Lupron and ovaries

I have had two shots of Lupron, as a result I've gained almost 30lbs, had very bad joint pains and little hot flashes. I also experienced hair loss and became moody at times. However, my doctor did warn me that I would gain weight as a result of the shot and that I may experience hot flashes. December 2009 will make one year since my first shot the second shot was in April and I"m just beginning to feel normal again. It is now November 2009

Hi. I just had a laproscopy done 3 weeks ago for endometriosis. I am 26 yrs old and have been dealing with this pain for almost 2 yrs now and it is the worst pain in my entire life. My doctor is now suggesting Lupron because even after the laproscopy the endometriosis was level 4 and had bonded to my intestines and literally trapped my ovaries and uterus against the lining of my stomach. The pain was a 15 to say the least and the past 3 mos it had landed me in the E.R. Finally the docs figured it out. I started my period 2 weeks after the surgery and the pain was still pretty bad. An 8. Now I am seriously considering Lupron. My health is on the line and this pain is not right. At this point I am considering a hysterectomy if Lupron does not work. Any help suggestions please? Monday I follow up with the Dr.

lupron makes me a bad person. i easily get irritated even on very little things. mood swings is very out of this world. i'm on my day 4 of lupron and i can't control my emotion anymore. i do deep breaths to try to control it but it doesn't work for me. i really have to shout my emotion or else i feel i will burst or die of heart attack. i don't know what to do anymore. i have to be relaxed to have a successful ivf. need your advice.

ok, so I am 28yrs old just had my second lap for endo and my doctor has recommended lupron, after reading this 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, my post-op surgery appt is this week, 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? 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!!!

I just went in for my second shot of Lupron (out of a series of 6) for treatment of stage IV endometriosis. The most noticeable side effect I experienced was during my first menstrual cycle after my first dose of Lupron. I had never experienced menstrual pain or cramping (even though I had advanced endometriosis) until after Lupron. I have a fairly high pain tolerance and yet the cramping for the first 2 days of my period were almost debilitating. I had extremely heavy bleeding and have had spotting daily ever since (app.18 days). I have gained about 3 pounds because I have no energy at all. I'm usually active and work out 4-5 times a week but by the time I get off work, I'm too fatigued to do so (hence the weight gain I guess). I have hot flashes and night sweats all the time. The most recent side effect is high blood pressure. I have never had high blood pressure in my life (I'm a healthy 25-year-old woman) and when I went in for my 2nd Lupron shot today, they told me I all of a sudden do. I don't seem to have mood swings but do feel depressed and sometimes more anxious than normal. I have experienced a decreased interest in sex as well.

I am 26 years old and I was diagnosed with endometriosis last year (2008). I had pain in my lower abdomen for years and doctors always told me nothing was wrong but I knew there was. Finally a doctor did an ultrasound and found a 7cm mass on my left ovary. I also had a slightly smaller mass on my right ovary. My doctor told me that he would need to do a lap to remove the masses and possibly remove my left ovary because he could hardly see any ovarian tissue on the ultrasound. Thank goodness when he did the lap I was able to keep but ovary but he told me that I had one of the worst cases of endo he had seen. My right ovary was stuck to the wall of my abdomen due to the endo and I even had endo on my bowel. He removed what he could but not all of it was removable. He suggested that I go on Lupron for 6 months to "shrink" the rest of the endo. I have been on Lupron for 3 months. I just went and got my second 3 month injection. I have had some side effects such as Headaches, Bone pain, Hot Flashes, Insomnia, Drowsiness, Increased appetite and major Mood Swings. All of which come and go. I try to stay active but I don't over do it. It seems to help with the joint pain. Most of my side effects were in the first 2 months of getting the injections. I am told all the time that everyone reacts differently to Lupron and there is a pill you can take to reduce the side effects of Lupron but it does reduce the effects of the Lupron so my doctor suggested that I not take it unless the side effects were unbearable. I don't remember what it is called but if you are one of those people having major side effects ask your doctor.

