Am I pregnant after Zoladex?

[affecting_meg]

Hi all,

Further to my last post about Zoladex finishing July 2019 and not having a period since, I am still not having periods! I went to my docs, blood work all okay, no issues and also has some swabs done and examinations, US done at hospital. She's also tested my partner, his sperm count is fine. So we were referred to fertility before COVID started, which has obviously been rejected now with all going on in the world. I'm assuming the same has happened with my referal back to gynae too from January.

Anywhooo, the last few weeks I have been getting a lot of stabbing pain from my ovaries and into my vagina as well as tiredness, bloating, usual endo stuff. I felt really nauseous yesterday so I did it - took a pregnancy test. The top one was the first I took (put the image negative to see easier) and I'm sure there was a line. Surely I'm not? I thought, so the two below were about two hours after the first and I can't see anything. One this morning also showed nothing.

Could this just be my hormones playing on me? Am I pregnant? Should I continue testing? Really confused. Help please.

I read that Zoladex can cause your body to produce eggs in overdrive once out of your system. We are actively trying to conceive, having intercourse every three or so days. No idea what my cycle is, due to having no period since July 2019.

Would appreciate your thoughts on the test, what you think I should do? The test is a cheap one off Amazon (named Ultra Delay?)

TIA xxx

[Nelly_Star]

Sorry no idea if you are, but that does seem to show a very faint line. My understanding of pregnancy tests is they should be taken first thing in the morning, just after waking as that's when your hormones are strongest. Advice if you think you may be pregnant but are getting a negative result is to test again in a few days as hormones build over time. As you have no idea where you are in your cycle you could be literally testing after ovulation. So I'd wait a day or two and repeat. 🤞for you!! X

[affecting_meg in reply to Nelly_Star]

Hi. Thank you for your reply. Had a whirlwind since I posted this!!! Will update today at some point when I have a min x

[affecting_meg]

For anyone who comes across this or wants to jump in - PLEASE DO - as I think I'm just stumped and mentally drained from this past week.

After I posted this, the day after, I experienced very heavy bleeding. (Friday). This continued until Sunday then completely stopped. Now this is the first bleeding I've had since July due to the Zoladex and after the faint positive I was thinking I'd just had a early miscarriage or a chemical pregnancy. I'm sure you all understand also that I am very used to having long, heavy, painful periods that go on no less than ten days. So it was very unusual for me to just bleed for three days straight.

I struggled through Monday and Tuesday at work, mostly with deep pains in my pelvis and feeling unwell, so Wednesday I called my GP on a break at work just to explain. She referred me to Early Pregnancy Unit at my hosp for an ultrasound. Had one internally and externally, no sac or foetus etc. Thus was all on Wednesday. Came home from the hospital dishevelled and realised I must have miscarried/chemical - who knows without dates of periods etc. The nurses were at a loss.

I took a test Saturday morning as they said at the hospital to check, so this being a week after my original test pictured on this thread and it was positive?! Slightly darker than the one I'd taken just over a week ago, but definitely there. So I called the EPU at the hosp and they asked me to go in. Had a look at my cervix, clamped shut, and a general look around (my right ovary hurts), and bloods done for HcG. I'm going again Monday to see what the difference is. All the while I'm just wondering what the actual eff is going on with my body? I'm so confused as to what's happening. I don't know what to do, I feel sick with worry. Why are our bodies so strange?

So I'm making the assumption I'm not pregnant now. I've not drank any alcohol or done anything wild for a week now and been taking folic acid but I just feel lamented. Hopefully I'll be able to get back on the baby train soon. Maybe invest in some better tests too.

[Afrohair]

Can’t answer your question as such but I have heard it can take up to a year for some people to get periods back and you can get tablets to induce it I also heard that at this point you can’t get pregnant as your not ovulating as if you aren’t having periods the zoldex is still in your system so I’m as lost as you as to what’s happened if you did get pregnant it means you was ovulating and you don’t need to have periods to ovulate which is what I read in a book period repair manual to be precise . so I’m thinking your body may have had a surge or kick start for either you to get pregnant or suddenly start a period when it comes to dates however I do not know as also if you do have zoldex in your system it can be harmful to a foetus so could explain a misscarrige I hope you get some sort of answers x

[affecting_meg in reply to Afrohair]

Hi lovely!

Thanks for your reply. I was told by the specialist I was seeing last year (he did my lap, gave me Zoladex and also removed my coil) that I would be okay to safely conceive once my periods came back. This was August last year. I feel like it's so hard as I am collecting as many dates and pics of tests and everything but it's not helping the situation in hand.

Hopefully once COVID is over I can just be referred to fertility like I was supposed to be before it all kicked off.

Thanks for your response anyway. 💛

[Afrohair in reply to affecting_meg]

Wow I’m so sorry you were miss advised. Was it an endo specialist?as I had specific information from my specialist that I was to use condoms on zoldex which is one reason I didn’t go on it as I was ttc anyway so didn’t make sense and the reason was it can cause harm to a fetus it even says it here rxlist.com/zoladex-36-side-... and on many other websites

[Afrohair in reply to affecting_meg]

Just realised you put once your periods came back but thing is your periods didn’t come back that is a big baffler so do you think you was pregnant since maybe when you came of zoldex did you notice any changes.if you had a misscarrige it must have been an early misscarrige or you would have known if you was further along I’m so sorry you are going through this mind boggle

[affecting_meg in reply to Afrohair]

Yeah so my last injection was nearly a year ago. I wouldn't think it would still be in my system now surely. But I've not had a period and they're saying it was likely I miscarried the other week. X

[affecting_meg in reply to affecting_meg]

When I had the Zoladex I wasnt TTC. Its only been since August I have been TTC, when my doc said it would be coming out my system. I'm aware it probably still fully wasn't but it definitely should be now a whole year on. Really don't have a clue what's going on anymore I'll be honest.

