I've been on Tamoxifen for nearly a month now. Had a telephone appointment with one of the Oncology team today and they're going to start me on Zoladex as well next Monday. Does anyone have any advice or can tell me what to expect, please?
Zoladex basically stops our ovaries working, so puts you into menopause and because it is sudden, it tends to be more intense
I started zoladex during chemo so it probably made things even more intense, but you will experience a fairly sudden menopause. Within 3 weeks of the injection, your oestrogen levels will have dropped to someone post-menopausal.
You may already be having menopausal symptoms with tamoxifen, but for me it was very intense hot flashes and chills and over time, I have had various other menopausal symptoms.
I do think chemo made the flashes and night sweats worse, and they have significantly improved. I'm over a year of zoladex and I am still getting hot flashes and night sweats and I am more tired than I used to be. The flashes have significantly reduced (from every 10-20 mins 24/7 to on average every couple of hours) and are less intense now too. They are manageable now, though they do wake me and the menopause can affect your ability to sleep so I am getting less sleep than I used to.
My mood hasn't been too bad, but I went through a few months of anxiety and low mood, which has now cleared.
Hi MoominAncestorI had my first Zoladex in December and my second 2 weeks ago, it’s given every 4 weeks. I’ve had no real affects of it that I’ve noticed, apart from having a period a week after the first one and headaches, but that’s maybe because I should have reached menopause by now as I’m 55. The injection is actually an implant which slow release’s over 4 weeks. I take magnesium and have done for years it actually makes me calm so I don’t know whether that’s helped with any symptoms
My advice would be to be prepared ahead of time. I think I have read that if you have a medical menopause, you are pretty much guaranteed to have hot flushes in some way. So, buy a hand held fan and one for your bedside, get a chillow (a pillow with cold gel that you can use overnight - but you have to let it cool down again once finished so maybe buy 2!), make sure you are prepared to dress in layers.
I found I was very anxious with the hot flushes, I just felt so out of control and claustrophobic, and they happened so often for me and were an intense heat. However, I do think the chemo made them worse so you may not experience that.
I have found a meditation app really helped and I still use that often for falling to sleep as I am a bit of an insomniac these days!
What I would say again is that everything has significantly improved for me and all symptoms are very manageable and are slowly fading. I still get lots of hot flushes but some go by and I barely register them.
A positive way to look at it is that we know it is the menopause we are experiencing. If it were a natural menopause, we could have many years of up and down hormones, At least this way, it gets it all over and done with! Then it is just a matter of waiting for the symptoms to subside, which they will.
I think if I'd known when it all started that things would calm down for me, I might have coped a bit better. It is hard not to panic and think that is how life will be now, but the truth is, I don't think I've read anyone on here who didn't have their side effects calm down on zoladex
Thanks. Had my implant today, bit ouchy but not as bad as I expected. I've got the electric fan and cool pillow at the ready, so I'm prepared! How long did it take for your Zoladex menopause symptoms to subside?
I thought it was just a normal injection when I first went, so it was a bit of a shock having it, got my third one next week.
I haven’t really had any symptoms of it apart from headaches and the odd over heated moment but maybe that because I’m 55 and was close to menopause anyway, I also take magnesium daily, don’t know whether that’s helped.
It took 3 weeks for me to notice anything - I thought I had got away with it! Then it was all quite intense, but you will get over that if it happens to you.
For the implant - I found it stung that first time and as I still had a lot of chemo and needles to come, the nurse gave me Emla cream as I didn't want to develop a needle phobia!
You put it on an hour ahead of time and it numbs the area so the implant going in doesn't hurt at all.
The Emla cream lasts 2 goes, so I just order alongside every 2nd zoladex injection and the nurse gives me a batch of dressings every few months - you need to put something over the top of the Emla cream as it goes on very thick and you don't rub it in. Just ask for it, it wont be a problem and it makes a big difference. I'm pretty good with needles, but glad I have the emla cream for this one.
I have been on zoladex for 2 years with letrizole, the zoladex is no issues at all, I feel a bit agitated when I get it but that’s it, it’s not sore being injected, I don’t really notice it to be honest xxx
