Zoladex for fibroid?

[DannyKin]

Looking for experiences of zoladex to control fibroid-related bleeding as I'm trying to decide whether to go ahead with it.

I was first given a mirena coil, which has reduced the volume of blood loss, but instead of bleeding for 7 days each month I now bleed more days than not.

I waited 18 months for a gynaecology appointment, and before that I waited 18 months to give the mirena time to settle (and because of Covid and GPs being busy) so by now I'm quite used to it, and it's definitely better than the extremely heavy periods.

The consultant said that I have two options - zoladex or hysterectomy. But I wonder if there's also an option just to wait and put up with it? The side effects of zoladex seem so bad (and basically like menopause, which will be coming soon anyway- I'm 45) so I'm inclined just to put up with bleeding a little most days. The fibroid hasn't grown since I was first diagnosed with it and got the mirena, about 3 years ago now.

Does anyone have any experience of either option?

I had Prostap (same as Zoladex) while waiting for my hysterectomy. My understanding is it’s a stopgap, not a cure. It can stop your periods/shrink the fibroids (did neither for me) but you can only take it for so long - think a year max. So it isn’t a fix.

Mirena didn’t work for me, but I wish it had. If you’re only bleeding a little on it, worth persevering?

Thanks for replying. The thing is that I've had the mirena for 3 years now so I don't think it's going to settle any better - it makes the bleeding much lighter but almost constant. The consultant seemed to suggest zoladex might shrink the fibroid, but like you say it's only for 6 months. It just doesn't seem worth the horrible-sounding side-effects, and I'm more inclined just to live with it till menopause.

Ah sorry I didn’t realise it was that long. Yeah that’s a tough call. If it helps, I had very few side effects on the Prostap, I wouldn’t have minded carrying on with it if it had worked.

I can definitely vouch for a hysterectomy though if it’s on offer. I had no choice, I couldn’t go on bleeding as much as I was. And it is a long haul to recover from. But my symptoms are all gone now and I’m feeling better than I have in literally years because I’m no longer anaemic and permanently exhausted.

I know other ladies on here have had ablation/removal of just the fibroid if those might help??? I can’t comment on those though.