I've experienced the same on Instagram when my following grew more than 5k. I stopped using it for quite sometime and resumed after months. Now I use it in a very limited manner. Your posts are of high quality. It would be wrong to call it milking tbh. Keep 'em coming! :D
Stopped using coz it had some effect? I was under the assumption that Instagram accounts have less obligation to the audience (but I've never been much of a social media person to know this). Thanks buddy. If I had more time, I'll milk more for sure xD..
I post stuff about motorcycles so I've gathered followers with the same interest. They have got a lot of questions which they DM. I end up answering most of their queries because they place trust in me which drains a lot of my time and energy. So I find it wise to reduce using the platform.