To stay on zoladex after having 6 months dose until surgery or av 3 months on pill and then back to zoladex??? Help plz ladies I'm confused

[As-17]

Hey all I just don't no wot to do! Continue on zoladex after having being on it for 6 months or have a break from the drug and go on pill for 3 months?? And then go back on zoladex after 3 months untill my surgery, waiting list for surgery is 3-6 months. My consultant said it was up to me if I want to continue with zoladex or give it a rest for 3 months. I'm confused and lost on wot to do, coz not having a period over nealey 2 months and I'm pain free I have stage 4 endo and my pains are wrose then labour pains

[Impatient]

When you stop zoladex- the average time it takes for your ovaries to wake up and ovulate and start a period is about 5 months. So half of ladies will be quicker than 5 months and half take longer.

If the break is only 3 months - then take that break at most - you are likely to have one period in that time towards the end of the 3 months by most lasies won't even have had 1 period in that time, so it is certainly worth such small odds.

The dodgy thing is that you don't know how long it will take to start up again or when a period will arrive, so it is a bit of a waiting game. You might be lucky and have advanced warning if you generally do feel when you ovulate then the pain of the pop a couple of weeks before the 1st period may be all the signs that you get.

Once yo have had the 1st period after stopping - you can then go on BC pills back to back for a while to give you a break using different chemicals.

It is certainly a good idea to stop zoladex after 6months- that is the maximum recommended in a life time unless you are taking the drug for cancer- in which case your life time expectations are much shorter anyway.

The reason is because the drug causes your core bones -spine pelvis and skull to become much weaker over time and the longer you are on the drug the more the bone density diminishes. So stopping and trying something else as and when your periods to return is going to give your body a better chance to recover some of that bone desity loss.

I think your surgeon has given you very good advice- and stopping the zoladex with just a few months afterwards till surgery is a good idea. You won't restart your periods as soon as you stop- or at least most ladies don't - (I did - but that is quite rare judging by feedback on this forum -) most ladies are still waiting for the periods after several months. So you don't need to start taking back to back BC pills until you are ovulating again. It is probably a good idea (painful though it will be) to have one period in between zoladex and the BC pills -just so you know you are working ovary wise- and to clean out that old lining that has been sitting in there for several months by that stage.

That's up to you, but if it were me- i would want to know the ovaries had woken up properly as some stage after stopping the drug.

If by any chance they don't wake up (it is very very rare) then you need to be started on HRT to top up the body with the hormones it will need for heart health and bone strength.

See how you get on once you come to the end of the line with zoladex. then make a decision on BC pills or back to zoladex....once you have had your 1st period after and got it out of the way.

[As-17]

Thanks impatient! Iv just had my 6th dose last week. But I'm worried coz I don't want that horrible pain again before surgery and knowing my luck il be the same as u and end up aving a period straight after. Is it better to have surgery whilst your having zoladex? Coz I read somewhere that it's better to stop zoladex few months before surgery is that true and why? Thanks Impatient for ur reply xxxx

[Impatient]

It is better for the surgeon to see active endo so they can then remove it. That is why having a lap while on zoladex type drugs is not such a great idea as dormant endo can be very hard to spot and can get left untreated.

Ideally the best time to have surgery is while you are on or just at the end of a period- for that reason, so the active bleeding endo or recently bleeding endo, can be seen, but we can't sadly pick and chose when operation dates are arranged so it isn't always possible.

A really good endo surgeon should be able to spot the nasties anyway, whether active or not.

It really is your decision on this one, and you that will have to put up with the pains, so I can only offer my advice on a practical level- it doesn't take in to account what you have to put up with pain wise and how well you cope with that.

Perhaps you could ask your gynae or GP to give you some very stong back up pain killers just in case your period does return with vengeance. Not masses of them, but just enough to tide you over for a week or so if your regular ones are not usually enough. Bearing in mind you are awaiting surgery there is a very low risk of addiction which is what they are worried about.

[As-17]

Thanks Impatient! I have been on 0xynorm, OxyContin, gabapentin and many more drugs and still the pain is always there. I think i will take a break from zoladex and see what happens. It's so hard to explain to people wen u can't get out of bed, burn ur stomach with hot water bottle, bleed like ur peeing blood, wrose pains then labour and topping urself with so strong pain killers!!!! I'm so thankful to ladies on this site that can understand each others pain..... It's hard to live with an illness that is there very month and in between as well. My bladder and womb are stuck to my Bowles so the pain is unbearable, my pain has got 10 times wrose in the last few years! I'm sooo worried about surgery and hate this illness as I'm always ill and feel helpless