Remember, this is educational information only and not medical advice – always check with your qualified medical professional before making any changes to your diet or treatment plan for endometriosis or any other health problems.
Lupron
This GnRh drug is commonly prescribed by misinformed doctors as a treatment for endometriosis. However, it cannot diagnose, treat, remove, or shrink endometriosis lesions. What it may do is provide symptom management only (although many patients find the drug side effects intolerable). It can also cause long-term, irreversible side effects that many doctors are not discussing with patients, oftentimes because they are not aware of them. Many people who take Lupron later say, “I wish I had known XYZ about Lupron before taking it.” For this reason, we did a five part series on Lupron and Orilissa (an oral GnRh drug that came out in 2018.)
If you decide that taking Lupron is right for you, then we hope it provides you symptom relief! However, make sure to adequately research Lupron to see if you feel that the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks of taking this serious medication.
For many gynecologists, who are not endometriosis specialists and don’t often see patients with endometriosis in their practice, this (and/or Orilissa) is the only “tool” they have for patients with endometriosis. GnRh drugs are supposed to be second-line therapies, meaning that they are prescribed when first-line therapies (oral contraceptive pills and progestins) are ineffective, not tolerated or contraindicated. Studies have shown that in about 2/3 of people with endometriosis, first-line therapies provide symptom relief.
Yet some doctors put their patients on GnRh drugs right away, as soon as they suspect endometriosis, and for much longer than the FDA approved time frame. Additionally, various studies comparing GnRh drugs to other hormonal medications such as the Mirena, Dienogest, Depo Provera, combined birth control pills, and others, have shown these other hormones (which a patient can be on for longer and that have a much lower side effect profile) to provide similar symptom relief to patients as GnRh drugs. This is another reason why GnRh drugs are second-line therapies, but unfortunately many gynecologists are giving them out as soon as they suspect endometriosis, without any conversation around the side effects, treatment time limitations, or equally viable options.
For More Information
- Lupron Victim’s Hub – Eye-opening website run by Lynne Millican, “this website has been developed to serve consumers, healthcare workers, attorneys, academia, and law enforcement officials seeking information on the GnRHa ‘drug’ Lupron (leuprolide) and its associated health risks. Also explored will be the problems with lupron’s approval by the FDA, lupron’s history and ‘science’, the marginalization of lupron victims – and, in short … every pertinent thing I’ve learned or written or received regarding the ‘drug’ lupron/leuprolide and GnRHa’s since 1989.”
- They Say Lupron is Safe – Article by Lynne Millican on the website Hormones Matter. (You can use the search bar on this website to find more information on Lupron as well.)
- David Redwine, MD – Leuprolide: The ‘d’ is Silent – Talk given by endometriosis excision expert Dr. David Redwine on endometriosis and Lupron.
- Using Lupron to Diagnose Endometriosis: Fact or Medical Fiction – Written by the Center for Endometriosis Care on the Hormones Matter website.
- Lupron- What Does It Do To Women’s Health? – Good overview in this article on the National Women’s Health Network.
- Lupron Side Effects Survey Results Part One: Scope and Severity – Results from a large survey on on side effects of Lupron from over 1400 participants.
- Endometriosis: Lupron Resistance is Based in Fact – Article on Linkedin by Nancy Peterson (founder of Nancy’s Nook, retired nurse, and endometriosis advocate.)
- The Unmasking of Dr. Andrew Friedman – Excerpt from Trial By Fire – Andrew Friedman was a lead researcher for Lupron who admitted at court to falsifying 80% of the research in two Lupron studies. You can see a Federal Registrar of the misconduct finding here (link from Lupron Victim’s Hub, will open as a Word document.)
- Lawsuits on Lupron – List with links and reports from Lupron Victim’s Hub.
- Lupron product liability lawsuit reports – Definitely check out the GueriguianReport (from John Gueriguian, former FDA officer and retired professor of pharmacology) as well as the RedwineExpertReport (from Dr. David Redwine, now retired excision specialist with 30+ years of experience and expert medical witness during this trial.)
- 2 Drug Makers to Pay $875 Million to Settle Fraud Case – Article on how the makers of Lupron had to pay criminal and civil charges for illegally manipulating Medicare and Medicaid programs.
- The sneaky way pharmaceutical companies use celebs to market their drugs – The article gives an overview and specifically uses examples with endometriosis.
- Dollars for Docs – Here you can enter in your doctor’s name and see how much money they have received for certain drugs or medical devices.
- Hormonal Therapy in Women of Reproductive Age with Endometriosis: An Update. – 2019 research article by Gheorghisan-Galateanu AA, Gheorghiu ML. Acta Endocrinol (Buchar). 2019;15(2):276-281. doi:10.4183/aeb.2019.276
- Endometriosis and Medical Therapy: From Progestogens to Progesterone Resistance to GnRH Antagonists: A Review – 2021 research article by Donnez J, Dolmans MM. J Clin Med. 2021;10(5):1085. Published 2021 Mar 5. doi:10.3390/jcm10051085
- Zoladex: the Hidden Truth – Podcast episode by the Invisible Iconic.