[lava_lava]

I started Lupron injections 5 days ago for my first IVF Cycle. I feel like I'm losing my mind. Is this normal?

I feel so much anxiety - everything seems insurmountable. I was a raging lunatic at work yesterday and thought it was beause I was stressed about legitamite work-related things. Then today I got equally stressed out about going grocery shopping. That's when it occurred to me that I may be having side effects.

Does anyone know how long this is going to last?

On another note - I'm trying to lose weight. I am about 40lbs overweight and have been on weight watchers for about a month. I hear Lupron causes weight gain. Does that mean it causes an increase in hunger and therefore you eat more and gain weight? Or is it something you completley have no control over - i.e. water retention, etc.

By the way - it's my first time posting and I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts. THANKS!

[kbbaby]

Hello,

I can't say for sure about the weight gain, but I'll tell you I had some unpleasant side effects from Lupron! Headaches, bloating (I swear even my feet felt swollen). Oh yeah, mood swings too And it did seem like I wanted to eat everything in sight in the beginning. Not to worry, it should get better as time goes on, but even if not just try to remind yourself that you won't be on Lupron forever. I think anything you can do to try and relax during this time will be very helpful to you.

Good luck with your cycle!

[kimberf]

I'm so sorry you are going through that. The Lupron did that to me as well. I had had a similar but shorter bout of anxiety when my hormones crashed after my stim cycle, about 10 days after retrieval (I didn't do a fresh transfer). I had such severe anxiety that I had to go on meds for it; Ativan pretty much saved my life. It started the day after I started Lupron shots and I had it for two and a half weeks until I started estrogen. Lupron's well known for causing irritability and depressive symptoms; severe anxiety is less common, but can happen. If you look it up on drugs.com, 45% of people who take Lupron have psychiatric side effects, which is pretty darn substantial. I was constantly scared, having repetitive negative thoughts/worries, not sleeping, no appetite/constant nausea, occasional panic attacks with palpitations and shaking, and always freezing.

Mine went away two days after my first delestrogen injection. And I mean went away, like a switch was flipped, just like it had come on. During the Lupron, I said that if I didn't get better after the first two delestrogen shots, I was going to have to cancel my FET, because I couldn't imagine trying to go through it while barely able to function. Fortunately just one shot did the trick and made me feel normal again.

Talk to your doctor about a short-term sedative if you have to, Ativan or Valium or Paxil or something. It was a lifesaver for me. Not something you want to do long term, but for the week or two until you start estrogen, it won't hurt. Hopefully the estrogen will take care of it for you like it did for me. The meds really help in the meantime because you realize you can feel normal and in control again and you are not losing your mind. Other things that helped me: seeing a therapist, acupuncture, working out (lots of cardio since the endorphins helped.) Oh, and I'd never taken anything for anxiety before in my life, not even half a valium for my D&E or anything.

Oh, and as for weight gain, I LOST about 8-10 lbs on Lupron, due to the severe anxiety; coupled with what I lost after my stim cycle, it's probably about 15 lbs total. I literally ate almost nothing for several weeks, since my stomach was constantly in a knot. I guess it depends on how you react to stress/anxiety. If you are a stress eater, you may gain. For me, I literally couldn't eat; it would make me gag. I finally bought a bunch of protein drinks so I would at least have some calories coming in, especially since I found working out helpful.

I hope it stabilizes for you. PM me if you have any questions or I can help at all. It was awful, and I still am afraid of it happening again.

[hopingforthebest]

i had the same experience with lupron. my anxiety and insomnia were so bad that i had to cancel my first ivf cycle. i had been on lupron for 4 days and decided there was no way i could continue for another week or so before i started stims. i simply could not function. it was terribly frightening to the point where i sought professional help after the episode. my doctor said i was suffering from a PTSD reaction - seriously, those side effects scared the heck out of me!

i was also very afraid of trying any hormonal drugs ater that...we did unmedicated iuis but grew frustrated with the results and our medical care. we switched clinics and ultimately found a caring, intelligent, compassionate doctor who recommended we do an antagonist protocol, which begins with stims (estrogen) and doesn't use lupron at all. it was a beautiful protocol and i had no side effects.

lupron makes your estrogen crash hard, which for some lucky ladies, makes anxiety symptoms go bananas, to the point of dysfunction. i didn't recognize myself and was scared that i would never feel the same way again. you do start to feel better though - it might take some time for your hormones to rebound once you stop or supplement with estrogen but you will feel yourself again.

i'm so sorry you're dealing with this. it sucks but is part of this crazy process we're all faced with. feel free to send me a message if you'd like to talk more about symptoms or anything else.

