lupron

I am looking for anyone who actually took lupron, I am having symptoms that are making me feel just totally crazy. I ache all over, mostly my back, I took my shot 4 months ago, it was a three month dose. My surgery was 5 weeks ago, I kept both ovaries, the doc said they are not working as of yet, and gave me estrogen, but I am seriously worried about the pain, I feel like I should feel better and I just do not, I cry all the time, I am stressed for no reason, and just HURT!! HELP!!!
Carlann

Hi Carlann,

I took a 3-month Lupron shot for endo several years ago. I had muscle aches & muscle cramps, headaches, moodiness, crying jags, vaginal dryness, you name it. In short, it put me in temporary menopause. Now that I've experienced surgical (permanent & complete) menopause, I recognize many similarities in the symptoms.

You probably are having some leftover symptoms from the Lupron after 4 months, but they should be at least beginning to wear off by now. I do remember that my periods started back up pretty quickly after the 3 months was up, but I didn't ovulate for several more months, so obviously there were lingering effects after the 3 months. If your ovaries aren't working, the symptoms could easily be at least partially caused by that. Hopefully the estrogen will alleviate your symptoms soon.

How long have you been taking the estrogen? The lack of estrogen could have caused the muscle aches (I've had joint pain when my dosage or HRT in general needed changing---would hurt so bad I could hardly walk). What type of estrogen are you taking and how much? In addition, being only 5 weeks out from surgery, you're not fully recovered from that either---it takes a while to bounce back!

Hope you feel better soon.

Hi. I took Lupron for endo three times. The first two were for 6 months. The last time was supposed to be for 9 months. Well, after about 5 months, I started getting all of these weird symptoms. I went to my family doctor 3 times, the ER 3 times...they even referred me to a psychiatrist. Turns out, all of my symptoms were side effects of the Lupron. I'm still trying to shake some of the side effects and I haven't had a shot since January. I had my total hysterectomy (I only had 1 ovary & tube left anyway) on March 6th. I hope this makes you feel better. You are not going nuts. That Lupron is some serious stuff. Good luck to you!

Chrissy

Hi
thanks for the posts!! I have only been taking the estrogen for a week. I asked about the effects of lupron, they told me the only side effects were hot flashes, and moodswings. I am just not happy!! I will keep pushing along, and pray for some relief!!

I've been on the Lupron for the last couple of months, but have been on add-back estrogen and progestrone the whole time. I get my last shot tomorrow, then visit the castle a week later. We are hoping the Lupron killed the minute amount of Endo the Dr couldn't get during the last lap.

My side effects haven't been too bad, but the add-back is probably why.

you mentioned add back? what is this? i was never told of this?????

eeeek!!
Good luck at the castle

Carlann,
An add back is just another way of saying HRT> i.e. they give you the Lupron to shut down your own ovarian function and give an add back at the same time to give a base of estrogen and thus eliminate any bad side effects. Depending on why you are taking Lupron they might give an add back. Ladies with endometriosis would not usually get an add back - otherwise why do the Lupron in the first place?
The whole thing is generally a real roller coaster ride for most ladies. They put me on Synarel nasal spray to shut down my own function and gave me an add back of Premarin .625mg. Trouble was my body was in major confusion and upheaval initially while this went on. I had major chest pain for 2 weeks , major fluid, and major anxiety, spasmodic and (extreme at times sex drive/lubrication etc. I think the Synarel stayed in my system for some months even after I ceased taking it. It like any of those drugs is pretty powerful - anything that is going to stop your own hormone function HAS to be powerful.

CarlAnn....I was diagnosed with endo last year and after my lap was put on monthly Lupron injections. After the initial six weeks or so the menopausal symptoms started to appear. For me they were joint pain, leg aches, headaches (but I think the Lupron itself aggravated my headaches), hot flashes, extreme forgetfulness. My dr. said he wanted me to try add back therapy at the lowest dose possible to stay the menopausal symptoms without aggravating the endo. At first he put me on .625 Premarin, but my headaches persisted and I asked him about bio-identical hormones, so he put me on estrace - .5 mg. I took that until my surgery and also started natural progesterone cream from a compounded pharmacist. The add back therapy did help me feel a little better, but I had such bad side effects from the Lupron that I stopped after four shots (bad hip and shoulder pain and headaches) and had my hyst. My dr said he didn't find any active endo during my surgery, so the Lupron must have worked. Look into the add back therapy. Sometimes it helps, but you have to discuss the pros/cons with your doctor and take into account the endo. There's so much controversy out there regarding this very topic. My best advice would be to get as informed as you can and take this information to your doctor and discuss all options. Thankfully my dr was very open-minded and listened to my concerns.