I can relate to many of these experiences. Started out in my 20's with very irregular cycles, went to my first gyn after a miscarriage - the emergency room dr referred me to a dr that was at a fertility clinic. I had no idea why until I was actual a little more "awake" I was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries. I went through at least 6 or 7 different birth control pills, depo provera shot, nuvaring, then back on another birth control pill. finally we started doing the continuous suppression as I was bleeding at least a little bit every single day... for 2 years. I would still have my full blown period every 4 weeks or so, which also included a monster migraine on day one of the menstruation. Not only was my life being altered but I was starting to get anemic. Finally after a month of the continuous suppression my bleeding stopped. As did the menstrual migraines. I continued this way for 4 years. Didn't have a single period or migraine, life was wonderful.. or so it seemed. I have been over weight for most of my adult life. Finally decided to do something about it. I joined the gym with a friend and started losing weight. I dropped 55 pounds until... the dreaded bleeding, pain and hormones got out of control. I started bleeding every single day again. Finally made an appointment with my dr. She stated that when you lose weight it releases estrogen out of your fat cells. Gee, I thought losing weight was supposed to make you feel better!! I went on with it for a while thinking it would stop eventually and it just HAD to get better. In fact, things got worse. I started having horrible abdominal pain, eventually it got to be daily. To the point where I could not stretch or even hyper extend my right leg backwards. My abdomen felt like something had a rubber band tied to it from the inside. My dr said that she suspected endometriosis. However, due to my anemia... we had to wait. So back on the iron pills and wait wait wait. Finally, October 15th I went in for my lap. Sure enough, stage 4 endo, huge cysts on both ovaries. My endo had gone all over the place and attached itself to anything it could. Including folding my bladder in half! Good grief. I thought that I was just getting the weak bladder from getting older (I am 35 by the way). For the next couple of weeks after my surgery I felt pretty good. Finally pain free (still a little bleeding but not much). But, the end of December rolls around and here it is, back with all its fury. The pain is again horrible, my migraines are back, my energy is dwindling. The good life was short lived. My doctor suggested a series of Lupron shots. One shot a month for 6 months. My first shot in January (took me a little bit of time to decide if I wanted to do it) finally bit the bullet and got the shot. First few days, fine, no problem, no relief either but no life altering experience. Then one morning I woke up and realized I was not in pain. It was a strange feeling actually. But the time I got the second shot, no more bleeding, no more pain... However, the hot flashes, night sweats and the emotions came on. Holy cow. Drama drama drama. I could find any reason on the planet to argue, with anyone. Thank god I have a very understanding family and an even more wonderful partner. I think he has the patience of a saint. I still don't know how he puts up with me. If I am not trying to find some reason to pick a fight then I am crying like a baby... for hours and hours. These hormones are so out of control. I honestly don't know what is worse, the pain or feeling like the world is going to end in the next 2 minutes if I don't get this spill picked up.. I literally cried for 2 hours Saturday because my cat knocked a stupid bottle of car wax off a shelf in the back room. Good lord, I had the most horrible feelings coming over me and just could not stop crying. I bought a new bed 2 weeks ago and let me tell you. If I am not on one of my 13 hour sleep fests then I am laying in it crying and feeling sorry for myself. Or the even better part of indegestion or my favorite part.. gas. I honestly don't know if I can go on like this. I made an appointment to see my doctorr this Friday to determine what she thinks will happen if I don't complete the other 3 shots. just give me back the pain if you have to!

I went from a rational non-emotional women to a crazy person!!! I feel awful. I would rather have pain than feel this way. I can't sleep though constantly fatigued. Achy body, headaches. Everything tastes like cardboard so I'm not eating well though I have gained a few pounds. I am severely emotional. I almost left my husband this weekend whom I adore, can't stop crying, very depressed and irritable. I want nothing more than to be alone and sleep, which no one can live that way. I am a mother of 3, a wife, and have a full time job. I can't function properly. I will never undergo hormone treatment after I get through this! I am currently on Lupron, just had laporoscopy 2 weeks ago for the 5th time all for endometriosis and I'm only 25. I started Premarin today to assist this anxiety and mood swings. Wish my family and I luck.

