hi, someone said the decapeptyl injection and the tibolone tabs is like having chemotherapy.

[reception]

is this right can people who are aware of this please let me know asap as due to have injection next week. thanks

[Emmashead]

I don't no where they got that from??!! It puts u in a temporary menopause and the tibolone just helps with the side effects like hot flashes etc, its nothing like losing ur hair n becoming frail etc hope this helps some xx

[nixhaz]

Decapeptyl is used as a chemotherapy drug in men with prostatic cancer, as it shuts down hormone production. When used for endo, it shuts down the ovaries.

I believe what Impatient meant is that the side effects of this drug are potentially very severe, and if you explain that you are taking chemotherapy, people will be more sympathetic than if you say that you are just having side effects from a drug. Because you are having the add back therapy (tibolone), you probably won't get as many of the side effects. I have told work that I am taking what is basically chemo treatment, and they have been very sympathetic, whereas if I just told them I was on hormone treatment I am sure they would just think I was wasting their time!

It can cause hair loss, but not like you would get from cancer treatment. The tibolone should stop that from happening anyways. Before I was taking tibolone my hair became really dry, brittle and was falling out a bit (not loads), but now with the tibolone it is more or less back to normal.

[reception in reply to nixhaz]

thank you so much for that.

[Chrissie66]

Hi Reception

Decapeptyl is used in the treatment of men with prostate cancer. However, it is absolutely not a chemotherapy drug. It is a hormone treatment.

The side effects can be pretty horrible, but comparing it to chemotherapy is like comparing....I don't know, sharks and kittens? There just is no comparison, they are completely different in every way. Also, you might not suffer any noticeable side effects at all, for my first few courses I felt absolutely fantastic, better than I had felt in years.

Also - I am willing to bet that 90% of the ladies on this site, and millions of women all over the world have Decapeptyl (also known as Zoladex or Prostap) on a regular basis. It's a common treatment for endometriosis. I've had endometriosis for 20 years now and I've lost count of the amount of injections I've had, if it was that bad, I wouldn't keep going back to it. And neither would the other ladies.

Don't worry about it. It affects everybody differently, so people will only speak from their own experiences

If you have any other questions, feel free to message me

C xxx

[reception in reply to Chrissie66]

thanks so much it's more clear now. mu consultant told me that i hav severer endo and also hav developed bowel dis which they need to treat first, so the injections will stop the periods and put the endo under control, i'm due for a MRI scan on tue then see the consultant in jan 2013 which with the results of the MRI will decided how to treat it so i'm not sure what the out come will be. she did say she wants to avoid surgery as much as poss.

thanks

[Chrissie66 in reply to reception]

You're welcome

A surgeon who wants to avoid surgery if it is at all possible is a very good surgeon. Every time you are cut open, it gives the endo more scar tissue to feed on. So even though the temptation is to go in there as often as possible and clear it all out, it is actually making the situation worse in the long term. It sounds as if you've struck really lucky with your consultant

I'm really sorry you are going through such a hard time with it all, and I hope that between you, you all work out a treatment plan which will work for you

Lots of love

C xxx

[sami78]

I've been on zoladex twice,6 month treatments both times,and i've been on decapeptyl since january and i've never heard of it being referred to as chemo!! I think that makes it sound far more dramatic and certainly won't be using that description at work :/ x

[Cloudyrain]

Some years ago the term chemotherapy was commonly used in reference to any form of treatment using drugs (chemical therapy shortened to the chemotherapy). Its deffo not chemo in the sense we think of it these days (as in cancer treatment), but some old school people still differentiate the types of chemotherapy (cancer-chemo, immune-chemo, etc). A lot of oldies who are on insulin for their diabetes still refer to it as their chemo!