Sheehan Syndrome?

[billie]

My daughter Elana was stillborn at 36 weeks 04/10/2003, due to undiagnosed HELLP. I've since had a perfectly healthy pregnancy (just took aspirin) and normal delivery (well, as normal as it gets anyway), resulting in Lukas being born 08/25/2005. 2 months later I had another miscarriage, my 3rd, and decided to get my tubes tied, and later, on Nov 3, 2010 I had a hysterectomy, at 34 years old.

That's the condenced version, as I've just found this site. I hope I can help the moms here with my experience in the days ahead. I sure wish I could have had someone to talk to back then who knew what I was going through. Well, I have emotional distance now and am willing and able to talk, whenever you need to.

My question today is if there is anyone here who has been through Sheehan Syndrome? I'm currently being tested every which way trying to figure out what's going on with me since the hysterectomy. One of the blood tests showed low prolactin. An internet search led me to a rare condition that can show up years after a HELLP delivery, especially if there was severe blood loss resulting in a blood transfusion (which I had) and an inability to make enough milk to breastfeed (that too).

Other blood tests so far have come up with low estrodiol, low progesterone, high folate and high cortisol. My doctors are stumped, but then again none of them have ever even heard of HELLP (or Sheehans). I hate to be blunt but I live in Las Vegas, NV and there aren't many good doctors here (believe me, I've been around). You have to go to a hospital to actually get a diagnosis if your problem is rare. Thank goodness for the internet!

[blythe]

Welcome, Billie! I am so sorry for the loss of your daughter, and so glad your second pregnancy was healthy. Congratulations on Lukas!

I have never heard of Sheehan syndrome - could you link the studies you found that connected it to HELLP? One of our moderators wrote an article a few months ago with suggestions on how to evaluate research http://www.preeclampsia.org/component/l ... e-research - I don't know if that will be helpful to you or not! This might be a question we can kick up to our experts - they are very busy but they do their best to answer questions that aren't easily answered elsewhere.

I'm so glad you're here and willing to share your experience and listen! Jump in anywhere!

[tree]

If you type "Sheehan" in the search box (top right corner of the page), you will find a few threads on Sheehan's Syndrome. There is one poster on the board who had it. It is pretty rare. FWIW, I thought that I might have had it since I had severe HELLP, no milk, and few other symptoms. I felt terrible for a year, and it was probably some sort of PE/HELLP "hangover" complicated by a constant stream of day care cooties, post-partum depression, and asthma. I started feeling generally better and decided that I probably didn't have it. I never did get it checked out, but you might get some answers from the bloodwork if you have more symptoms than I had.

Here are some links to older discussions on Sheehan's that I copied out of another thread to get you started.

http://www.preeclampsia.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31735
http://www.preeclampsia.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4909

[annamarie89]

I was just wondering but could sheehans syndrome be a reason you would'nt get a postpartum period? I had my daughter January 30th and still no postpartum period. My doctor had to induce my last one with provera. So no true period yet. I'm getting scared.