Still in the land of lots of questions.....

....and not enough answers. I waltzed into Dr. C's office today all bright and cheery. Personally, I had expected to waltz right out soon after. But that was not to be. Nurse T came and got me from the waiting room and had me step on the scale (I can never get past that scale. LOL!). Anyway, according to the scale I lost 7 lbs in 2 weeks!! Woohoo!! Amazing, but then as I told Nurse T, when you're barfing and too nauseated to eat, you'll loose weight. Anyway, waltzed into the room that I would eventually see Dr. C in. I honestly thought I'd be out of there within the next 10-15 minutes. Dr. C came in and said "you are a 'medical mystery'". I thought, "Great." My estradiol (estrogen) level was 800!!! The test was done on February 10th after having recieved my first injection of 11.25mg Lupron on February 1st. She said that when the result crossed her desk, her first reaction was "Oh, Sh**!". She said she discussed my case with two Endocrinologists who said the same then. I have three dr.'s sure that I should not have an estrogen level that high and especially almost two weeks post Lupron shot. They just can't understand how this can be. Dr. C was hoping for a zero, but was thinking she'd see a result in the 100-200 range, but never 800. Both Endocrinologists wanted her to check my FSH and LH hormones as they would give more clues as to what may be going on. It still don't really show any side effects that would indicate that artificial menopause is kicking in. I got over heated at work on Tuesday and thought *maybe* it could have been a hot flash, but never really felt anything since. Dr. C is just puzzled, but hopeful that could have been a hot flash. She ordered another Estradiol test. Without a previous estrogen test result, there is nothing to really compare this to. We don't if this is normally how high my estrogen is, if this is a fluke reaction to the Lupron, or worse, if I have a tumor that is secreating estrogen. Either way, we need to find the answer. Endometriosis thrives on estrogen. We need to get my estrogen DOWN ASAP!! Dr. C said this could be why my Endo has been so hard to fight. If this is a normal estrogen level for me, that would explain why I can't get PG. This could explain why my cholesteron is so high after seven years (188 in 1997 and 273 in 2004). But definately with levels that high, I won't show any "menopausal" symptoms. There was a drug reccommended to Dr. C by one of the Endocrinologists (and I didn't write it down. :-/), but she is not familiar with it and wants to research it before administering it. Go Dr. C!! She also wants to talk to an Endocrinologist in Seattle. She says that she may need to send me down there if she can't figure this out. She tossed around the idea of administering more Lupron, but wants to hold off for now. She batted around the idea of ordering another MRI or PET Scan, but felt that would like "stabbing in the dark" as we really don't know what to look for right now and she doesn't want me to go through those procedures unless it's neccessary. I mentioned to Dr. C about my brush with a "tumor scare" in 1997. This interested her. During an annual exam, the breast exam revealed discharge from my left breast. This was during the time I was on Depo Povera (the drug from devil himself). A Prolactin test was ordered and came back at 56 (highest for normal is 30). My dr. at that time discussed a possible pituitary gland tumor or breast cancer with me at that time. Another test was ordered and came back at 25. It was determined that I could not have cancer or a tumor if I got a normal reading. Dr C commented "Hmm...could be a tumor that's hiding", but again went back to could be hormonal. Prolactin was added to the list of hormones to check today. I never mentioned that my dr. then had told me where the tumor could be. I asked Dr. C where she would think my tumor would be, if in fact one was the reason for the rucus, and she said she didn't know for certain. Personally, I think she lied, but since at this point she can on speculate and there is no proof positive that there is one and she's probably trying to keep me from going over the deep end, I let this slid. She doesn't do that on a normal basis, so I let it go. Felt no reason to dwell on what might not be. We then discussed the pain management. She was pleased to hear that I could finally have a BM without dying. But my bladder still causes pain when full. :-/ She was also please to hear the *area* of pain was shrinking. Dr. C was disappointed to hear about the pain inbetween my belly button and pubic bone that feels like a rod is being rammed through my abdomin was still there and still didn't responde NSAIDs. She agreed to left me continue the Fentanyl patches as she was pleased to hear that I was spacing them out and "testing the waters" before applying the next one. She wants me to only use them as neccessary. She's hoping that eventually over the next couple of weeks, I'll no longer need them. She also agreed to allow me to use my remaining Transdermal Scop patches for the nausea (Thank You Dr. C!!). She also agreed that wearing perfume could be contributing to the "tossing of cookies" episodes I had. I am to return to her office on March 28th to evaluate the pain management and whether shot #2 will happen (which I'm sure it will). So off I went with my Rx for more Fentanyl patches and with my "laundry list" of bloodwork: FSH, LH, Prolactin & Estradiol. The tech was the good one (whew!). It doesn't hurt, it's quick and she doesn't leave a bruise. I did some digging on the internet. I was relieved to learn that a tumor of the pituitary gland is not considered cancer for one and two not consider a brain tumor. Apparently the Pituitary Gland next to the brain, but not part of the brain. For once the internet was calming. Pituitary Tumors are usually benign and only cause issues if they are secreating tumors or grow to the point they press on something (like the optic nerve, which cause eye vision issues). I also discovered that they are best dealt with a specialist. The worst that could happen is that my pituitary gland could stop functioning after having the tumor removed and I could end up on Hormone Replacement Therapy. Not the greatest result at age 32, but better than the alternative, that's for sure. So with my emotions calmed down, I'm prepared to wait this out. Lots of prayers will be going up to heaven that's for sure. I'm determined to remain positive. This could all just a "bad luck of the draw" hormonally and not being "worst case senario" at all. I'm a survivor and I'll make it through this as well. However, we do need to find the cause of the estradiol levels because the Endometriosis will not go away with that much estrogen and I want to get PG. Either way, we need answers. I'm thankful for a Dr. who's proactive and willing to figure this out. I'm also thankful she's willing to work with me on pain management. I could very well be going through this in tons of pain, but because she is such an awesome dr., I don't. Dr. C is the World's Greatest OB/GYN if you ask me. I hope that one day she'll deliver *my* baby. Whatever comes our way, I'm trying to remind myself "This too shall pass".