February 17... It Begins!

Today was my doctor's appointment, after which I said I would update people on my status... so here we go.  I start my Lupron injections on February 17!  I don't know a whole lot after that, but after the past year, the side effects don't seem very bad to me and for what would help my body, the effects may actually end up being positive.  

(no idea if that is what my actual label will look like)

For 2-3 weeks after the initial shot there may be a flare-up of pain.  My doctor explained exactly why to me in scientific terms and it made total sense, but I can't remember exactly what she said.  It had something to do with stimulating a certain hormone when it starts and then eventually it actually prevents that hormone from firing (?).  I always like when she explains things and yet for some of the more advanced biology answers I do not always remember everything.  For what concerns me, there could be an initial flare-up in pain.

Also, Lupron is not a quick fix, although we both are hopeful that it will be a fix.  For one, I learned that the hormones in my system from the Depo shots that I have been getting can last up to a year in the body, especially since I have been getting the shots more often than the "standard" dosage.  The good news is that since I have been getting them regularly, my estrogen levels are lower than a normal person so the shift to even lower levels will not be as drastic.  (I believe she said also that right now I have high progesterone levels, but those will decrease with the Lupron).  

(Estrogen and Progesterone levels in a normal, ovulating female - Not me, but just for reference)

Three weeks after I get my first injection, I see the doctor again and she will decide if I need any hormone replacement therapy to supplement the Lupron and get a grasp of my symptoms/side effects, etc.  The actual Lupron injections are every three (3) months.  The side-effects are most closely related to Menopause, but some people have a problem sleeping at all, which I had not known.  Hot flashes are common, and other than that, we will just see what happens.  I will not be adjusting other medications for a while after the Lupron starts and while the initial flare-up pain won't last, overall pain may not decrease for three months.  Even at that time, if I'm feeling better, I will likely still continue to feel better for while and then eventually things will even out and we can assess how I am.  

(Basically, this could be me... without the pained expression... There are totally worse things!)

I still feel really good about doing this.  It's a little frustrating that because my body is being flooded with hormones and they don't just change overnight (think of pregnancy hormones and how they decrease gradually after giving birth), it will take some time to see how I will finally feel.  Now that I've said that though, I'm not going to worry or think about it because that's the thing I cannot change.  I'm making a big change and I feel calm and even a little excited to try this and hopeful that it will work.  And while it won't be overnight, I'll still feel better slowly, which sounds great AND I will not be dealing with all the side effects of the Depo shot anymore! (Hallelujah!!)  That part I am super excited about!  Also, I should be able to exercise more regularly and be able to do more and more activities as the time passes... which is my ultimate goal: to be able to do everything I used to be able to do.  I don't know if that's going to be the final outcome, but until proven otherwise, it continues to be my goal.

And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is all I know right now!  I look ahead at 2015 with much more excitement than past years and I'm still hopeful that this will be a really good thing for me!

Article - 1/21/15

I will post news articles occasionally just to give you more to read and learn.  I do not write these news articles, so I trust you to use your own judgment when it comes to how much merit they deserve.

An article I came across at a blog called Endometriosis Update, entitled "Seeing the Light."


The following paragraph is in the information section of the blog:

"Endometriosis is an enigmatic disease, little is known about its origins, but it affects the lives of millions of women around the world. Despite the apparent lack of advancement in the field of endometriosis research, progress is slowly being made. The problem is that this progress is very rarely reported accurately to the public in a way everyone can understand. This Blog aims to report what is going on in the area of endometriosis research in plain and simple terms, so that everyone can keep up to date."

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (U.S.)

As Google reminds everyone, today (January 19, 2015) is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  I am not even going to try to write a way that Martin Luther King, Jr. relates to endometriosis, but today is the day our nation sets aside to honor the Civil Rights Leader and I usually find myself wondering what would be different if he had not been killed.  His words, along with his spirit, were powerful. 

So, for those who may not have done so recently, take a moment and read the full text of his most Famous speech.  If you have not heard it given by him, I would suggest clicking the link and listening to his own words in his own voice because I'm sure it a voice more powerful than most of the population's.  It should go without saying (though I will now say it) that I did not write or contribute to the following in any way.

Good Blog Post

I found this blog post from another woman with endometriosis and while I DID NOT WRITE ANY PART OF IT, I feel it expresses some of the reasons I wanted to stop with the hormones I'm currently taking and part of the reason I want to give the Lupron a shot, such as the weight gain (and for me it is particularly my breast size, which seems to increase with every hormone shot)/fatigue/exercise stuff.  I do not have everything that is talking about in this post.  I do not have hypothyroidism, I have already maintained a healthy diet, and so far my cholesterol is just fine.  I have tried different types of exercise but that is something I enjoy so it is not the burden that it may be with people who do not feel the same way.  I recognized some of the medications she mentions in bracket 1) and the reasons for taking them.  

