can't settle due to pain. am 44yrs old..... - Endometriosis UK
can't settle due to pain. am 44yrs old......and have been suffering from endo for years. am on zoladex 3.6mg every 24 days.
Is this pain in your head, neck, leg and arm muscles and veins etc brought on by the zoladex, or is the same pains you had before the zoladex?
If the pains were the same as before, then they are not likely to be endo pains but perhaps adhesion pains or nerve damage from surgeries and from endo etc.
If the pains are new (since zoladex) and not confined to the endo areas but elsewhere too then that is more than likely a side effect of the drug and bed rest and pain killers is the only way through it, plus give serious consideration to stopping taking the zoladex .
The pains caused by the drug will ease away once you stop the hormone treatment but meantime they can be pretty dreadful to cope with. Zoladex is not a pain killer, if you are in pain while on the drug then you need pain relief.
Also get your blood pressure checked out as the zoladex can dramatically raise your blood pressure causing pains and that can lead to heart palpitations as the next level up. Neither of which is nice to go through. Make an appoint with your GP to get checked out to see if something can be done if you do have raised blood pressure from the drug, you might need meds to bring that down, or they might put you on HRT add back to reduce the side effects.
Or they may decided that is not in your best interest to continue on zoladex. That is also a decision you can make. It is not like anti-biotics where you are advised to stay on them and complete the course. Zoladex is entirely voluntary. It doesn't cure the endo and has no positive long term benefit. If it is making your quality of life worse then there is no point continuing on it. It is only prescribed in the hope it will relieve your suffering and if it doesn't then why bother taking it?
If the pains are same as before the zoladex then that indicates a more permanent pain issue, most likely the result of damaged tissues, and further surgery might sort that out or might risk making things even worse.
Either way, having the appropriate strength of pain relief to enable you to get a decent nights sleep is essential. Even though quality sleep is hard to come by when you are having zoladex, it does get exhausting and leads to depression.
Hope you find some way to get on top of the pains. Best of Luck.
