The hot flashes, mood swings, migraines, joint pain, vaginal dryness and lack of intimate desire all suck A LOT! But my endo pain is nonexistent! I tried numerous birth control pills after my laparoscopy to manage my endo symptoms but nothing helped. You have to weigh out the pros and cons!

I am on Lupron now and its amazing the first month sucks but after that it gets better

I did Lupron about four years ago after my first laparoscopy. It was horrible with hot flashes, mood swings and weight gain. I did the add back therapy and started continuous birth control pills after my six months. I got pregnant with my son the first month my husband and I started trying. I think being so proactive and aggressive with my treatment helped. Now I am 16 months postpartum and looking at doing the Lupron again. We have moved since my first round so this is a new doctor I would be dealing with. I’ve been going back and forth whether I want to do it. Sure I’ve had horrible pain and super irregular cycles even while on only active birth control pills but it’s still scary trying to decide if it’s “worth it.”

I have a different doctor who studies Endo and infertility and when I talked to him about what happened after the Lupron, he told me "we don't use Lupron anymore, the side effects are horrible." He said the most important thing you can do for Endo is to make sure it all removed from your body. The surgery should be more evasive to make sure the disease is completely removed. He said if one small speck is left, it will always be a problem. He's a huge fan of the robotic surgery and spending more time searching the abdominal cavity for the disease, as it can move around the body.

I was given Lupron injections when I was 23 and it did not fully wear off until I was 26. I was relieved of much of my pain for those three years, as I did not have a period until I was 25. Once I finally had a period it was the worst I've ever had. I actually thought I might have been pregnant and miscarried, as I've never bled so much in my life. While on the Lupron I suffered terribly from the hot flashes and night sweats. Then I gained an excessive amount of weight. Once the hormones wore off, the weight began to fall off, however I had to have my Galbladder removed, b/c it stopped working. My doctors believed it stopped working as a result of the quick weight gain and loss. I also started experiencing terrible pain in my arms. After having a bone density scan at 26 I was diagnosed with Osteopina. I took the additive medication recommended for bone loss while I was on Lupron. Now I take 1,000 milligrams of Calcium a day on top of everything I have to take and do for the Endo.

If I could do over, I would not do the Lupron again. It has been a horrible expierence and the pain has gotten worse. Now I'm back to surgery. The battle with Endo is never over. I recommend pain management over changing our hormones. When struggling with the decision to do Lupron, you have to what is best for you and I know everyone doesn't have a bad expierence. However, my side effects have not been worth encouraging others to do it.