The plot thickens

Hopefully in the next few days I will be able to have an MRI of my head. They're looking for a brain tumor.

I'm not joking.

It's not as bad as it sounds though. If they find one, the brain tumor should be benign. But still, no one wants a brain tumor.

How did this happen, you ask? Well, Dr. K's nurse called me today. I thought it was strange to see the PPVI number appear on my phone because they rarely call for a cycle review; they prefer e-mail. For my P+7 blood draw, they were going to measure prolactin in addition to the usual progesterone and estradiol. The nurse asked me if I had been fasting for 12 hours prior to the blood draw, which was required for the prolactin. Yes, I was fasting. She asked if I had avoided the other things I was asked to avoid (sex, exercise, and nipple stimulation). Yes, I did avoid those things.

Then she took a deep breath and said my prolactin was elevated. I asked what the value was. She said it was 62. (whoa...my jaw was on the floor...that's not normal...normal range ends around 25) She added that when Dr. K saw that value, she did not believe it. So they double checked that it was my blood and then she had the lab run it again. The second time it was 59.2. That meant it truly was elevated.

The nurse said she'd have to relay my answers to Dr. K and find out what the plan was. She promised to call back tomorrow. I had an e-mail in my inbox within half an hour. I was expecting it to tell me that they had called in a prescription to my pharmacy for a medication to decrease prolactin. There was no new medication mentioned. Instead, there was an attached order to get an MRI of my head. I guess I knew it was a possibility (I didn't know how high the prolactin level had to be before a doctor orders an MRI), but I didn't expect it so soon. When prolactin is elevated, they do an MRI to check if there's a prolactinoma, a benign tumor that produces the extra prolactin.

I was wondering how much of an effect a prolactin level around 60 would have on fertility. Cue Dr. Google. One site I found said that levels in the range of 25-50 "may" decrease overall fertility, and levels in the range of 50-100 "significantly" decrease fertility and may cause irregular cycles. Significantly decreased fertility...wow. In reading that, I actually felt a little optimistic that if we could reduce my prolactin level with medication, we might have a chance at conceiving...if—and that's a big if—the antibiotic can do it's job for a while longer (which is questionable, at best) and if there aren't other things we have yet to discover that need fixing.  Since prolactin can inhibit ovulation, who knows if I have even been ovulating?  My ultrasound series that showed I ovulated was two years ago.  If I'm not ovulating, my body is sure doing a good job at pretending that I do—my mucus, cycle, and hormones are all normal looking.

After I read the e-mail with the MRI order and explained it to DH, this conversation happened:

Me: Whom did you marry?
DH: A walking disaster. But I still love you.

(you need a little humor in this kind of situation) :)

I'm trying not to be nervous, but I'm nervous.  I'll call in the morning to make the appointment for the MRI.

. . .

Friday update:  No MRI for at least a week.  The next openings in the schedule are next Friday.  Plus my insurance has to preauthorize it first.  Now I have to try to not think about it for a week...  :P