Zoladex

[emily_83rob]

I was diagnosed with endo a week ago and have been told I'll have three injections of zoladex. I haven't had any opportunity to discuss this with a consultant, I was just told that's what will happen. I've read lots of scary things about the drug on here and now I'm worried it's not thw right option. I want tio start a family and stopped taking the pill in April which is when I started suffering with extreme pain. My GP put me back on it until we knew what was wrong and it stopped my periods but I still have pain. It makes me think the only way to stop the pain is to laser it out. Unfortunately I wasn't offered this during diagnosis, even though it seems lots of people are. Does anyone know if there is a better treatment for me which would reduce the pain and still allow me to start a family? I'm meant to have the injection on Thursday so don't have much time to think about it all.

[Impatient]

Well if you re wanting to try for a baby then do NOT have the drug.

You don't have to, it is entirely your choice and it isn't cure for endo and isn't nearly as effective at keeping endo asleep as a pregnancy would be, so if pregnancy is imminently on the agenda then just keep on trying to get pregnant.

The drug lsts in the body 4 months after each implant goes in. So assume you do manage to last all three implants, you would need to use condoms throughout those 3 months PLUS an extra 3 months afterwards to avoid getting pregnant while there re any trace amounts of the drug in your body as it is highly toxic to pregnancy. As per the manufacturers guidelines.

So you are not committing to 3 months but 6months of no sex or safest sex possible.

The drug renders all hormone based contraceptive ineffective. BC Pills, arm implants or Mirena coils etc. Useless while on zoladex or any of the GnRH drugs.

Plus there re so many side effects and they can last a lot longer than the drug. Even when you stop the average time it takes for ovaries to restart ovulating again is 6months, half of ladies will be quicker and half will take longer. It is because you hve no idea which category you are in, that you need to be protecting against a possible accidental pregnancy while the drug is in your body.

The side effects re 24hrs a day, and with no definite ide for when they will stop, yet you are only going to have 3 periods to get through in that same time frame of being attacked by the implants. Tomy way of thinking it's a no brainer. If you have the right pain killers to take as and when you need them it is much better to work your own way through the periods than risk the possible implications of zoladex.

Being pregnant will also stop your endo from bleeding - endo cells being the exact same cells as those found in the womb, when you do get pregnant they fatten up instead of shedding each month, and being pregnant and breast feeding afterwards can give you much longer break from periods and endo activity than the zoladex would be expected to give your body, but with far fewer risks to your health.

If you have not been diagnosed, then refuse the zoladex and ask for a laparoscopy. you cannot be forced to have GnRH drug treatment before a diagnostic surgery, that is just offered to you because it is the current NHS guidelines for narrowing down the likely hood of endo, it is a delaying tactic because of the waiting lists for surgery but it is optional and is not cure.

You can refuse the zoladex without compromising your other rights to treating endo. But do remember to cancel your appointment if you do decide not to go ahead. You may read up on zoladex and decide given your levels of pain that this is something you want to try, in which case that it entirely your decision and starting the drug does not obligate you to complete 3 months, if you have a rough time with side effects aas many of us do, then you can quit at any tie nd not have the next one. But do remember the safe sex with condoms or diaaphragms or whatever barrier methods you chose, should be practiced for 4 months from the date the last implant you had went in to your body.

There is wealth of info about GnRH on the patient advice leaflets and elsewhere online so do your homework and make a decision in enough time to let the clinic know, if you do decide to cancel so they can give your appointment slot to someone else.

If you do want to push for a diagnostic surgery and lasering out the existing endo if found, be sure to ask the surgeon to run an HSG test on your tubes, they squirt dye through the fallopian tubes to check they re both still open tubes and not damaged. If it turns out they are damaged and/or the ovaries are bunged up with endo or adhesions then you'd probably be requiring IVF to conceive and get help by-passing the blockage(s).

Zoladex is a huge time commitment of unknown duration. But if you were to decide that you want to delay baby making for a year to 18months so you can have zoladex and hopefully have surgery too on the endo and recover from the surgery then zoladex may be a good idea to tide you over till you get an op date.

If I were you I would delay making any decision you can start zoladex when you are ready not when they tell you to, so if you need more time to consider your options then tell them. If you want to discuss it with family, partner, GP etc then make time for that before beginning.

Once the drug is in your body you are committed to it and all it throws at you for at least that 1st month plus the 3 months after that even if that is the only one you have.

[emily_83rob in reply to Impatient]

Thank you so much for your reply. I have been diagnosed with endometriosis. Had the laparoscopy a week ago, but they just didn't give me the option to have laser surgery at the same time. The problem is that right now th

[emily_83rob in reply to emily_83rob]

Oops, pressed send by mistake! The problem is that the pain is too bad to try for a baby, which is why I went back on the pill. But I haven't discussed any sort of pain relief with my consultant, so maybe there's something better I can take than paracetamol that would help me through. I've decided to pay for a consultation with a specialist before I make any decisions regarding zoladex as I want to know it's the right thing to do, and I'm not convinced it is. Thanks again for your reply. It was very helpful and made me realise that I definitely don't want to go ahead with the injection on Thursday but to wait until I know a bit more and have had a chance to discuss the options with someone.