Are you healing your spirit and mind as well as your body after your fibroid procedure?

The idea for this entry sprouted from thoughts on total healing (mind/body/spirit) left in the post-Abdominal Myomectomy forum. I thank the ladies there, particularly Sunday and Gab. This is a fascinating topic as I’ve always felt that to have total health, the mind, body, and spirit must work together. I’ll start with my experience and then open the floor to others.

My body, mind, and spirit became disjointed years ago. I decided to seek medical assistance because my periods were becoming bad and blamed fibroids. There are women in my family who had surgery for fibroids and I just knew it was my turn. Yeah, too bad the first ultrasound didn’t detect the dang things. Had a heck of a time trying to convince the doctor and grew tired of doing so. Ended up dealing with my symptoms on my own (with mind fighting body) for YEARS…

How are you preparing for your fibroid treatment?

Your preparation can be spiritual, or funny, or just ways you are pampering yourself. Name your treatment option and tell what you are doing to prepare.

How are you preparing for your fibroid treatment?

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Related Posts:
What should I carry with me to the hospital before my fibroid surgery?
What’s involved with pre-op testing before a fibroid procedure?

Tell me about Lupron, Synarel, and Zoladex (gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists)

One upon a time (months ago), I wrote a post on gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists but I don’t think anyone really saw it. I guess it’s the name. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist does sound kind of strange.

How about Lupron, Synarel, and Zoladex? Yeah, still a little funny sounding but better. Lupron, Synarel, and Zoladex all belong to the class of drugs known as (everybody chime in)… gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRH agonists).

Just what are your uterine fibroid tumor treatment options?

Been blogging here for a number of months on the medical decisions I made to finally address my uterine fibroid tumor problem. I consider myself fortunate because a number of women have decided to share their choices as well. It’s now time to string some of the Forum “threads” together and assemble a post that lists fibroid treatment options.

I’ll start with some general information from the MayoClinic.com Uterine Fibroids Decision Guide. Visit the site for treatment details including what to expect, common concerns, and pros and cons. I’ll also include links to related posts on this site for each of the options.

How are you feeling after your Lupron injections? Any side effects?

(Monday, February 05, 2007) Editing this post a bit to include my experience because I’m noticing that people aren’t really reading my Related Posts at the end. Let me make a couple of points first.

Note: Please realize that you are online. By its nature, the Internet will draw women having problems with fibroids and looking for answers. Women with great Lupron treatment experiences probably aren’t posting about it online. I discovered this when looking for information several months ago. I was alarmed by the disproportionate number of negative Lupron experiences and decided to start a blog with a more balanced perspective. Hopefully, I’ve come close to that.

Blood and clots and cramps… oh my

Do you know not even 24 hours after I talked to my Interventional Radiologist, my period started? Had just told him I was doing surprisingly well. No bleeding. No clots. No cramps. At 3:00 AM (why did my period have to wake me up?), there it was.

The good news: My period was bad but not horrible. Lots of blood, pretty large clots, and painful cramps but I had experienced worse.

I calculated the approximate amount of time between my last Lupron injection for the fibroids and the start of my period. It was 10 weeks. Note: Keep in mind I spotted until about the end of May.

Iron pills, Lupron injections, and the return of little Miss Perky

When I hear the word perky, I am reminded of a former coworker. He once told me that he initially disliked me because I was too perky and found it impossible to believe that anyone could come to work and be that happy every single day. Of course, he mentioned this after we became good friends.

The severe anemia from my fibroids put a huge dent in my “perkiness factor”. Hard to be happy when you feel weak and faint all of the time. Fortunately, the combination of iron pills and Lupron shots helped to raise my original Dec 2005 hemoglobin level of 6.7 g/dL to 11.2 by May 2006. A normal hemoglobin level is >12. Wow. Almost normal. I like the way that sounds. Almost normal. Think I’ll put it on a T-shirt. Yep, the perkiness has returned.

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Related Posts:
How are you feeling after your Lupron injections? Any side effects?
Uterine fibroid tumors and anemia?
How are you managing your heavy menstrual bleeding?

Lupron is neither heaven nor hell

Neither heaven nor hell. That’s a good way to sum up my personal Lupron experience. Neither a condition of “great happiness, delight, or pleasure” nor a situation of “evil, misery, discord, or destruction”. Definitely, somewhere in between under the bell curve.

Receiving Lupron injections for 3 months was not easy. There were a few days along the way when I wanted to discontinue the treatment. I truly believe there should be a balance between your mind, body, and spirit but there were times when one had to pick up the slack left by the others. On the days when my body wanted to quit, my mind jumped in with logical thoughts:

The very last Lupron injection in April

Nothing major occurred during my last injection. Talked to the ScriptAssist Nurse about the spotting. Not concerned. Just a little disappointed that the bleeding hadn’t stopped. Had to play my “fibroid theme” a bunch of times to get through this last month.

