Sunday, January 4, 2009

The Lupron is Cashed Man

You are finished first little vial of Lupron. I remember when I got you. I was so excited to be starting something different. You seemed half empty even when you were new. I remember when the nurse told us that you would last two cycles. Now you are gone. I see some little drops in you, but I can't get them. I'd like to, because I am cheap and you are not. (Well, you were only a five dollar co-pay this time, but when we meet again after the insurance has run out you will be expensive.) We've had a good time. You give me mood swings that turn me into Kate from John and Kate Plus Eight. What else have we done? Let's see...

Side effects that have been associated with the use of Lupron frequently include hot flashes and night sweats (actually this is kinda nice, saves on the gas bill), and less frequently palpitations, syncope, and tachycardias (??? huh ???). Other side effects include generalized pain (sweet), headaches, vaginitis (woah, woah, woah, vagi-what now?), nausea/vomiting (actually I find it more affects the other end), fluid retention (is that why I have cankles?), weight gain (at least I have something to blame it on besides nightly ice cream), acne, hirsutism, joint pain, loss of sexual desire (please, like I had any to begin with), depression (ya think), dizziness, nervousness, and breast changes such as tenderness and pain (this is particularly special, especially with all the hugging around the holidays). There have been no deaths directly related to therapy with Lupron (well, that's something I guess).

It's been 45 days of fun. I'm on to your twin sister now because I am still taking 10 units a day.

5 comments:

Leslie Laine said...

The power of that little, half-empty bottle is amazing to me. And, the expense, well, that sucks too. Especially when you develop a cyst like I did and I actually had to order another bottle in the same cycle. My husband and I laughed (with a dark sense of humor, of course) that we ended up spending almost 2K to get three follies.

UGH!!

Happy New Year to you! Thanks for posting on my blog - I'm going to be following along with you.

Amy said...

Hi Megan...I have an unused bottle of Leouprolide (sp?) (Lupron) at home...if you need it you are welcome to it. Email me at awaszczyk at gmail dot com.

Kristin said...

It's amazing to me how that little vial of lupron becomes such an important part of your day... you know? First thing I do when I get home from work (well, after I walk the dog, that is), is slip into the bathroom for my lupron shot. But I never read about the side-effects... no wonder I'm always sweating at night, crying over EVERYTHING and feeling sore from head to toe. And then there's the morning nausea (which would be so ok if it was because I was pregnant) but it's not, so i'm annoyed.
xo Kristin
PS - I love the reference to Kate... totally cracked me up.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Good post. This is the first time I have looked at blogs. I am on Lupron now for a frozen embryo transfer. I have been on it for 16 days now. I was on Aygestin and 10 units of Lupron first. Now I am on Estrace and 5 units Lupron. I have had a headache for the past 3 days.

Have any of the others of you had headaches on Lupron? It worries me, because I wonder if it will get worse.

I just saw somewhere that the frozen embryo cycle meds are just like Hormone Replacement Therapy, which, I think, is a controversial treatment for postmenopausal women. This is all just so weird!

Maureen

Anonymous said...

I've had numerous headaches on Lupron. Most recently, my doc doubled my dose to 20 units daily in order to slow my stimulation. I was nothing short of the exorcist. Seriously, I chased my husband around the house with the Swiffer, and when I caught him, I nailed him in the legs...this was because he wouldn't scoop the cat litter. I also threw my boot at him from across the room nearly knocking over a lit candle. I don't recall why I did that. I'm a maniac on that stuff. Don't worry too much about it - any and every side effect can occur at any time when dealing with infertility.

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