Chris Hafner-Eaton wrote:
>
> Mom of a very healthy, rather rotund 5 mo old boy has been leaking profusely since her milk came in at 3 days.  She has a hx of severe endometriosis and infertility.

> This mom lost all her pregnancy weight by 1 week pp and has trouble keeping weight on.  I've advised her to have a thyroid panel done for
> hyperthyroidism.  I'm also concerned about pituitary issues (tumor?).

Chris:  I agree that she should have an endocrine work-up.  A prolactin
level should be helpful as the baseline prolactin level should be fairly
low by now.  If it's at the kind of levels you get early postpartum, I
would be very suspicious for a prolactinoma and get an MRI of the head.

If that were the case, she could be treated with bromocriptine
(parlodel).  Even though this medication is contraindicated in lactation
because it suppresses the milk supply, it would be therapeutic in a
situation of an overproducing tumor (and a somewhat lower milk supply
would actually be the result we're looking for in any case).  Even
though the FDA has contraindicated parlodel use for routine suppression
of lactation, it is still a very good medication for prolactin-secreting
tumors. Hope this helps.  Please keep us posted, Regards, Alicia Dermer,
MD, IBCLC.

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html