O.K. girls, be aware, be very aware!!!!!!!!!!! I have posted many times about my Lupron use! 2 ½ years at almost twice the dose. I did my research before starting this drug and thought I asked all the right questions. I am finding more and more information post-Lupron unfortunately. One of the most common side effects (75%) is memory loss. What doctors tell us is that MOST of the side effects will go away after treatment. What they don’t tell us is that the rest of the “most” is permanent damage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was grateful for Lupron because it was the only thing that made the pain go away. But I tell you....Now, I don’t think I would have ever taken it!!!!!!! My side effects include hot flashes, mood swings, sleeplessness, weight gain, hair fell out, and memory loss. I contributed most of the side effects to stress. WELL..........It wasn’t!!!!!!! Now the latest problem since going off Lupron is intestinal pain and related problems.
I know I was on it for an extended period of time, but it is being reported by the 100's with just the normal 6 month use. This drug is actually so controversial with permanent damage that in CA, FL, and all the way into Canada, people are trying to get it off the market!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would hate for anyone to go into it blindly. I didn’t think I did, but like I said...I thought I could tolerate the side effects as long as I got back to myself after treatment! Some women report that after 8 years, they still are not back to normal and never will be!!!!!!!!!!! Please research EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!! 10 times over and with 12 different opinions!!!!!!!!

Pippin ~ that is great info. I have a 19 yo cousin who is on it and she is in horrible pain and has all sorts of problems. Were you taking it to put you into a temporary menopause state?

Any other info you can tell me about Lupron would be greatly appreciated.

TAZ

Yes I was. I was given Lupron for Chronic pelvic pain. I had one Lapro in which they found no endometriosis, however I was on birth control pills at that point. The second lapro. They found no endo., but I was on Lupron for 2 ½ years during that procedure. The doctor then told me they could have missed it because Lupron may have shrunk it! The problem is..if that is the case, it will come back as soon as my period does! Which by the way still has not occurred since my last shot 4 months ago!!
Here is a little of what I found.....

“With long-term studies missing, the obvious question is: just how many women who were ill when they started taking Lupron did not have the capacity to reverse the effects of Lupron treatment - in other words, to get back the full capacity of the pituitary.
1. There are some leads that researchers must follow. Common symptoms of pituitary disorders include irregular menses, sexual dysfunction, infertility, changes in physical appearance, and unexplained mood changes. These are the types of complaints some women have after stopping Lupron.
There is also no research to determine whether Lupron treatment "sticks." That is, does Lupron continue to affect certain receptors in the body, once treatment has stopped? Can Lupron continue to have an effect in certain susceptible women? “
2.
“Over the next five years, Hayward, a healthy, active postal worker, was given 18 more injections of the drug. Other curious health problems followed. She developed herniated discs, her body ached all over, and her memory worsened.
1. Two years after she stopped taking the drug, Hayward, now 43 and living in Carver, is on disability and has trouble remembering basic things, like conversations she had earlier in the day. She suspects Lupron triggered irreversible changes in her brain.
``I went to college and I feel like I am an idiot now, because I can't remember anything,'' Hayward said. ``There has to be some connection.''
Hayward is hardly alone.”
3.
“Scores of women nationwide have reported to federal health officials serious side effects from Lupron, a drug originally developed to treat men with advanced prostate cancer but now widely used to treat women for a variety of routine gynecological problems.
1. The serious side effects reported by women include tremors, seizures, memory loss and joint pain. The problem is, some women say these side effects are not going away - even after they stop taking the drug.
Lupron's manufacturer insists its product is safe. The Food and Drug Administration, the federal agency that approves drugs for public use, says the benefits from Lupron outweigh the risks.
But a growing number of women, women's health advocates and medical ethicists question that, saying the potent drug designed for men who have few other treatment options for advanced prostate cancer is being widely used on young, healthy women - without enough studies to show whether it causes long-term, and possibly irreversible, side effects.
``Lupron is something that sends a substantial number of women into a tailspin,'' said Judy Norsigian, program director for the Boston Women's Health Book Collective, a co-author of ``Our Bodies, Ourselves.'' ``It's one of the drugs that we feel has not been adequately assessed.''

I don’t think I can give the web pages? If I am incorrect, someone let me know and I will post the web site information. Otherwise, I will keep pasting the info here.
Hope this helps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for the information I will pass it a long to my cousin. She started lupron treatments I believe last August. Since then she has had continuing abdominal pain, nerve damage pain, and she just had to have her right ovary removed. Again, she is only 19. The lupron was supposed to put her into a menopausal state but she continues to have bleeding. She also has horrible night sweats, mood swings, hot flashes, and is in constant pain.

Thanks again for the info,

tAZ

hi pippin - thank you for this info - i am on my third day of lupron and i will only be on it for 31 days, however, it is good to know this information - best of luck to you! jen

Well, this is just my opinion due to personal experience, but she may not fully be in menopause. I still had pain my first 3 months of treatment so that is when they did blood work to check my levels. I wasn’t suppressed so they increased my dose to 1 ½ shots per month. It did make the pain go away, I will admit that. But at what cost?!?!?!?
Is she seeing a reproductive endroconologist or gyn? I suggest a RE doctor. A gyn is o.k. but a RE doctor is more experienced with pelvic problems.
Good luck and keep me posted!!!!!!

Good luck Jen. I am thankful you only have to be on it for a month. I didn’t experience any side effects in my first 2-3 months other than hot flashes. So, hope all goes well. Take care and good luck

By the way Jen, I don’t know why you are taking Lupron, but if it is for endo. Be aware that Lupron will most likely increase you symptoms the first couple of weeks. That is to be expected. Just wanted to let you know incase the doctor didn’t mention this.

Pippin - I am not taking it for endo - I am doing a high tech procedure similar to IVF, called ZIFT. They want to put me into premenopause beforehand - get this - I don't know if this is coincidental but I could not for the life of me remember how to do a smiley face on the computer (with the colon, hyphen and paranthesis) Like this: :-) It was the weirdest thing, but I could not figure it out - I do it ALL THE TIME!! I had to look at a previous email to figure it out. Then I do feel forgetful with detailed things that I don't typically forget! I know it sounds ludicrous but honestly, I have noticed these things! Anyway, thanks for the fyi - jen http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

I don’t know the time span it takes for “memory loss” to occur. I was home in PA visiting my parents when this last episode of pelvic pain occurred (when I started Lupron). I was unable to return back to Arizona/ work for 2 years. I finally went back in September and that is when my “memory loss” was noticed by my “old” supervisor that I worked with for years prior to Lupron. I couldn’t remember how to do my job or any tasks she asked me to preform. Anyway, like I said she and I both chalked it up to stress. Then a friend of mine during the same time period started making jokes about me having to ask the same question 10 different ways and still didn’t catch on. All I have to say is thank God I got through college first!! A big part of my studying consisted of memorizing things!!!
Don’t feel silly if you feel like you are forgetting things. Take it seriously and try and account for times you notice you are not retaining information properly. Again, I don’t know if a month on Lupron would be sufficient to cause this, but don’t discount it either! Take care and good luck!