Lupron Depot

A GnRH agonist that may help manage the symptoms of Endometriosis, but can only be used for a limited time. Manufactured by Abbvie.

Share Your Story: Michelle

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Photo of Michelle

Michelle was diagnosed with Endometriosis when 20.  Now 35, and living in La Mesa, California, Michelle shares her Endo story with us.

Michelle’s Journey: My endo story I first got my period at 10 years old. I remember I was still in elementary school, playing in PE when I got my first one. From there, my periods became increasingly more and more painful.

By 15 years old I remember rolling around on the ground in the bathroom, sometimes in so much pain that it made me throw up. I would miss school sometimes but most of the time tried to tough it out. My periods were always at least 7 days long, super heavy and lots of huge clots. I thought that was normal…..I was taught to believe this was all normal.

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Have you Seen the Endometriosis Commercials on TV?

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Speakendo.com webpage banner
Screenshot of SpeakEndo.com; 1/30/18
Updated note (July 25, 2018): Orilissa (Elagolix) was approved by the FDA on July 23, 2018. 

I don’t have TV, but I’ve had a lot of friends and loved ones excitedly tell me that they saw a commercial about Endometriosis recently! I think that’s awesome! A wonderful way to spread awareness to so many people!

Like one friend said, it took me 20 years for a diagnosis – maybe it wouldn’t have taken so long if I had seen a commercial similar to this one. If it can help just one woman begin to search for answers, it’s awesome.

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Cataract Surgery has been Scheduled!

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woman with dilated pupils
Gigantic dilated eyes are the window to the soul?

Okay! Here we go!

Today I met with my ophthalmologist and we talked about my eyeballs.  I learned quite a few things today.

He confirmed that I do have two cataracts in my left eye.  The first is a benign congenital cataract. One that I was born with.  He cannot say if it has or hasn’t grown over my 38 years ’cause he didn’t know me when I was born, but it’s small and out of the way 😉  He did confirm it’s there and it’s sounds to be in the same spot it was when I learned about it 15 years ago.

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Lupron Depot: Q&A

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Text that reads "Q&A" with a blue lotus behind it

As many of you know, I was on Lupron Depot for six months for my Endometriosis.  I wrote about my personal experiences and also how my life had changed after my last injection (and have also shared other’s experiences).

Recently, a friend of mine learned he will be starting Lupron Depot to treat his prostate cancer.  My husband was surprised this morning when I told him.  He didn’t realize the drug’s original purpose was to treat cancer…in men!  And it’s because of the connection with cancer that many people think Lupron Depot is chemotherapy.  It isn’t.

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Endometriosis & the Appendix

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Diagram of the appendix

Here I go again, once more intrigued by Endometriosis growing in odd places inside the body.  Today I’m going to focus on the appendix.  I’ve read that many Warriors have their appendix removed because physicians may confuse Endometriosis pain for the symptoms of appendicitis.  But on Tuesday an article hit my email about Endometriosis growing on the appendix…and I became obsessed.

Please remember: I don’t write this to scare you, or freak you out, or say that all of your right-sided abdominal pain is from Appendix Endo.  Take a deep breath – I like to document these things in case anyone would like to discuss it further with their healthcare providers so they may be aware during surgery.  Appendiceal Endometriosis is considered extremely rare and it is suspected that only 1-3% of all cases of Endometriosis involve the appendix.  But…knowledge is power.

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A Question for You

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One of our readers, Harley, emailed me a question and I thought I’d put it out there for you to help:

“Can you post and ask questions for Life after Lupron? Specifically weight gain? I’ve read the whole thread on life after lupron but still haven’t quite found a lot of information. My last shot was May 8th so I’m slowly waiting for Lupron to get out of my system. I’ve been on lupron for 8 months now and I’ve gained 30 lbs. I’m so exhausted all the time that I don’t have the energy to work out at all-I usually go home and go right to sleep after working my full time job. I’m wondering if it will be possible to lose this weight, if my body will ever go back to normal, or if this is all my new normal now. I’m really open for anything to get this weight off-I’m miserable.”

If you’ve been on Lupron Depot, please let Harley know your own experience with how long it took for the side effects to dissipate and if you ever truly felt normal afterward. Shoot her an email with your experiences.

Thanks!!!!

Share Your Story: Sarah

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text that reads "23 years after first seeking help, I got it

New to San Diego, Sarah was diagnosed with Endometriosis when she was 38 years old, after seeking help for over 20 years.  Today, a year later, she shares her long and difficult Journey with us.

Sarah’s Journey:  I’m home from this year’s Endo March. I met some lovely people, reconnected with new friends (I’m new to San Diego), and learned a lot. One of those lessons was hard. It’s not as simple as saying Endometriosis changed my life or changed me.

It’s that it, along with other health problems, shaped me and, as all of this runs its course, my identity is changing. Parts of what I value about myself have shifted and this time the change is so deep that it may be irrevocable. I don’t know if I can get those pieces of me back. I used to be strong. I used to be fast. I could paint a painting in a day, code a website so that your head spun, learn a skill and build a 16 hour class around it and teach it inside a week.

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