[jadejean]

hello eveyone my name is laura am 28yrs old just had my lap for endo on October 1 and my doctor has recommended lupron, and am going to be getting the med in a week to 2weeks,but after reading about med I am soooooooooo scared to even get near this med. Its like you either take this with the hope of saving fertility and no pain..or not and have endo ravage your body and you will live with unbearable pain!!! I have no idea what to do,and i am so scared after reading this. Is there anyone that did not have weight gain, headaches etc...anyone that can testify that lupron actually worked for them? did any one have a baby after doing this. my bigs thing is being able to have a baby. Cause right now its my health on the line, my ability to have children, my ability to have a normal life free of endo pain or these crazy, horrible side effects...please help me!!!

[Airman'sBaby]

jadejean,

I'm sorry you're going through all this. I was on the monthly Lupron-Deopt shot for 5 months following my 2nd Lap in July '08. Even after researching the side effects and everything, I decided to go for it because I was willing to try ANYTHING in hopes of alleviating the pain and live a normal, active life.

I went through 5+ months of hell. I constantly had headaches, hot flashes, and severe mood swings, even though I was taking the NETA supplement that's supposed to help counteract the side effects. Lupron made me extremely angry, to the point I would want to punch/throw things, or I would just cry and not be able to stop. It also didn't help that I had a doctor who didn't listen to me. I had NO relief of my pain whatsoever while on this treatment, and she kept saying "Give it another month. It takes time to kick in." So I did. I didn't want to give up on something that could possibly make me feel better. I got my 5th injection out of 6, and another doctor in the practice said that I should have felt something by then, and I was hugely disappointed. The side effects screwed up everything. I ended up losing my job- I was working in a call center where a lot of irate people called in, and emotionally I couldn't handle it. I asked my supervisors if I could do paperwork when I couldn't handle it, they said no; I had to get medical documentation to do some other kind of work. My doctor refused to give me anything to document the severity of the side effects, so basically at work I was told to get on the phone or go home. I ended up taking a lot of time off. My supervisors at work started harrassing me because they knew I couldn't handle it- the saw a weak spot and went for it. Everyone I know could see the changes in me. My best friend would know when I got my shot because my whole demeanor would change.

However, this is only my experience with this treatment. There are women out there who have felt relief from these shots.

I continued to suffer with debilitating pain until I just decided to go for IVF and get it over with. I wanted nothing more in life than to be able to have a child, and I was too afraid to wait and risk it. I figured, as long as I get to have at least one child, I'll be ok with that. Then, if the pain is still there after my child is born, I can just go ahead and have a hysterectomy and won't have to deal with the pain in my uterus anymore.

I am now 23 weeks pregnant, and have felt better in the last 23 weeks than I have in the last 4 years combined. I'm hoping the change in the hormones will keep my endo away post-partum, but if it comes back, I'll be ok if I have to have a hysterectomy. As long as I have my child and can live the active lifestyle that I want to, minus the pain.

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the very best of luck.

[jadejean]

what is vif and am i better off doing that then taking the lupron

[Airman'sBaby]

IVF is in-vitro fertilization. I knew I couldn't get pregnant naturally because the laps revealed that scar tissue from the endo twisted and blocked my tubes. I kept hearing that women with endo feel relief during pregnancy (and the nurse at my GYN's office kept telling me "Just try to get pregnant", and I was ready to punch her because there was no way for me to get pregnant naturally), so I decided to try to achieve pregnancy as soon as I felt ready. So, for me, being pregnant is the only thing that has given me any relief from the pain. However, if you're not in a place where having a baby is possible or practical right now, or if you aren't ready for kids yet, then the only thing you can do is explore other avenues of treatment.

I really feel like a hysterectomy is going to be in the cards for me. I don't know what's gonna happen with my endo after I give birth, but I've already been through 2 laps and it just came back both times. I'm just gonna play it by ear and see how it goes after the baby is born.

