Zoladex or prostap

[livibean]

I have had zoladex implants before but pain still really bad. I have seen some ladies have prostap injections instead. I mentioned it to gynae and he basically laughed at me saying they were exactly the same thing just a different name. He told me he was happy for me to try it but (patronisingly) said he would be amazed if it would make any difference. I just wondered if anyone had tried either and found one worked better than the other.

[Jofus89]

I'm on prostap and iv heard it's the same as zoladex. In the way if one doesn't work then the other won't as they do the same thing.

I'm on prostap and I can't wait for the day I have my op so I don't have to have another injection. Iv had no end of problems on it, I think I prefered the endo x

[carla1973]

Im on prostap they are the same how long have been having them? I found them effective from the first one x

[NatAbad]

They both do the same thing, but Prostap takes a while to settle down, I'm on my third chemical menopause now, and you don't get any Endo related pain, but as I'm on a research trial, I am not allowed HRT which really does make a difference if you have that alongside Prostap. I imagine that it just depends on the individual concerned as to what drug affects them better/worse than others. Ignore any patronising affect from anyone and go with your instinct. If it does not feel right, then tell the doctors.

[Dragonparc]

That is correct zolidex and prostap are the same product, just under a different manufacturer.

Don't you just hate snotty gynea workers!

[Impatient]

Sorry got to correct you - Zoladex and Prostap are not the same product.

Prostap and Lupron are exactly the same thing - Lupron is the US name and Prostap is the British name for the absolutely identical thing.

Zoladex and Goserelin are one and the same - and manufactured by a British company hence their market share in the UK is huge compared to the other GnRH drugs. just because they are heavily promoted here, and the manufacturer is very generous in paying out incentives and perks to medics in the UK , to squeeze out their rival competitors.

All the GnRH family of drugs vary slightly in their ingredients and how they are administered to you e.g. implant, or injection or nasal spray. This is for copyright reasons.

They all work to shut down the pituitary gland in the brain.

As all the side effects other than soreness from getting the drug in to your body by needle or plunger, are as a result of the pituitary gland in the brain shutting down, the side effects are the same and would happen regardless of which GnRH drug you are on. The only benefits to the patient of one drug over another, is availability of the drug locally and how it gets in your body.

The benefits to the doctor prescribing the drug could mean the difference between a promotional calendar for his or her desk or a week long holiday for 2 in Hawaii so the medic can attend a one day conference on some subject or other. Which one do you think they will opt to promote?

The pituitary gland excretes hormones that regulates many aspects of bodily function, so stopping that from happening will have the same outcome in terms of side effects.

The pituitary has a role in memory function, in temperature regulation, in blood pressure regulation, in sex gland function (ovaries and testes) just to name the major ones that you will notice. The Pituitary gland also regulates growth of bones, hair and nails etc too.

It is possibly the single most important gland in the body - the master gland than controls so many others which is why it is tucked away at the base of the skull heavily protected by the skull bones from damage. Shutting it down however that is achieved will have grave consequences on bodily functions else where.

This is why GnRH is a high risk for bone density loss in long term use, and growth in general. and why it would be so dangerous to a foetus if the drug were to get in to developing baby and shut down their pituitary at the most critical stages of growth resulting in malformed organs and bones... and quite often results in spontaneous miscarriage.

If after taking the drug which will have starved the uterus and endo of the hormones they need to give you period each month, you are still in pain, switching GnRH makes no difference AT ALL to that pain, because it will not be active endo causing the pain.

The endo will be in a coma, so too will be the uterus.

The pains therefore must have some other cause and there is no point being on any GnRH as a means of relief from pain.

Pain inspite of GnRH will in most cases be the result of adhesions and damaged nerves.

It may well be that previous surgery or indeed previous old endo growth had caused the adhesions and the nerve damage but they cannot be resolved without specialist surgery, and in the case of adhesions where they can be cut right back, they will still grow again and any respite will only be temporary till the adhesions take over and start resticking everything together again. Surgery can delay this, and barriers can be placed between organs to act as a buffer which delays the inevitable a bit longer.

Hope that helps explain GnRH. and how it works.

It really is quite different to any drugs you would normally take to get well again.

Super powerful, because they are flooding and overloading and shutting down the poor old pituitary gland which does so much more than just control your menstrual cycle.

Here are some websites on your super splendid little pea sized pituitary gland

yourhormones.info/glands/pi...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedheal...

endocrineweb.com/endocrinol...

Why would anyone think it is a good idea to mess with the pituitary gland, when all you actually want from GnRH is pain relief?

And that comes from having the appropriate surgery, either on the endo or adhesions or damaged nerves.

Surgery is the best answer we have to solve these pains - not GnRH.

[nazabrar in reply to Impatient]

what a wonderful explanation... Loved it and liked it.. Understood so well...

[Oamanda6]

He is right it is exactly same thing. I've tried several different GnRH drugs and they all do same things.

[rashidaakoonjee]

Hi impatient .oh u ar so gud ..well done.ive learnt so much frm u n ds pass 3 months. .