My Pseudo Pregnancy Surprises

I've always likened my embryonic stem cell experience to being pregnant -- with hope, new life, whatever it may be. I'm starting to wonder if I jinxed myself (if that's even a real thing). My body seems like it's on a wild ride with no hints as to what direction it's headed.

I can’t stop eating. The nausea from my antibiotics came and went like the wind. My body seems to have adjusted to them well and is now moving onto bigger and better things to concentrate on: like FOOD. Way too much, way too often. It seems to come in phases. I was hungry beyond help in India and after I got home, it settled down a bit. But now it’s back with a vengeance.

I’ve gained sixteen pounds since I left for India. Everyone says I don’t look that way but the scale doesn’t lie and I feel like I’m bulging out of my petite frame (and then some). People try to console me with lines like, "Well, pregnancy means weight gain." But, they miss a single, very important point. This is like pregnancy, but there is no baby. Hence, I should not be freely gaining what a baby would actually weigh. The problem with trying to cut back on what I eat to lose a few, is that I’m hungry -- really, really hungry. And, it’s a serious hunger that doesn’t rest until I’ve eaten A LOT; and often not even then. I’ve eaten pretty much whatever I’ve wanted my whole life and nothing like this rain storm of pounds has ever fallen upon me. I would like to clarify now that I'm not eating out of control unhealthy. The food I'm eating is nutritious (with a few exceptions as treats). I feel like as soon as I eat, my baby stem cells suck up all the food and hang onto it for dear life. There is no other explanation for being hungry like I haven’t eaten in days, fifteen minutes after a full meal. I’m shaking my head even as I write this while the lunch I just had seems to have made zero impact on my stomach. It is growling like a desperate dog.

To add insult to injury, my weight is being distributed differently than I’ve ever experienced. It's not like an all-over weight gain. I seem to be attaining some kind of unexplainable “roundness” which I would find to be an interesting phenomenon if it wasn’t happening to me. This, I'll remind you, is despite my exercising regularly (maybe more regularly than ever). I had to buy new jeans ("fat jeans") because I could hardly pull my favorites over my thighs and butt. My stomach looks full all the time. My hips must have grown inches when I wasn’t looking because wearing anything sans elastic, really sucks. The "fat jeans" I bought three weeks ago now feel like they are cutting off my circulation at every seam.

But, that’s not it for the changes my body is going through. It gets better (or is it worse?).

About a month ago, I started lactating.

Yes, really.

I called Dr. Geeta Shroff and also my doctor here, both who wanted me to get my prolactin levels checked, along with have a radiology study of my head done. Prolactin is a hormone primarily responsible for lactation. It is normally elevated in lactating women. Mine were as normal as could be. An MRI of my pituitary gland (a gland at the base of the brain which secretes hormones) was done to make sure there was no tumor causing the lactation. My brain, according to the radiologist was “unremarkable” (that’s a good thing). So, it seems for now, I am a lactating miracle. I think I've stumped everyone.

I debated long and hard about posting this on the blog. It’s private for obvious reasons. But, it’s also a piece of the big picture of embryonic stem cells that people need to know. So many scientists and doctors are attesting to the theory that embryonic stem cells are rejected by the body after implantation. Well, I’m here to say that they aren’t.

Those "experts" who don't believe it should try explaining to me why I’m producing milk for seemingly no reason, and eating like a crew of starving sailors.

Proof is not always in the petri dish. It’s in the patients. Too bad there aren’t more doctors and scientists willing to look in the right places.

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About Amy B. Scher

A passionate author, pioneering patient, and sassy spirit with just enough sweetness to get me by, I live by my self-created motto: when life kicks your ass, kick back.Amy B. Scher's profile Amy B. Scher's blog