Lactating

I was lactating up until May with my son who is now 3 y/o, and I stopped breast feeding at 8 months. I had dried up for a short while and then started back up again. I would leak a little bit daily and sometimes more. I went to the doctor and found out I had a prolactinoma. It is a small brain tumor in the anterior pituitary gland. It was small enough to treat with daily medication and monitoring. Nothing major, and the only symptom you have is lacating when there is no other reason to be doing so. To diagnosis it, there is a simple blood test, and if the levels are high then you have an MRI to varify it. For the past month I have not had any problems at all. I know this is not a normal thing. It's actually rare. But, if you randomly start lactating or continue lactating for a long time after you stop, it may be worth looking into. I now know of 4 people that are rather close to me that also had the same problem (ok so maybe it's not so rare cause only one of them is related to me!) Best wishes.

Are you on any birth control? It could possibly be altering your hormones also.

once you have breastfed, it is not impossible to lactate again! Are you sure you are not pregnant?

I have four kids and never breastfed any of them and since I have had them I will get a milky colored discharge which if pressure is applied will sometimes spray out, my doctor says that is normal and it is hormone related

I tried to breast feed all of my boys but didn't have much luck. Now they have lactating specialists that I wish we would have 10-20 yrs ago. Anyway, I did have time especially after a hot shower that I would get tender or have drainage. I don't think it is normal but call your dr. I was checked and they chalked it up to too much caffeine. I do drink a lot of caffeine but there are still times that I will have some drainage now and then. It's clear, white, maybe a light tan. They don't seem to worry about it and it's been nine years since I had my last. Please call your dr. just in case and let him know what you're experiencing. Good luck~

I was lactating when my daughter was 3 years old and she hadn't been breat-fed since she was 5 months old. I have heard that putting cabbage leaves in the freezer and then wrapping your breast with them will dry up the milk. My girlfriend did this with her kids who weren't interested in breast-feeding and it worked for her.

A little milk any time after having a kids is normal even if it is 17 months since you dried up pretty much. If it is enough for a feeding then talk to your ob/gyn about it. If it was just a few drops there is nothing to worry about.

Hi there! I had this same problem.. Still do actually... I stopped nursing my daughter when she was 8 months old and still have milk. My Ob said that becuase I am a bigger girl and have "ample bosom" (his words NOT mine lol) that sometimes it takes longer and more pressure than others. He suggested wrapping an ace bandage around my breasts to tighten the pressure. I havne't tried that. It sounds uncomfortable.. but to be honest after a year of not nursing and still having milk I am getting desperate. So I am th inking about trying that out. If you find a way to stop it, please message me! lol.

If you want to dry up I wouldn't let the warm shower water run on your breasts for a week or so it just stimulates the glands. I had to wrap a tight ace bandage around myself 24/7 for about 3 days to help myself dry up. I read below about the red cabbage and that is just for the pain, that is what I used when my breast were red and swollen.

Could you be preganant?

I've noticed the same thing lately myself. My son is the same age (20 months) and I stopped nursing back in February. I believe it's normal especially if you're close to your period and are having hormone flucuations.