[hopingforthebest]

also, in terms of weight gain, it did the opposite to me as well. like kimberf said, my stomach was so knotted and my mind so focused on either anxiety or when the next episode would hit, that i found i couldn't eat anything. even though i took it for only 4 days, i ended up losing 10 pounds. for me the fear and nervousness lasted a couple of weeks after stopping (mostly because i was just totally blind sided by something that put some intense fear into me). but within about 7-10 days i had lost a lot of weight.

these symptoms are more commonly found in women who take lupron variations for endo. at lower doses like for ivf, it's less common but it does exist. it's also used to treat prostate cancer and causes similar symptoms in men.

best of luck to you!! if anything, try to remember that you aren't crazy, it's the medication that is putting you on edge. if you can get an anti-anxiety medication i would highly recommend it. i wish i had one when i was on lupron..

[hopefloats]

Lupron symptoms for me: blasting headache, weight gain (about 5 pounds), hungry all of the time, and for the first two IVF's, I tasted metal after the shots. It happened once during this round.

I did have anxiety this round with the BCP's. It was very scary for me. I actually got to a point like some others on different meds where I simply could not operate normally. The anxiety was so fierce that I started to distrust myself.

[NikiTTC]

Originally Posted by lava_lava

I started Lupron injections 5 days ago for my first IVF Cycle. I feel like I'm losing my mind. Is this normal?

I feel so much anxiety - everything seems insurmountable. I was a raging lunatic at work yesterday and thought it was beause I was stressed about legitamite work-related things. Then today I got equally stressed out about going grocery shopping. That's when it occurred to me that I may be having side effects.

Does anyone know how long this is going to last?

On another note - I'm trying to lose weight. I am about 40lbs overweight and have been on weight watchers for about a month. I hear Lupron causes weight gain. Does that mean it causes an increase in hunger and therefore you eat more and gain weight? Or is it something you completley have no control over - i.e. water retention, etc.

By the way - it's my first time posting and I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts. THANKS!

Omg I JUST posted about how angry I am and pimply and depressed and TIRED on Lupron. I am on like.. day 7 and its hard. Not to mention the body aches!

I literally let out some repressed aggression on my horrible uncle and pissed my mom off I did that, now she isn't talking to me, its so LAME! I just cannot control myself right now, and these pimples and I'm just SO tired! I can't wait to get off this drug!! I even warned mom I might be looney... Man. parents just don't understand.

[hairwiz]

I did lupron for 3 fet cycles.The last one was July,and about 3-5 days after starting it I gained 5lbs.I was shocked.It swelled me up more for some reason this last time.I had other symptoms like insomnia.I would wake up in the middle of the night,and be wide awake for hours.
Headaches too.
I just found out I won't have to take it this round.I'm very happy about that.

[macbethjunior]

hi , i am going through IVF cycle and now my doctor has kept me on taking lupron injection every morning. I have a low haemoglobin as well. Overall , my side effects include breathlessness , palpitations , numbness in my fingers , weakness and exertion. I am type 2 diabetic too.

I just hope my body can take all the stress related to these hormonal changes in my body. It is bothering me a lot. I get too worried and just cant do any work.

[SLF]

Hey just wanted to let you know that i took luperon for all my cycles and NO YOU ARE NOT CRAZY! This is a tough drug and can have some pretty strong mental and physical side effects for somepeople. The best thing I learned (from a wonderful therapist who specialized in infertility) was that if you are experiencing side effects they are just that. Side effects from medication and nothing else. Also, when you stop taking luperon it can take some time for your symptoms to subside, basically coming off it can be as hard as being on it so just make sure to give yourself a break for a few weeks after too. Hope this helps.

[macbethjunior]

Originally Posted by SLF

Hey just wanted to let you know that i took luperon for all my cycles and NO YOU ARE NOT CRAZY! This is a tough drug and can have some pretty strong mental and physical side effects for somepeople. The best thing I learned (from a wonderful therapist who specialized in infertility) was that if you are experiencing side effects they are just that. Side effects from medication and nothing else. Also, when you stop taking luperon it can take some time for your symptoms to subside, basically coming off it can be as hard as being on it so just make sure to give yourself a break for a few weeks after too. Hope this helps.

Thanks Stephanie ... ur reply made me feel better