Zoladex

[MegVarny]

Hi all,

Has anyone tried Zoladex injections to help with their endometriosis pain? I have been advised to try them but I am not too keen about having a fake menopause at the age of 25.

Thanks!

[KatieWeller90 Moderator]

Hi Meg. I had them when I was 21 after my first lap. The hot flushes etc aren’t nice but I was completely pain free for a year after and would definitely recommend it!

[Mslilsuzy]

Hello Meg, I am 33 years of age, I tried Zoladex in October 2017 to November 2017, it varies from person to person. Unfortunately, it did not help me, the pain increased by 3 x's and I battled the majority of the side effects of the medication. I hope for good success, healing, and relief for you.

[Shan2804 Moderator]

Hi Meg, I am 24 and I had zoladex 3 years ago. I only had one months worth because I couldn’t stand the side effects. I also tried prostap which is in the same group of drugs for 3 month and I reacted the same. I because very depressed, anxious, nauseated, hot flushes, dizziness, insomnia, fatigue... oh the fatigue 😢 I’ve actually never recovered from the fatigue of prostap and zoladex even 3 years later. I have recently been diagnosed with ME/CFS which I believe these drugs to have caused.. I became bedbound during the treatment and even with add back therapy I was just a mess. I didn’t get any relief and although you are supposed to stop bleeding during treatment I continued to bleed and it was very random and very heavy.

Prostap was a normal injection into the stomach but zoladex was a huge needle with a tablet that goes into the stomach each month/3 months.. it leaves you with a small hole in your stomach which has scarred me and my bruising was as big as the palm of my hand and very painful.. personally I feel like these drugs have ruined my life in just the short time I took them (4 months in total) and don’t recommend them to anyone HOWEVER this was my experience and yours may be very different.. as Katie says above she did get relief and I know of other woman who have had a positive experience with it. What I would advise though is that you ask for the 1 month dose and not the 3 month dose. I was unaware I could do this and I ended up having about 7-9 months of side effects because I had to wait 3 months while it was active then I had zoladex for 1 month and then it took 3-6 months for the side effects to settle down some but not completely as the side effects still affect me now.. at least if you have a 1 month injection if you don’t get on with it you won’t have to wait too long for it to settle down and hopefully won’t affect you as bad as it did me..

I really hope whatever you decide to do, that it really helps you. I know what it feels like when you get to the point you don’t care and your willing to try ANYTHING just for a bit of relief.

Take care. Shan xx

[Ariyauna123]

Hi! Im 18 and currently on lupron which is the same as zoladex. I had many hot flashes in the first month of treatment, but my biggest side affect is increased appetite which caused extreme weight gain. I haven't had any pain relief from it at all, it just seems to be getting worse, so I am going to come off of it POSSIBLY only because I cannot keep gaining this weight. But it does help in the long run I believe, that is what my doctor told me. It is supposed to suppress the ovaries into stop producing estrogen and keep the endo from spreading any more, and should help keep your fertility at a higher chance. But every woman is different! Overall besides the weight gain, I have felt not many side affects.