Mood and Zoladex

[Teacup8]

Hello,

I hope you’re all coping as best you can today and that there’s been a little light in your day.

I am only on my second week after my first Zoladex injection and I’m just struggling a bit with low mood, feeling depressed and anxious and very emotional. There are a lot of horror stories out there about Zoladex so I’m just looking to hear some more reassuring ones, if there are any, for balance. Has anyone found this symptom passes?

I’m just concerned because after having the Zoladex, the next line of treatment is surgery to remove my ovaries and uterus. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life feeling depressed because I don’t have my ovaries but I also recognise why it’s come to this point with my treatment.

[MyStar86]

oh bless you I can relate and felt the same on zoladex but I had add back hrt to help with the symptoms as you are going through chemical menopause. If you have the surgery like I did I had a total hysterectomy everything removed ovaries, tubes, uterus and cervix but once I got the hrt balanced life was good again I felt like myself but it’s very scary going through menopause all in one go so I would speak to your specialist and ask if you can add hrt due to your symptoms as you can’t stay on zoladex forever especially without hrt. How old are you if you don’t mind me asking? I was 35 when I went through it so no where near menopause which is why my body went into shock and the symptoms were so bad I couldn’t sleep I was having panic attacks etc but don’t suffer in silence talk to your specialist and they have to help you. Good luck

[Teacup8 in reply to MyStar86]

Hi MyStar86 , thanks for your response.

Yes, that is the kind of surgery that is probable. I have been prescribed Tibolone but was told not to take it for 3 months unless I have symptoms that are unmanageable. So surely, two weeks in is too early to start. I’m 31 but will have no contact with gynaecology until after the 6 months of Zoladex is up. It’ll just be the GP I can speak to however they can only do as the hospital instructs.

Maybe I’m just being too sensitive and need to tough it out!

[MyStar86 in reply to Teacup8]

No you are not too sensitive I went a bloody week and lost my mind I was a total mess I couldn’t stop the panic attacks and contacted my gynaecologist and he put me on combined hrt which did help but not enough so I stopped the zoladex and then waited for surgery as I couldn’t cope I needed stronger hrt but after surgery I was more in control of my hrt and found a better balance I didn’t find zoladex helped me at all so I’m glad I stopped it xx don’t feel like you are being weak hormones are awful so take care and don’t let things get too bad as it’s harder to come back from.

[Teacup8 in reply to MyStar86]

Thank you for the reassurance.

How have things been after surgery? I’m worried it’ll just be permanent mood issues!

[MyStar86 in reply to Teacup8]

I won’t lie it took me a while to balance the hormones but I did have pmdd prior to surgery so it was very risky. I didn’t get on with the patches and now settled on the spray and a pill which was much better it takes a few months but it is better than the zoladex I found that worse!!! You have to be patient as it does take time but when the hormones are right it’s amazing I was so happy. Being young you will need higher oestrogen as that’s what we learnt with me and the progesterone helped with the insomnia so it’s a balance but it will be ok just give it time and don’t judge it on the zoladex xx if you ever need any advice or questions I’ll always be here too 😊

[Bookworm3371]

Morning,

I’m just about to have my third Zoladex injection. Are you on add back HRT?

My first month on Zoladex was a bit up and down, but I think I had it after I’d ovulated that month and I still had a period. That was as bad as it normally is, no worse but disappointing as I had hoped it would help the pain and it’s supposed to be a test for when I have the operation. This second month I’ve not had a period, seems it’s turned everything off now. That said I had awful mood swings around when I’d usually have my period - full on sobbing, rage, anxiety. It did pass and I feel more level now. I would recommend keeping a note of any symptoms, just notes on your phone, nothing fancy. It’s helped me to look back at the symptoms and see any patterns and also gives me some comfort that it does pass. At the time it was a bit out of body if that makes sense, like I could tell you I feel anxious but I couldn’t really address it, just had to ride it out.

If you’re not on add back HRT, do ask for some. I was told this is also a test to make sure I can tolerate the HRT for after the op, as I’m quite a way off natural menopause. It does however mean it’s harder to know whether it’s a side effect of Zoladex OR the HRT OR just meno symptoms.

I’ve found this board very helpful too, as you’re not alone and there is always someone you can talk too, take care xx

[Teacup8 in reply to Bookworm3371]

Hello Bookworm3371 , thanks for your response.

I’ve been prescribed Tibolone but I’m not currently taking it. I was instructed to wait until I’ve been on Zoladex for 3 months or take it earlier if I have unmanageable symptoms.

Thanks for the suggestion of tracking symptoms. Might be useful to do!

Glad you’re feeling more level now. I’m either feeling anxious for no good reason or very depressed and crying! Hopefully there’s some hope in sight.

[Bookworm3371 in reply to Teacup8]

It might be worth trying to contact your gynae or even your GP about the hrt to check if you can start it sooner. I was instructed to take mine straight away, my consultant said if I wanted to see the effects of menopause without it, I could do maybe 2 weeks without it but he wouldn’t advise longer than that. Think partly to ease the symptoms but also as Zoladex can effect your bone density and the hrt negates some of the impact.

That’s not to say the hrt will be a magic wand but might help a bit.

It’s so hard with mood, anxiety etc as I know the pain before was making me a nightmare to be around but now I don’t sleep well which is obviously also affecting how “positive” I am day to day. It’s generally a pretty crappy thing to live with, having to pick the least worst option x

[Teacup8]

MyStar86 and Bookworm3371 ,

Thanks for your responses. And apologies for my delayed reply! I’ve been under a rock just trying to get by.

Yesterday, my GP said the treatment must be stopped due to the severity of the effect on my mood. Hopefully the mood issues will ease soon.