Only on it for 1 month so far and already having issues. I apparently have the worst case of endometriosis all my doctors have seen, including a cancer specialist that had to do all my surgeries because of the severity. Granted, I am only 31 years old and have had a full hysterectomy. So, after 3 surgeries I am still having severe abdominal pain and bleeding (don't know where that is coming from since I don't have a uterus anymore) so they said try Lupron and I finally gave in. Now I started getting such severe pain in my lower back that I can't stand for longer than 15 minutes and terrible side aches. I started getting headaches (which I already take pills for for years now),and have gotten the hot flashes as well. What are we to do ladies? I am so sick of complaining to the doctors about pain. You feel as if you are a big cry baby. What are my options here and does this ever stop?

In the past five years I've gone through two six month Lupron treatments. The first Lupron treatment was given without a Laparoscopy. After being told for ten years that I was one of the unlucky few who have "bad periods", I finally found a doctor who would listen. She diagnosed Endometriosis after I listed my symptoms and put me on a Lupron treatment plan. I had one one-month injection and two three-month injections. Most of my side effects were tolerable; weight loss (almost sixty pounds but I was over weight to begin with), hot flashes, night sweats and memory loss. However, I experienced horrible back and hip pain...to the point of following up with a pain management doctor who insisted there was no reason for me to be in pain.

About four years later I found a really great doctor who performed a laparoscopy to diagnose my endo. She removed fibroid tissue from both ovaries and my colon. My next period was just a horrible so she suggested we follow up with another Lupron cycle. I expressed my concerns with the pain I experienced the first time and she suggested I have add-back therapy. She prescribed a regimen of Estradiol and Norethindrone along with six monthly Lupron injections. The side effects were worse this time around. My depression kicked into overdrive, I was constantly struggling to keep my anger in check, I would wake up dripping from night sweats, hot flashes were bad, blurred vision, memory loss, insomnia and the pain in my back and hips was excruciating. She prescribed Celebrex for my back and hip pain, which didn't help too much. I have a three year old son and had to use a wheel chair when we went to the museum because being on my feet for more than fifteen minutes was impossible.

I've now been off the Lupron for about six months and I have yet to regain any sort of short term memory. My vision is much worse than before I started the second cycle and has yet to reverse. My depression is still bad, as well as anxiety and irritability. However, as soon as the last month of Lupron started to wear off, my back pain did dissipate. I'm still having trouble sleeping but have found solace in Ambien...which could be a bad thing. I don't want to depend on chemicals to help me sleep at night. I just had my yearly exam with my doctor and she apologized for all the pain I experienced. She told me that in all the years she's given Lupron treatments, she had never seen a patient in as much pain as I was in. I don't think I'll be undergoing the Lupron treatments again in the future. I'm currently starting Yaz as a way to keep my periods at bay and only have three or four a year. I'm not real sure if that's a good thing either but we'll see. I have sympathy for all the other Lupron patients out there who experience the bad side of the drug. I don't understand how a medication such as this, which has such drastic side effects, can be marketed to people who are already suffering from pain in the first place.

I have had endo for about 9 years now. 6 surgeries later, I decide to try the Lupron Shot. I took the 3 month dose twice. I did not experience any side effects until the 2nd month, which included hot flashes, mood swings, sleepiness, no interest in sex, weight gain, horrible headaches, loss of memory, pains in all my bones, breast tenderness, blured vision and so on. I am now off the shot after being on it for 6 months, and I am worse now then I was then. My pain is back from the Endo, my stomach feels like there is a huge ball in it, I have extremes of sever diarrhea to constipation. I feel like Im going to throw up every other hour..sometimes I do. My bones hurt worse than ever. I still have no memory and I cannot concentrate very well. My Dr. will not allow me to have a hyst because he feels I am to young. I am 27 married with a child..how much older do I have to be to get some relief? So, yes I liked Lupron, it did help. but I would rather get this crap taken out than go through all of this again.

