Hi, Judy Dunlap!
We could see a number of possibilities with your lady with leaking breasts 6
months after weaning. One is that this might be perfectly normal for her
(meaning her physiology), although our experience is that this situation is
far more likely in women who have breastfed for much longer periods (over a
year) before weaning.
We'd also like to know if she wanted to wean at 5 weeks? If it was not a
happy experience for her, it seems quite possible for her body to be
"hanging on" to breastfeeding in response to her emotions.
Then there are the more purely physical reasons for a situation like this.
Which hormonal levels have been checked? (And what does a "normal" result
mean?) Pituitary tumours do not necessarily cause elevated prolactin levels,
notably tumours causing acromegaly. There is really only one satisfactory
test for acromegaly, the somatomedin test. A more commonly occurring
possibility for this sort of galactorrhea is thyroid disorder. But be
warned! Because she is lactating, she will not necessarily have thyroid
function test results that show up under- or over-active thyroid function if
either is the case. Why did she wean? If she was having a struggle with
oversupply, for instance, this can be another sign that her thyroid gland
may also be struggling. We have had more cases of underactive than
overactive thyroid causing excess milk production, but either is possible,
and may cause persistent milk production after weaning.

Robyn Noble and Anne Bovey, Brisbane, Australia

PS We'd love to know where others hail from! Could Lactnetters please add
their geographical whereabouts when they sign off? Thanks!