It turns out I may not be crazy

My headaches as of late have been frustrating to say the least. It's been a discouraging journey. Over the course of the last week, I thought I was maybe imagining this intense pain, but no, this pain is very real. However, as of last night, I feel hopeful.

Yesterday evening I received a call from one of the doctors at the hospital from my time there last week. Apparently after further review of my blood work, it appears that I have abnormally high prolactin levels. When I initially heard that, I thought maybe they have the wrong patient, because from what I could recall from school, the hormone prolactin, is responsible for breastfeeding. I felt pretty confident informing the doctor that I was not breastfeeding, but apparently that doesn't really matter.
Anyway, essentially what having high levels of prolactin does is indicate that my pituitary gland is quite possibly enlarged. The pituitary gland is located in the brain, sort of at the base of the skull and about the size of a pea. It's a pretty powerful little thing as it controls everything from body temperature, to the reproductive system. So, when the gland is enlarged, it then compresses on the optic nerve, thus causing headaches, loss of vision/poor vision and can cause blackouts and seizures. It's definitely a cause for concern.

When I asked what causes the gland to be enlarged, the doctor said that it could be a couple different things ranging from a thyroid issue to a non-cancerous tumor. He said he didn't want to scare me by saying the word tumor, but he wanted me to be aware of the whole situation. I appreciated that. Now, the doctor couldn't diagnose anything 100% because he doesn't have the MRI imaging to confirm his findings, but he said this was his hunch. He was going to call my neurologist ASAP to get me moved up faster on the MRI list. He says I really need to have this testing done by next week. So hopefully something can be done and we can start a treatment plan, which would be surgery or medication typically.

I was beginning to think this chronic pain was going to be what my life was going to look like. The future (healthwise) felt bleak. So, it turns out that I may not be crazy and that there is a reason for this chronic pain. I jump back and forth from being amazingly excited and hopeful that I may not have to be in pain forever, yet scared at what may be involved in the process in getting this under control.

Thank you to all who have prayed relentlessly for me and my head. It's been a dreadfully long journey and one that I hope will come to a close in the near future. I'll keep you posted on what happens.