Im 18 years old and was diagnosed with endo when i was 15, was put on lupron shot after the doctor did a laproscopy and finding my ovaries completely black(which was from the endo covering my ovaries. So ya im on my 2nd time to be on the lupron shot and have all the side effects i have read here, try being 15 and sittin in class and get a hot flash, or worse start crying...

If you have any other course of treatment, take it. It has been 6 years since my last injection of Lupron. Between the ages of 26-36 I was given a total of 18 injections( 3- 6months treatments), to try and treat my endometriosis, It did not work, I ended up having my ovaries removed. I was not aware or told of the effects from the Lupron I would have(* except for TEMPORARY hot flashes and no period) to tolerste over the years. My short term memory is gone almost, I feel like an idiot most of the time. I can remember what bathing suit I had when I was five, but I can't remember a what subject I am talking about when I am on the phone or talking to a person for example. I am 43. Because of all the Lupron I was given, I had to start getting a yearly mammogram when I was 30 because of the hormones, so I get an added bonus of a 10 year head start on radiation form the x-ray machines. Besides the memory loss, I have insomnia, hot flashes, vision problems, fatigue, and LIVER problems ( I am not a drinker or a drug user). I know people would think this is a normal part of menopause, however, I have been having all of these symptoms, even with my ovaries and never had any of these symptoms until my 3rd injection of Lupron. I refuse to go on PREMARIN, (why would I want another hormone, and one made from pregnant horse urine!) If Lupron works for you, wonderful, but my doctor, said the symptoms would be gone within 4 months after my last shot. HE WAS WRONG. Good Luck

I WAS GIVEN MY FIRST THREE MONTH INJECTION IN JANUARY, SO IT WAS SUPPOSED TO END IN MARCH, SO FAR THIS AWFUL SHOT SEEMS TO BE IN MY SYSTEM STILL!! NOT ONLY DO I STILL GET NIGHT SWEATS, I HAVE MAJOR JOINT PAIN, FATIGUE, MEMORY LOSS AND STILL NO PERIOD (ALONG WITH OTHER SIDE EFFECTS, TOO LONG TO LIST!)!! MY MAIN REASON FOR THIS POST, IS TO ASK IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW LONG IT TAKE TO GET YOUR PERIOD BACK?? NOT THAT I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT, BUT I AM JUST CONCERNED, BECAUSE I HAVE NOT HAD ONE IN 2 1/2 MONTHS!! ANY REPLIES WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!

I am 50 years old...nearly bled to death from fibroids and became anemic. I had extremely heavy periods and had to receive a transfusion of 2 units of blood when my blood count went down to 7. My options were 1) Do
nothing...2) Take 6 months of Lupron to hopefully bump me into menopause....3) Fibroid embellization...4) Hysterectomy. I am trying to avoid a hysterectomy....and needed time to get my blood count up before any other procedure. I have had some of the side affects...hot flashes, mood swings, night sweats,.....but I had them before because I was pre-menapausal anyway so there is really no difference. Have not noticed any weight gain and I get my 3rd shot today. Everyone's body is different...for now Lupron has been a life saver for me.

It has caused my panic attacks, which have been gone for 20 years, to come back. Also, I have acne all over my face. I never had any pain with my endometriosis, but it caused a cyst (10cm) to kill one of my ovaries. So I guess I have no other choice, unless I want a hysterectomy.