That said, this is not an article about me.  if you want the link to take a look at the blog, it is on the right side of my blog or you can click this link: http://youarentcrazy.blogspot.com/2014/06/nothing-changes-if-nothing-changes.htmlThis is just another woman dealing with a bad case of endometriosis and her take on it.  Again, I AM NOT THE AUTHOR, nor do I know her:

Good News/ Bad News

I wanted to update after my last post that I am officially approved to begin the Lupron whenever my doctor tells me I'm ready and my insurance is officially paying for it, so everything is a GO!  I see my doctor on Wednesday and I am sure I will find out a lot then about when I may begin using the Lupron and any other adjustments I'll need to make.  My approval went through in less than two weeks which, after hearing my doctor tell me it often takes about a month AND it was during the holiday season, must mean that it went through very quickly so Yay!  That is a huge deal for me!  Although I've had two surgeries and surgery must be done first before you can take this drug, so I guess I met the requirements without any questions.

Good News/Bad News:

- The Good News is that almost immediately upon leaving my doctor's office, I felt calm inside.  I knew this was the right thing for me at this time so the next thing on my list was staying in control and keeping my stress level down so I can be prepared for whatever may or may not happen when I begin the Lupron. I felt better than I had been feeling for about a month and then I was still feeling fine, but I had lost a lot of sleep while I was transitioning from one antidepressant to another, so that did hit me eventually.  [I also learned that my cousin is expecting her first baby, so that is just amazingly great news and I am so excited for that and to meet my first little grand-cousin (I know that is incorrect but when I get to second/third/removed/etc. I mostly do not pay attention).  She is my first cousin to be pregnant, so it's very cool for her and her hubby.  She's also been very supportive of me and it would feel nice to be able to be supportive of her back!]  I did get to visit with a great friend (who lives way too far away) and her adorable baby and family over the holidays and that totally lifts my spirits as well!

- So the good news was that I feel prepared for pretty much all outcomes and I am still hopeful.  The Bad News is that my grandmother's health is deteriorating, though I hope she stays healthy long enough to meet her first great-grandchild.  Along with her bad health, a member of my extended family has chosen this time to be as icky as I can imagine.  I won't go into specifics, but it is frustrating because it is unnecessary and ruins my calmness.  I can choose my friends, my acquaintances, my doctor... but I don't get to choose my family.  Since becoming sick, I've tightened my circle of close friends and I don't go into specifics with mere acquaintances, but I do not have any energy to give to toxic relationships so I choose not to have anyone in my life who is negative.  More importantly, I do not have negative thoughts about those people!  Recently, however, I realize I have spent way too much time harboring negative feelings about a particular family member and I have to choose to not be around her as well because this is the most important time for me to be stress-free.  Lupron is the drug that scared me for a long time but I was in a great place and feeling very good about taking it, and feeling ready!  Today I realized I've been not sleeping as well and feeling stressed about the repercussions of one person's actions within my extended family and it occurred to me that I need to be selfish for this moment in my life, until I find out how my body adapts to this new drug and I don't have room for negativity at all.  I'm actually writing about in the hope that I can be done thinking about it, so we shall see how that works.

I have not quite figured out how to stay completely out of this person's orbit, but I may just have to do what I've learned: Decide if an event or visit or discussion is going to make me feel worse than I feel before attending that event or seeing that person, and if so, then I just won't do it.  If I think that I will come out feeling even better than when I went in, then I do it.  It relates to the Spoon Theory Article, but it's my own way of counting spoons.  I look at everything this way right now and somehow I need to get myself doing that again, even if it involves family.  It is simply about pluses and minuses and it is how my brain works.  It always yields the healthiest outcomes for me without allowing myself to dwell on being bummed about missing out on something.  And I am writing this to hold myself accountable for doing this and to not allow myself any negativity from right now until I can comfortably say how the Lupron is working and will continue to work.  And you are all welcome to hold me accountable to staying centered (calm in my own way) and positive!


- I will update after my doctor's appointment on Wednesday.

*If anyone reads this and has used Lupron, I would LOVE to hear what your experience was and if you email me from this page, I will get back to you!

Doctor's Visit - December 2014 (or Endometriosis: Episode 4, A New Hope)

(Love this sentiment, but have been wondering if this is true lately)

I will end up talking about this with many people in my life, but this also feels totally appropriate for my blog.  I had a visit with my Ob/Gyn doctor (Dr. K) yesterday and made a decision that could lead to some difficult but ultimately positive changes.  Most importantly, I decided I'm ready to try Lupron, the drug that I had resisted trying for so long because of the side effects.  I've written about it before on this blog (so you could search for those posts) but in simple terms: it causes your body to go into menopause.

Kidney Infection

Yes, I was feeling almost better.  Almost Ok, and then one debacle after another.  The end of the story: I had a kidney infection.  I just finished the last of my course of antibiotics (and I took my probiotics too, those are important!) and I go to my own doctor next week so I will get tested to make sure the infection is gone.  Plus, since I had a kidney stone, and endometriosis around the area of my left kidney, I will also ask her what I can do to encourage kidney health.  So far, I've just been continuing to drink some cranberry juice (well cranberry juice and other juices mixed because straight cranberry juice is not something I enjoy at all, but for the purists out there, I did manage to finish a bottle of the organic straight cranberry juice and it was certainly... Tangy).