Zoladex injections for endometriosis

[Caitlincee1]

Hi , I am having my first Zoladex injection on Tuesday 23rd February for endometriosis treatment. I am very nervous as of what to expect or how I should prepare. Also my Gynaecologist has advised me to remain on my combined pill ? Has anyone else done so?

[anisah_h]

Hi! I had my first injection last month. It induces a chemical menopause so just prepare for significant hormone imbalances for a short period of time. The injection itself is not painful at all, that’ll be a walk in the park. The most common side effects I experienced were hot/cold flashes and mood swings. If you have a pre-existing mental health condition, please make sure you speak to your gynaecologist about it because it really effects your mental health due to hormones. My consultant completely brushed off my concerns about my mental health and my anxiety flared up two weeks later - as soon as the injection wore off (4 weeks after I had it done), the side effects completely went away! Hot flashes will be uncomfortable - make sure to keep a window open during the night and keep a fan close by. It’ll also depend on your age. I’m 24, and because my hormones are still kind of all over the place, I didn’t react well to it. Everyone does react differently to hormone therapy though, so bear that in mind! Your experience won’t necessarily be the same as mine at all!

I’m not telling you all of this to scare you at all, but I wish someone had told me what to look out for before I went on the injection, as I thought I was going crazy!

My main advice is just to be prepared for a few days of feeling unlike yourself. It’ll be over before you know it, though!

A x

[Caitlincee1 in reply to anisah_h]

Hi , thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me! I’ve been so worried about getting my first injection on Tuesday.

I’m worried mainly because I’m a nurse myself doing 13 hour shifts.

I’m so scared I’m not going to be able to do 13 hour shifts with side effects of the injections.

What helped you manage above side effects?

I’m also 24 years old so my hormones are also all over the place.

Although the pain I’ve been suffering recently due to endo I feel hot flushes etc won’t be as difficult to manage.

Thanks so much again x

[anisah_h in reply to Caitlincee1]

Not a problem - I completely understand how you feel. Also, I commend you doing 13 hour shifts as a nurse! That sounds hectic, in addition to suffering from endometriosis and can't be easy at all.

With the hot and cold flashes, I tried to keep myself as cool/warm as I could. You can normally feel it coming on, so I had to prepare myself either by wrapping up warm or wearing lighter clothing and keeping windows open. It started off with hot flashes, then transitioned to cold flashes towards the end of my 4 weeks.

With my mental health, I just made sure I was reaching out to people who I knew I could trust and rely on to keep me feeling calm. I forced myself to acknowledge when I was feeling low, allow myself to feel these mood swings and then spoke to people about it and they helped me through it. But the most important thing is to not worry about why you're feeling the way you do - it's literally the hormones and that's all.

With side effects such as fatigue and loss of energy, I had to rely on lucozade energy drinks to help me get through the day, and had a ginger shot every morning to give me a boost if I woke up feeling sleep-deprived. Ginger shots are a life saver when you're running low on fuel! On your days off, make sure to just rest up/sleep.

I wrote about my full experience in detail on my website - anisahhamid.com/2021/02/05/... - so I'm hoping that might give you some further insight into what to look out for.

Once again, I really don't want to scare you. My doctor disregarded all of my concerns about the injection and told me what I wanted to hear - in doing so, I wasn't prepared for the side effects and so that hit me so much harder. It's only when I did some research that I realised what was happening (chemical menopause) and just reading about how other women cope (on websites and apps etc) gave me huge comfort. The side effects and the intensity of the ones I experienced I was told happen to a very small number of people so you might not experience any of the ones I've listed. And they come in waves - I started feeling some side effects 2 weeks post-injection, and all of them by the 3rd week. It's been just over a week since I was supposed to get my second shot, and all of the side effects have definitely passed now. I feel completely fine, much more like myself (although I am in pain, but that's a given now!)

I really hope it works for you, and you don't suffer from any awful side effects. Remember that this drug induces an artificial menopause, so your body will react to that but that's completely natural and you will get through it! And most importantly, you're not alone in how and what you're feeling. A lot of women on this site have reported that this drug was amazing in tackling their endometriosis - if you're able to push through the side effects, hopefully you've found your golden ticket of endometriosis treatment! I would just never recommend this treatment to people who have a pre-existing mental health condition, but if your mental health is normally well controlled, you should be absolutely fine!

A x

[Caitlincee1 in reply to anisah_h]

Thank you so much this has helped prepare me. I have been off work over a month due to severe endo flare ups requiring hospitalisation. However, I’m back to work the week after I receive my first injection so I’m nervous especially with 13 hour shifts. My gynaecologist has recommended four months of the injections prior to surgery (on hold due to Covid :().

I’m also worried using combined oral pill alongside injections but my gynaecologist has assured me it will help prevent some of side effects from injections.

Did you take anything alongside injections such as low dose HRT or combined pill?

Caitlin

Xx

[anisah_h]

I’ve got the Mirena coil in, so I just had that whilst I took the injection, I didn’t take anything else alongside Zoladex. Using a combined pill might definitely help with the side effects, it’ll hopefully counteract any you get with the injection! I don’t have any experience to back me up but if your gynaecologist says so then taking a combined pill sounds like a positive way to manage the symptoms! I’ve got the Mirena coil in, and I don’t think it made my side effects worse!

Fingers are crossed for you! Are you waiting for your first op or is this a second/third? Tell your managers at work about the side effects of the drug so they’re aware - maybe they can adjust your shift patterns?

X

[Caitlincee1 in reply to anisah_h]

Have you found mirena coil helpful? I’m due my first operation once Covid has ceased and I will be having mirena coil inserted. Yeah I’m going to see how I go with 13 hour shift and if unmanageable ask for shorter shifts.

Xx