Lactation during menopause - recent spouse loss the cause??

[0500hours]

I’m 56 and in menopause / no period for a year.

Last month I unexpectedly lost my husband to heart attack. It was fairly traumatic, the children witnessed it too and all 3 of us tried to save him with CPR.

Two days after he died or maybe a week after I actually can’t remember now, I started bleeding, which faded to spotting after several days.

I’ve now started mildly lactating for want of a better word I can’t think of (I know, wth?..) as in, a small wet spot randomly appears on either nipple during the day.

This is surely down to the trauma, the grief, the stress?

I’m also still waiting on scan results after two internal exams.

Husband and I did have sex a week before he died but I’m 56 and in menopause plus I’ve had two internal exams so of course I’m not pregnant.

Please tell me this strange ‘lactation’ given my circumstances is normal - has anyone else heard of it ? Because Dr Google says a cause can be pituitary tumour.

It’s just one thing after another at the moment. I really do feel like I’m living in a surreal universe and now this new development. It’s just bizarre.

I’m really sorry for your loss. Trauma can do very strange things to our bodies. It is certainly possible that you’ve had something hormonal happen that may just be coincidental or may be related to grief.

Me personally, as someone going through cancer at the moment, I would not hesitate to get it checked out urgently. If you have had scans already (and by this you mean like a CT scan/MRI, not an ultrasound), I would raise this with whoever is managing your care. Depending on the scan, it should be possible to rule out many things. If there is a tumour and you had a scan of the right area, they will pick it up. But make yourself a squeaky wheel until it’s checked.

If it’s something, it is better you know, even with everything else. If it’s nothing, you can be reassured and get back to focus on healing and your children.