Doctor Update

I had my appointment at the Neuroendocrine Clinical Center on Wednesday afternoon and I have great news- I do not need surgery! Yay! My doctor also thinks that by taking medicine the tumor will not grow and my body will adjust back to normal. The minimum amount of time to take the medicine is 2 years, at which point you can do a test to wean from the medicine to see if you can stop taking it. Also, it would be possible to become pregnant in the future if everything in my body regulates itself with the medicine. However, before I start taking the medicine I have to have a few more tests done to make sure that it's only my prolatin levels that are affected by the tumor. If there are any other hormone levels that are off in addition to the prolactin, then the medicine would not be a good option. So after my appointment on Wednesday I had to go over to the main Mass General Hospital building to have blood drawn- three huge vials. I am a baby when it comes to needles, and my arm is still sore! There's also a cortisol test I have to take where I have to send saliva samples to a lab- gross, but I guess it's the best way to test for cortisol. I have to take the samples at 11 at night on two consecutive (when the levels should be lowest) and I have not been able to stay awake the past two nights to make that time. Finally, I have to go back at the end of the month for a bone density test. Because I have gone without the right mix of hormones for so long I am at risk for osteoporosis. So, overall, everything was very positive and I will go back again in three months to see how things are going. I am so happy that I am seeing a specialist that really knows what he is doing, he was able to answer all my questions thoroughly and put my mind at ease that this can be managed and treated.