Is lactating normal...?

[Stefani2]

Hmm, I dunno why, but I'm kinda embarrassed to be posting this. So I have been on HRT for 29 days exactly (woot, woot!) and am reluctant to say that I've noticed much of anything. However, around 2 weeks or so-ish I began to feel as though my nipples were more sensitive. They didn't hurt, per se, but they just felt more tender to the touch. It has gotten to be somewhat more noticable in the last two weeks - again, they don't really hurt and if I don't touch them or apply pressure I don't even notice, and they also seem more sensitive at different times of the day (ie, the morning).

However, today, I was just...grr, inspecting, one could say, and I noticed to myself that it seemed like they were getting...I guess rounder? Like there was a teeny tiny little bump under them. And me being a ditzy type said to myself "Gee, that feels like a pimple, I wonder what would happen if I squeeze it" and as soon as I did out came this translucent like liquid. It was just a few drops but it was definitely there. I tried with the other and the same happened.

On one hand I am excited cuz this means progress, on another I am worried cuz I don't think this happens to genetic females, and on another I am kinda grossed out by it. Which of these should I realistically be??

P.S.

Also, it seems like my nipples feel kinda...I dunno, less full, since I did this? Is that normal

[Tristan]

I have been told by the nurse practitioner that it can be due to a change in hormone levels, I know I have issues with it starting for about two weeks every 4 months or so

[generous4]

Maybe not normal, but definitely not unusual.

It would be normal if you were inducing lactation, for which the hormone protocol is slightly different than conventional MTF HRT.  Or, if you were pregnant.

But otherwise, it is common to have some fluid occasionally, especially if you have lactated previously, even years previously.  Some moms can produce drops many years after weaning a child.  It just depends on the indvidual.

Absent that, milk formation is stimulated by prolactin, and prolactin is stimulated, among other things, by you FUSSING with your nipples!  So lay off.

For sureness, let your nurse practitioner or physician know about it at your next visit.

Hmm, I dunno why, but I'm kinda embarrassed to be posting this. So I have been on HRT for 29 days exactly (woot, woot!) and am reluctant to say that I've noticed much of anything. However, around 2 weeks or so-ish I began to feel as though my nipples were more sensitive. They didn't hurt, per se, but they just felt more tender to the touch. It has gotten to be somewhat more noticable in the last two weeks - again, they don't really hurt and if I don't touch them or apply pressure I don't even notice, and they also seem more sensitive at different times of the day (ie, the morning).

However, today, I was just...grr, inspecting, one could say, and I noticed to myself that it seemed like they were getting...I guess rounder? Like there was a teeny tiny little bump under them. And me being a ditzy type said to myself "Gee, that feels like a pimple, I wonder what would happen if I squeeze it" and as soon as I did out came this translucent like liquid. It was just a few drops but it was definitely there. I tried with the other and the same happened.

On one hand I am excited cuz this means progress, on another I am worried cuz I don't think this happens to genetic females, and on another I am kinda grossed out by it. Which of these should I realistically be??

P.S.

Also, it seems like my nipples feel kinda...I dunno, less full, since I did this? Is that normal

[Shantel]

Maybe not normal, but definitely not unusual.

It would be normal if you were inducing lactation, for which the hormone protocol is slightly different than conventional MTF HRT.  Or, if you were pregnant.

But otherwise, it is common to have some fluid occasionally, especially if you have lactated previously, even years previously.  Some moms can produce drops many years after weaning a child.  It just depends on the indvidual.

Absent that, milk formation is stimulated by prolactin, and prolactin is stimulated, among other things, by you FUSSING with your nipples!  So lay off.

For sureness, let your nurse practitioner or physician know about it at your next visit.

Good advice! This was the reason I was kind of negative about the subject of lactation several months back. I had introduced a topically applied progesterone into my HRT regimen and was dropping the estrogen for a week each month and using the progesterone alone. I like to stand in a hot shower and do my daily breast massage and started noticing a lot of soreness around the breast perimeter, especially under my arms, they were growing noticeably and the nipples and aureolas got bigger. I was at the bathroom sink one morning checking them and some semi-clear liquid came out. I was thinking that if I had an infant here to feed or a partner that was into a little kink that would be one thing but I couldn't envision dealing with it. I discovered that the hot water and massaging was the main culprit and refrained from doing it any further and used a series of cold wet washcloth compress sessions until it stopped. I am not as opposed to the idea as I was before when I had scared myself. 

[JennX]

It can happen. There are mammary glands after all... and they can produce milk with the proper hormonal stimulation. Nothing to worry about.

[Vicky]

Do check with your doctor, but it was probably colostrum which is a secretion by the mammary gland the occurs just before actual milk is produced.  It can be from hormone fluctuations, or as Generous4 put it, your over stimulating yourself by fussing with your nipples.  I had about two weeks as a teenager where I had it leak several times a day, but was too embarrassed to tell my mom who was and RN, but then a week later I had the more horrifying experience of a wet dream.  My progress over the last four years on E has given me a couple more sessions of the leaky nippys, so just enjoy the ride, and quit fussing with yourself so much. 

[generous4]

I had about two weeks as a teenager where I had it leak several times a day, but was too embarrassed to tell my mom who was and RN

Hmmmm.... I wonder how my life would've been different if I had experienced this kind of fluid when I was in sixth or seventh grade, when my breasts developed.  I did tell my mom about my breasts, and she took me to the doctor about it, but then she did not talk about it any more.  My dad never did, but she must've talked to him about it. 

But I went through all of sixth grade treasuring and  taking care of my tiny breasts, wondering if I should get a bra like my female classmates had.  One of my classmates even told me I needed a bra, though I didn't really.

But if I had observed colostrum or milk, maybe I would have had more discussion about it all instead of silence.  Instead, nothing, and lots of unanswered questions for me. 

Too many secrets in our family.   



Could've made a really early transition, instead of waiting SO long.  [sigh]

[kountrygurl]

I started having this happen at about 2 months into HRT. Asked my endo about it and she said it happen alot of the times. She said it is from breast growth, the mammory glands growing and the "duct work" opening up. I would'nt be too concerned about it but you could mention it to your Dr just to put your mind at ease.