So, I still spotted every day. Still played the crazy lottery of not knowing if I would just spot that day or bleed or what. I noticed if I did bleed, I would have cramps. I passed huge clots in March without any cramps. Now in April, I passed tiny clots and experienced pain. That was kind of backwards. Could tell my estrogen level was dropping because I definitely experienced hot flashes. Didn’t sweat a whole lot but the heat was intense. Fortunately, they only lasted a few minutes.

I was sure this would be my last Lupron injection. No more feeling faint. No more rapid heartbeat. I had tons of energy. I could sense my recovery from anemia.

*Recap: Continued to spot every day. Passed tiny clots with cramps on several occasions. Hot flashes. No sweat but yes, they were hot!

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Related Posts:
How are you feeling after your Lupron injections? Any side effects?
That first Lupron injection in February
My second Lupron injection in March

My second Lupron injection in March

Kept bleeding a little the morning of my second Lupron injection. It steadily increased as I sat in my doctor’s office waiting to get my shot, as I received the shot, and afterward. Visited the bathroom before leaving the office and was surprised that a rather large clot passed out of my body without any cramping.

Although I usually munch much Motrin to control any period cramping, I was used to at least a low level of “warning” pain. Large clots without cramps was a new experience. Since I didn’t know how long I would bleed, I stopped by the drug store to pick up some “supplies”. Came out of the store, walked across the parking lot, and felt much of my internal heaviness suddenly become external heaviness.

Could not figure out how I was passing such huge clots without cramps. No warning. Made it home (just barely) and the bleeding subsided. Got a call from the ScriptAssist Nurse about an hour later. Pretty good timing. It felt good to have someone checking on me.

After the second shot, I started to notice more side effects. Woke up in the middle of the night burning up. Not sweating just really hot. It felt like someone cranked up the furnace all of a sudden. Lasted about 5 minutes and then went away as quickly as it appeared. Experienced that several nights. Still spotted every day. At times, I would bleed and pass ever-smaller clots without cramps. This happened perhaps another 4 or 5 days during the month. Not in a row like a period. More like a crazy lottery. The good news: I noticed that I felt better. I had more energy. Actually started exercising again. I could tell my anemia was improving.

*Recap: Passed huge clots without cramps the day of the injection. Continued to spot every day. Passed smaller clots without cramps on several occasions. Night sweats without the sweat. Just the heat.

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Related Posts:
How are you feeling after your Lupron injections? Any side effects?
That first Lupron injection in February
The very last Lupron injection in April

That first Lupron injection in February

The ScriptAssist Nurse phoned not long after my first shot. I told her that the injection was not painful and I felt fine. I didn’t really have any questions or concerns at that point. About two weeks after that first shot, I had my period. Not horrible but it was pretty bad. Cramps, clots, lots of blood.

I kind of figured that would happen because there is a temporary increase in estrogen during the first 2 weeks of treatment with Lupron. Remember that whole LH/FSH feedback loop from my other post? Keep this in mind if you are thinking of using Lupron or if you have just started the treatment.

I did not experience any Lupron side effects except headaches and I think those were caused by my anemia. I did continue to spot every day after my period.

*Recap: Had a period (7 days) with clots and cramps about 2 weeks after the injection. Continued to spot every day afterward. Occasional headaches (possibly from anemia).

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Related Posts:
How are you feeling after your Lupron injections? Any side effects?
My second Lupron injection in March
The very last Lupron injection in April

Deciding on my Lupron Depot injection dosage

For the treatment of fibroids, Lupron is available in two dosages:

• One 11.25mg shot that lasts three months or
• Three consecutive monthly 3.75mg shots

I decided the 3-shot option would be best for me. It was easier to monitor how I felt each month and (if necessary) discontinue the treatment. Call me a commitment-phobe but there was something a little too permanent about that one shot lasting three months. If you need a few more details, visit the Lupron site to get links on patient product and prescribing information for Lupron Depot®.

Possible side effects of Lupron (or other GnRH agonists) include hot flashes and sweats, headaches, depression, diminished libido, generalized pain, vaginal dryness, and breast atrophy.

My shots were administered on alternating sides in the hip area by the nurses in my doctor’s office. The injections were never painful. All I felt was the initial stick.

To better organize my personal ramblings (as if possible), I’ll post by injection number.

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Related Posts:
That first Lupron injection in February
My second Lupron injection in March
The very last Lupron injection in April
How are you feeling after your Lupron injections? Any side effects?