Q for ladies that have been on Lupron Depot

tosh24

I suffer from chronic migraines. There is a warning that comes with the drug to tell your doctor if you suffer from migraines prior to taking it. I told my RE and apparently this was news to her. She said she's never known her clients to have migraines on the drug but then maybe she just hasn't had clients with a pre-existing migraine condition. I don't really care about any of the other side effects, I'm just seriously worried about being incapacitated with migraines and not being able to just stop the medication since it's a long-acting injection. My RE did say she could put me on 1mg of Estrace a day which would hopefully help with s/e but not feed the endo.

Any experiences with Lupron and headaches/migraines are appreciated. PAIF/SAIF welcome.

prudence9-2

@tosh24 unfortunately I have more experience with Lupron than I would have liked... (used it so far for 4 FET cycles, 1 cancelled cycle and 1 ERA). 

I also suffer from migraines and unfortunately Lupron causes headaches. The good news is that those headaches weren’t a migraine. They were more like a constant headache.  

Once you’re on estrogen (for me it was the patches) I did have a relief from the headaches within 2-3 days. 

The good news is that sometimes I won’t get headaches for the first few days. But usually once I get it, it’s a constant headache. (On and off for days)

Sorry i don’t have better news to share. 

Are you doing FET cycle? Because for the last 2 cycles (ERA and FET) my doctor told me I could take whatever I want in the beginning, after all embryo wasn’t in me yet. So that helped. 

prudence9-2

Oh and not sure it’s exactly the same as you. But in my cycles I used microdose Lupron for about 4 weeks. 

JWatt5

*Lurking from PAIF* *TW in second Paragraph*

I gave Lupron ago a few years ago just for the Endo pain. I didn’t notice an increase in them but I would get that full headache I couldn’t shake. But it was manageable. Hydrate - lots of water!! Helped. 

What did increase my migraines was Pregnancy. Like the birth control when I was in my teens - the hormone change gave me really bad Migraines - one with some actual numbness. So just incase - a heads up that when it does happen (especially if you have Endo/aura migraines) you may have increased headache/migraines. Defiantly doesn’t happen to everyone - I think the one bad one was in the 1st to 2nd trimester shift and scared the crap out of me. Hope that BFP happens soon for you and send me a message if you want! This is your time!!

tosh24

@prudence9-2 I'll be on a 1-month Lupron Depot shot (so I won't be injecting every day,  I just get the long-acting shot on CD3 and then again 30 days later. Then I'll start FET prep after that). Sorry you've had to deal with the headaches, but glad to hear they weren't migraines. That does make me feel a bit better! Also good to know that you find relief one you start estrogen. 

@JWatt5 thanks for sharing your experience! I didn't get any headaches at all with my IVF stim meds which blew my mind because everything typically gives me a migraine, especially when it comes to hormonal changes (BCP gave me migraines and I get 1-3 every month with my cycle like clockwork). *TW* I feel very fortunate that I am actually TFAS right now,  so I have experienced pregnancy migraines like you mentioned,  and they are no joke!  But seriously, I would take them all over again for a baby. Sigh.

prudence9-2

@tosh24 I wonder if the symptoms are any different when taking it daily. 

Hope it wont cause you any migraines!

JWatt5

@tosh24 - I had expected the migraines too with Lupron but it was a totally different headache. (& meant to type DULL not full haha). It was a few other side effects I didn’t enjoy and couldn’t deal with taking it long term. If we had needed IVF (or if we do for TFAS) then I’ll be open to doing around of it though. 

tosh24

Ugh, after doing an Internet search about Lupron Depot I think I'll pass. Maybe I just won't ever be able to have another child. That sh*t looks scary! Maybe I'll ask my RE about just doing the daily shots so I can stop them if I have a bad reaction. 

JWatt5

@tosh24 - yah there are some crappy side effects but is also very effective. VERY. It’s just short term - so the ones you read about (hot flashes, hair loss, etc) don’t really take full effect. I was on it for a while (I think 6-8 Months) and didn’t see a lot of the nasty ones until months and months in. See if you can take the micro dose. If going for a second for me leads to IVF I’ll be asking to do that protocol which sounds crazy I know lol. You can do it!!! (If you want to though - it’s so personal). Talk it over with your RE and I hope you can come to a effective resolution!!  

J1006

I was on Lupron for my ER and will start it again tonight for my transfer. I did get some headaches in it but nothing unbearable. I am prone to headaches anyway so it’s hard to tell if they were from the Lupron or not. I did get a couple hot flashes but they were rare. 

tosh24

Thanks for all of your input, ladies. I did get my doctor to switch my prescription to daily microdose injections so that makes me feel a little better about being able to get the Lupron out of my system if I end up having a bad reaction. I start tomorrow and I'll be on it for about 6-8 weeks. I'm sooooo nervous about it that I've been panicking all day. I just need to keep reminding myself that this protocol will hopefully help enough to finally give me my THB.