[Afrohair in reply to affecting_meg]

Lots of people have said a year later they haven’t had a period I was under the impression you wouldn’t ovulate too as it’s supposed to suppress ovulation if it’s still in your system if you haven’t had a period it should indicate your body hasent kick started but maybe it did kick start what a situation to be in that would really bug me have you done any research into the drug there maybe some more information out there to help you. I couldn’t find much when I was considering it only other people’s experiences as I said I wouldn’t go on it if there’s a chance I would wait for everything to kick start again as some ladies said they couldn’t conceive after it because there period did not come back which made me think they weren’t ovulating either .even one lady said it did al sorts to her body and she had to have ivf as there was no chance of pregnancy after the drug.see how your next period is if it comes around same time you bled this month see if it was a period .

[affecting_meg in reply to Afrohair]

I have been at a loss with information on Zoladex. There's nothing much on the Internet except other people's experiences as you said and everyone reacts differently so I just took the stories with a pinch of salt. I was in so much pain and turmoil last year, I would have literally taken anything thrown at me at the time.

I'm getting concerned now. We did get a referal to fertility but it was rejected due to Covid. We know its me that's the problem, not my partner. I just feel like nothing ever gets answered and I'm just passed from pillar to post. I feel cos I'm young people don't take me seriously. I say I want to have a child and I get "you've got plenty of time for that". But I haven't when I have the issues I have, clearly. It's really affecting me now mentally too.

Hopefully something will happen soon. Whether it was a period, miscarriage or whatever else. I had three days of extremely heavy bleeding so it must mean something is happening. I had a few more positive pregnancy tests but they're now negative. Oh well.

Thanks anyway Afrohair. Hope you're well. X

[Afrohair in reply to affecting_meg]

I’m so sorry I can’t imagine what you are going through but please don’t blame yourself it’s out of your control all you can do is try to minimise stress and have a healthy life style and who knows it could be a good sign you can get pregnant at least and you might not even need fertility treatment try not to be too hard on yourself relax and give yourself some tlc all the best x

[Hidden]

Hi there,

This came up in my emails and the title made me shiver.

I won't bore you with the details but needed to comment. I actually became pregnant in the month after I finished zoladex. A lot of people will say xyz can't or shouldn't happen but it did happen for me and it was horrific. I did a 3 month implant. Technically would have been out of my system in the Feb. By the march I still didn't have a period. Did a test and was positive. Panic ensued as we all thought maybe I had been pregnant since the Nov it went in. Days spent in EPAC. No sac seen but hcg rising. Then hcg stopped rising. Still couldn't locate any sac. Long horrid story but the pregnancy was of unknown location and caused a lot of physical pain. The doctors were initially at a loss. Then my endo specialist got involved and asked a fertility colleague to explain and basically as you initially described the body can essential be flooded with what it needs to conceive. The advice given to me was to wait one complete cycle after zoladex to conceive. Lots of fertility doctors use it as part of their protocol. Definitely no need to wait longer unless advised specifically by a specialist.

Have they let you know what your hcg levels are? This will be key to knowing what's going on. I'm so sorry for what you are experiencing. I remember all too well. It's very scary and worrying. I hope they are taking good care of you. Please do be gentle with yourself. It's so much to manage especially after the hurricane that is zoladex treatment too!

[affecting_meg]

I am sorry to hear about your situation. I know you became pregnant only a few months after when it should have been out of your system. I haven't had an injection since July 2019 (10.8mg) so I think I have had a little longer for things to get going.

After the EPAU trip, they let me go home and we put it down to early miscarriage as you said, there was no sac etc. I didn't go back for my second HcG test as I had two negative pregnancy tests, I didn't feel mentally equipped for it, especially when I can't have the support of my partner with me due to Covid. I just felt mentally deflated.

I have taken your comment on board though, thanks. As an update, I have done some more PTs this weekend and Saturday I got positive on two dip sticks and a positive on a digi test and I have also taken a week by week test and it says I am 4-5 weeks gone. So I don't know what to think now after seeing your comment. I called EPAU after the digital tests and they told me to go to my GP to be referred to the midwife so I have an appointment with midwife on Monday... Even though I'm not 100% sure I'm actually pregnant now reading your comment. 😕 It seems like everyone is as clueless as I am about what's going on in my body. The EPAU did say it's either a) a new pregnancy or b) the original pregnancy (which I think it is now I have done the week by week test) and I just had some unknown heavy bleed in the early stages. My friend is a midwife and she thinks it's likely to be that when I went to the EPAU that I was only 1-2 weeks pregnant so they wouldn't have seen a sac or anything on the US. Now, at 4-5 as per the Clearblue test, I think things would be a lot different but the EPAU haven't invited me in for another scan which I thought was odd. Especially as I'm likely going to have to have a US dating scan anyway now as I have no last period date for the midwife or any knowledge other than the Clearblue week by week test as back up of where I'm at in my pregnancy.

Sorry to rant. Argh!!

[Curlylockz in reply to affecting_meg]

Do you have an update???