Any experiences with the zoladex implant injection??

[King91]

Hi everyone,

I hope you're all safe and as well as can be.

I had my laparoscopy back at the end of December 2020. I was hoping to start IVF treatment back in June last year however due to a unbearable episode of endo pain I ended up in A&E where they found that I was at a severe stage 4 endo, adenomyosis and a fibroid growing into my bladder and not just the one cyst on my ovary that they thought so I could not start my journey until all the above was removed.

Following surgery I have been put on zoladex injections to prevent my period and to help start building up the follicles in my ovaries but I was just wondering if anyone has been on these injections and if you have any info on side effects etc... I seem to be constantly hungry, bloated and struggling to sleep with night sweats since being on it. I have got hrt to try and reduce the side effects.

Any info, advice, personal experiences would really be appreciated. Thank you ♥️

[Dinah_lady]

Hello. I was diagnosed with endo in my bladder around 10 years ago. My gynae said there was no point in operating as it was too risky (and the endo was likely elsewhere too), so she prescribed Zoladex for 3 months. It was life changing. I also took HRT to help with the nightsweats and hot flushes. To be honest, those side effects are nothing compared to what endo puts you through. I was told to not be on Zoladex for more than 6 months as no long-term studies had been done at that time. However I could not bear the thought of having periods again and my nurses at my surgery did not question me booking an appointment every month for the injection... so I stayed on it for 12 months.

During that time I pretty much cut out red meat, dairy, citrus drinks and drank very little alcohol. I also took up yoga and have been doing it since.

Since then I have not needed anything more than paracetamol during my period. The endo has been very much under control and manageable since then too. I think the 12 months gave time for the endo to shrink and the inflammation to calm and heal. Endo feeds off oestrogen so it had nothing to stimulate it.

I had a round of ivf a year ago, with no success. I am due to start another round soon. It is unknown if/how the endo has affected my fertility.

I am not aware of Zoladex affecting fertility negatively but someone here may say different. It was the right choice for me at the time and has improved my quality of life since. x

[King91 in reply to Dinah_lady]

Thank you for your reply!I'm so pleased that it helped you and you found other ways to manage the endo. I've been looking into my diet now too and have read about cutting out dairy and gluten which I'm just starting now so fingers crossed.

I definitely agree the hot flushes etc are nothing compared to the pain of endo.

Good luck with your IVF I have everything crossed for you 🤞♥️

[cosima]

Hi! I'm currently half way through 6 months on zoladex and having a most positive experience. I have 2 6x6cm cysts on my ovaries so been put on zoladex to help reduce these as surgery wasn't recommended currently for me.

I've had lots of hot flushes, joint pain and a constant headache and have managed without HRT up until now but starting it next week just to help with those side effects as 3 more months of it feels a little hard to face, especially if we start being allowed to do more stuff again and I'm a hormonal beetroot in the corner!!

I've mostly cut out alcohol as I found the hot flushes worse even after one glass of wine and I don't have dairy anyway so I think looking at diet can help a bit.

Hope you're doing OK!!!

[King91 in reply to cosima]

Hi!Thank you for your reply.

Haha red beetroot in the corner that made me laugh! 🤣

I'm glad you're having a positive experience and I really hope it helps with your cysts! Yes ive just started looking into diets and am cutting out dairy and gluten but have only just started so hopefully will see some results in a couple of weeks.

Thank you for the info. Really appreciate it ♥️

Good luck with your journey x

[BellyEllieBob]

Hiya.I was on Zoladex until September last year. I was on it for 9 months and whilst it provided amazing relief unfortunately it really messed with my joints. My knees got so bad and swollen that I was showing signs of arthritis. Since coming off it, my knees got better, but now in terrible pain again. I was on a form of hrt but I can't have the one most people have as I suffer with migraines with aura. Fun times.

I also had the coil in whilst taking zoladex but that caused me acne. Hence coil out. I had all the bloating and hunger too, but I found after a while it wasn't so bad.

Sorry to be a negative nelly, but that was my experience.

Xx

[King91 in reply to BellyEllieBob]

Hi!

Thank you that's really helpful as I'm having really bad issues with my knees!! They are so painful when bending to sit down and stand up and also pain in my feet. I mentioned this to my GP and asked if it could be because of the injections as I've suffered with joint pain for 9 years but not this bad but he just sent me off for an x-ray to check for arthritis so I'm currently waiting to find out my results.

I would rather you say all the symptoms you had as the injection wasn't explained to me I didn't even know it was an implant until I went for my second one as the first one they did whilst I was under in surgery.

Thank you that's really helpful!

Take care and stay safe xx ♥️

[Endonewbie33 in reply to King91]

Hi there, I was on Zoladex for 12 months and my consultant prescribed Livial (generic name tibolone) to minimise the impact of the Zoladex on my joints. Apparently it can reduce your bone density, hence why your joints are hurting. Hope this helps!

[King91 in reply to Endonewbie33]

Ahh interesting! Thank you that's really helpful x

[Endonewbie33 in reply to King91]

No problem at all, it's a tablet that you take daily and it definitely helped me. My ankles and knees used to hurt a lot (and I've also had bad knees for most of my adult life due to old sports injuries) when I first started Zoladex. The tablets made the pain much more manageable so please talk to your GP or Consultant about it

[FazzyB]

Hi,The Zoladex makes you feel like your having hit flushes and I was told this is apparently what it would feel like if I was to go through menopause,

So be prepared for the raging heat waves that are to come with zoladex,

Over all no real issues

Good luck and take care

[King91 in reply to FazzyB]

Hi!

Thank you. Yes I've experienced already having to throw off my jumper now even with this cold weather haha!!

Best wishes xx