[jtonnis]

Hi. I had two Lupron injections about 3 years ago. Each one lasted 3 months, but it took me 3 additional months to start my cycle again. So, I was cycle free for about 9 months! I took the Lupron for pain. I had a lap about 2 years earlier and my pain was much, much better for a while. But, when I had to call my sister to come over because all I could do was crawl around on the floor and sweat because my endo was causing me so much pain, I decided to try the Lupron. For me, it was a dream! I did have some acne problems and TONS of hot flashes and night sweats, but it alleviated my pain and I am still doing well! I didn't have any headaches. I did have some mood swings, but it was usually only when the shot was wearing off. I was scared, too. But, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected! I didn't gain any weight at all. In fact, I think I actually lost a little. I hope this helps! Good luck!!

[Godiva4me]

Jade- I just had my second monthly shot of lupron today (3.75mg injection). I have been tracking my side effects for the past month..... First I bled for almost the whole month, but not sure this was due to the shot, I have adenomyosis and it causes bleeding. The other side effects was I have had some bad headaches, but not every day or anything. Some back pain too, but there again, don't know if it's the med. or the adeno, as I had back pain with it for the past year at least! A few days of moodiness, and some hot flashes, but not as many as I anticipated (hope I didn't jinx myself now with more hot flashes) I think it is worth the chances of side effects, but that is simply my opinion. It was either try this for me, or give up my dream of trying to have a baby. Everyone responds differently to meds, and who knows my side effects could increase or decrease. I also have lost wt.
Most people that post on the www about issues, mostly are the ones that had negative experiences. (not directed at you Airman)
It is hard to find postive posts here or anywhere about people that had success and little problems... believe me I have searched for probably at least 10 hours to finally find many good stories of using it on a blog. I too was scared to death after reading everything I found about the neg. side effects.
I am crossing my fingers I do have success so I can proceed with my next cycle. So far, even with the bad headacdhes, it's been worth it for me....

Anyway, good luck with your decison and KUP! What dose and how long does your doctor want you to be on it????

Airman- Congrats on your pregnancy, you are more than half way there!

Jtonnis- Glad to hear you had good results with your lupron!

[Airman'sBaby]

Godiva - thanks! I can't believe how fast time has flown by. And I agree with you - it's so hard to find positive stories about this treatment. I did a lot of research before deciding to try it, and was almost scared out of doing it. But, I figured you never know how it's gonna affect you til you try, right? I felt that it was more of a risk to NOT try it, because there is always the chance it will help, and it affects everyone differently. I feel like if I hadn't given it a shot (no pun intended! lol), I'd always be wondering if maybe, just maybe, it would have worked. I'm good at driving myself crazy over the "what ifs" in life! lol

[mysillyoldbear]

I have been dealing with severe endo for 10 years. Last November I had major surgery to try to relieve some of my pain... (hospital for 1 week, bed rest for 8 more... it was horrible). And the endo is right back and now I have even more pain. My RE put me on lupron back in April to try to give my ovaries a rest. Lupron does not shrink endo as so many DR's will tell you. It stops the hormones that cause the endo to grow, and will help with pain. Go off the lupron, and you are right back where you started.

You can't take lupron more than 6 months. It depletes your bone mass.

My mom was part of the lupron drug study when it first came out. I did not want to go on lupron after what she went through. But I want a baby, so I took the chance hoping it would help in the end.

My worst side affect were the hot flashes. Those were horrible! And night sweats. I was washing the sheets daily for 4 months. And I was always hungry. So hungry I wanted to eat my own arm! So I was really careful.... didn't gain weight, but I didn't lose it either even though I really tried. My mood swings weren't that bad.... they were worse on Clomid. However I had a very short fuse.

Best part about lupron.... no AF! But that is the only nice thing about it.

If your RE thinks it will help your chances, then I would do it. But if not... skip it. Like I said, it does not reduce the amount of endo. Endo can only be removed via surgery.

My endo is all over. They have to check my heart to make sure it doesn't get in there... that would be deadly. I will have a hystorectomy once I have children, even though that won't solve the problem since it has spread way beyond my reproductive organs.

Hope this helps!