Saturday, February 2, 2013

My Experience with Lupron (so far)

My RE suggested that I go on Lupron after my laparoscopy in July. She said that I had a lot of endometriosis (grade 3) but that they got as much as they could. She explained that endometriosis is kind of like splatter paint and that it is impossible to remove all of it with surgery. She said that the Lupron would starve the small endometrial implants of estrogen and that they would "die off." I'm always researching, so I looked for research to support the "dying off" thing. I couldn't really find much. But, I figure I'm not a RE and I hope she knows what she's doing, as much as she costs. I really wanted to see if just having the surgery helped first. She said it wouldn't hurt anything to try for 6 months before starting Lupron. Shocker: nothing happened. So, I had my first injection in December. I am having the once monthly injections and have had 2 so far. I was really expecting the worst. I mean, I've heard nothing but horror stories. Hot flashes and mood swings were the side effects I heard most often, so I was fully expecting at least those. Not to mention the horrible things you read online. I was reading crazy stories about Lupron giving people permanent bone loss or epilepsy. A little scary. I have to say I have been pleasantly surprised. I know it's not over, but I think I should be feeling side effects if I'm going to, right? The only thing that I have been experiencing is low sex drive. I'm really not sure if that is a side effect or just in my head. I mean it is pretty nice to have a break from ttc. Since I know that a baby is not going to result plus the fact that last 30 months have consisted of way too much BDing, not feeling into it may not be due to the medication. I am doing the add-back therapy, so maybe that is helping too. Does anyone have any interesting experiences with Lupron?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

i'm not familiar with lupron, but boy am i familiar with endometriosis and laproscropy. i've had two in the last year to deal with my stage 4 endo and still have lots of residual pain. i'll be very curious to see how you continue to feel on this, and maybe it's something i can talk to my doctor about as well. thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

I also did Lupron Depot following laparoscopic surgery for Stage III endo. I completely agree that the side effects weren't really that bad (I also did an add back therapy). I did have more hot flashes in the final month, but the first two months were very uneventful. Unfortunately, the Lupron and lap didn't do anything to help my fertility problems, and the cycle after the lupron wore off I already had a endometrioma the size of the one that had been removed during surgery. And then I got another one on my other ovary. So we've moved on to adoption. But I've heard lots of success stories, and I'm hoping you have one too!

Erin said...

@amessinthere: I will definitely update! I hope I have something good to say eventually!
@livinglifeoutoforder: How long did it take for the Lupron to wear off for you? I actually haven't heard a lot of success stories, but I thought I should give it a shot if my dr. recommended it. The main thing that made my decision was that I found some articles that said that women with endo responded better to IVF after a few months of Lupron. And it looks like we may be headed that way, we aren't sure yet. Also, my OBGYN (who is a fellow infertile) agreed with that, saying that she believed that taking Lupron for a few months made her IVF successful on the first shot. I'm sorry it wasn't successful in your situation, but that's great that you have moved on to adoption. We might be headed that way too (we are likely going in a few different directions over the next year) so I look forward to reading about your journey!

New Horizons said...

I had surgery on March 19th of this year and found out a day later that I had Endo stage 4. I also started Lupron shots that I take once a month and I am taking norethendrone pills to off set the hot flashes. I have been moody, but I think it's more of the process I am going through in my life. I also read the online tales and horror stories, which is why I am glad I found your blog! Let's stay positive and advocate for ourselves and eachother! Praying for you and all the ladies on this blog!