I am twenty years old and was doing great with birth control pills until I formed 2 cysts that ruptured. He tried five different pills and none of them worked. I still formed cysts and they all ruptured. My mom had adynemosis which is the worst kind of endo. So he did a lapro. surgery and found adhesions on my appendix and bowel and endo everywhere. He almost removed my appendix and part of my bowel. He recommended me to try Lupron and just like many of you I was scared because I read all these posts. However I have had my fourth shot. I do have side effects but it is better than what I was dealing with. Hearing your doctor say it is either this, Depo or Hysterocretomy is scary being on twenty. My doctor is going to Washington University since I live in St. Louis and I am going to be a part of a study to help other women. I think people should investigate the side effects from trusted research sites. You do lose bose lose but most of it is avoided if you only take it for six months. If you do lose some most of the deposits will come back. THe side effects are hell sometimes but your doctor can help give you a different add back therapy. I am just happy they are saving my ovaries for now but I just don't know what to do when my six months are up. If your scared about Lupron you should be but you should also see the benefits coming from someone that has seen them. However, it is like if you have a good experience somewhere you are less likely to scream about it but if you have had a bad experience the more people you will tell and make it seem worse then it is. If you are reading this to see if you should take Lupron, stop. Go talk to your doctor because he is the one that meets with the drug reps and see the studies. The people that post are getting heresay. If you don't try something then you can't talk bad about it. Hope this helps because I know I was so scared and then my doctor showed me clinical studies and did warn me alot about the side effects but he also told me if I experience them we can give you something for it. In other words, talk to your doctor and stop reading all these posting because they make it worse.

Well, I'm 29 I have three boys 1, 4, and 6. Between My one year old and four year old i had a miscarriage. I've always had bad periods but i learned to deal with it. After my last baby who was born at 27 weeks gastation. My periods got worse!! Besides that i started passing blood clots. ?@## What in the world was wrong with me?? Well, i went to see my doctor and i told her i had bad pains with my periods and passing blood clotes. We decided to do a Hysteroscopy, a Laparoscopy and a DNC!! Well, the test results came back that i have servere Endometriosis!! I seen my pictures AND THEY DON'T LOOK GOOD. But i don't like either of the options... Lupron shot or complete hysterectomy including my ovaries..NOT LIKE'EN THAT EITHER. RRRRRRR someone help me!! It's been a little over two weeks sence my surgery and i started reading about it endo. I got the book ENDOMETRIOSIS The Complete Reference for Taking Charge of Your Health By MARY LOU BALLWEG and started on an Endo Diet even started takeing Vitamins "MEGA VITA MIN FOR WOMEN". I just don't know what else... learning from the book over 600,000 hysterectomys are done a year and only 100,000 are really needed! AND after learning more about Lupron... i don't like it!! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME FIGURE THIS OUT! Who wants to face all this at 29... and go through menopause at 29...Not me...but this is what i was delt..

Six and a half weeks ago I had laprascopic surgery to find out what was causing me all my pelvic pain. I had seen a number of doctors for my pain and they all said the tests are fine, there is nothing wrong with you. Finally I found the doctor that did the surgery. This doctor found some tiny cysts on both ovaries, small scaring, and a whole about the size of a dime in the little pouch on the back side of the uterus.(not sure what it is actually called). He suggested the Lupron shot as treatment for this problem. I did some research but I didn't find out about the side effects I have read on hear. It has been a little over 3 weeks since I got my first lupron shot.
The hotflashes started within a couple days. I don't have them once in a while I have them all day and night long. Now I am getting the hot flashes and then after it stops I am freezing. In the past couple days I have become very nervous and anxious, crying, scared, heart feels like it is racing, and a sharp pain in my chest. I also suffer from daily migraines and the lupron has made them worse. Since these new symptoms started on the weekend I can't get a hold of my doctor. I am calling him first thing in the morning. I am still having the pelvic pain. The only time I don't have the pain is when I am having sex (it used to hurt worse during sex before the shot). I have always had a high sex drive but now it is higher than it ever has before. My breasts have grown a little, which is not a problem because I am small chested (happy they didn't get smaller). I can't think straight, trying to talk to people is not working so well. I get fumbled and can get a word out right. Typing this message has taken me so long when normally it would have been done in no time at all. Before this shot I typed 90+ words a minute. Now I think it's about 20 and always having to use the backspace key. I am really getting scare about these symptoms. I am not supposed to get my next and final shot until december. I really don't want to get it. Sorry if I was too descriptive in this message. I am just going crazy.

I have been on Lupron for about 2 wks and I have had no real side effects. My Doc. gave me some type of hormone treatment w/ the shot that helps with hot flasehes. I have not gained any weight in fact I lost 2 lbs but I get light headed and I'm hungery all the time. I also have pain were my ovaries are and I tear up at every thing. Good Luck