (for 7 months as it turns out), I was just relieved. I got my body back. Having leaky boobs, as someone who doesn't want kids ever and never planned on this and was never warned this could happen, and never given more of an explanation than I could find myself...it all felt so...gods, almost violating?

Hey, your passion is my gain; and my mom is an RN so there is rarely a such thing as the idea of TMI to me.

Good. Is your mom still around to consult with about this?

So even if it's clear and watery it's milk? Just the sugar-water rather than the fat?

Hey, a disclaimer! I can't see it, and I am not a medical professional, so I am making my best guess. Generally, if the leaking is premenstrual, and not pussy or bloody, and you don't have pain, other than maybe a quick tingle in a duct, it's not ringing a huge alarm bell. If you have severe pain, or a hard area in the breast, or a fever, it could be an infection called mastitis. But I don't think you are experiencing that.

Why on earth would I not have been referred to a lactation consultant? I have a family history of endometriosis and painful periods/ovulation. I've had one abdominal ultrasound that showed nothing so they shut that door. This makes me wonder, can something like endometriosis make things whack out in this way?

I do not know how the Canadian medical system works. I also don't know a lot about endometriosis. You could look into that, of course.
At this point, I'm just hoping it's related to my menstrual cycle and it will just come and go monthly like cramps, or something even easier to deal with.

https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/nipple-discharge#causes

You could be a squeaky wheel and keep bugging your GP about this. I'm sure Canadian doctors don't want to be sued for malpractice, just like US doctors.
 
Good. Is your mom still around to consult with about this?

She's around but...yeah...not for this



Hey, a disclaimer! I can't see it, and I am not a medical professional, so I am making my best guess. Generally, if the leaking is premenstrual, and not pussy or bloody, and you don't have pain, other than maybe a quick tingle in a duct, it's not ringing a huge alarm bell. If you have severe pain, or a hard area in the breast, or a fever, it could be an infection called mastitis. But I don't think you are experiencing that.

Oh for sure! And thank you so much:)



You could be a squeaky wheel and keep bugging your GP about this. I'm sure Canadian doctors don't want to be sued for malpractice, just like US doctors.

Oh that's the plan. I was getting close to squeaky until the IUD came out; then everything stopped and I was just relieved. Now...now this means I'm not only going to be a squeaky wheel, I'll be a screaming wheel.
My previous GP worked with my mom, and when I requested a copy of all my medical files (I was preparing to leave her), she broke FOIP by...telling my mom that I requested them, asking my mom why I requested them, was I leaving her care, and denying me access to them until these questions were answered. The only reason I didn't report her is my mom.

Here, they aren't really allowed to ask why you want them, let alone asking a parent...especially when I'm 28 and live out of my parents house.

I ripped her a new asshole though. Since I could have reported her, I figured a stern lecture on FOIP was in order.
 
Oh my god, that's so wrong.
 
She definitely got a lecture, directly referencing the areas of FOIP she violated and how inappropriate it was even if it wasn't illegal.

I got the files she withheld (for 2 weeks) that very night.
 
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