Did Lupron make you depressed?

orangeflower

hi everyone. I was given a Lupron shot for the first time almost 2 weeks ago, and I started anastrozole a couple of days after that. I’ve noticed that I am becoming depressed. I’m also having fatigue and irritability. I should also add that I’m going through major life stress. In addition to the cancer situation, my father passed away at the end of March and it was very traumatic for me. I don’t have adequate social support, either, and I’m cooped up because of social distancing. I have a history of severe depression going all the way back to childhood. I had been doing OK for awhile until the cancer diagnosis.

I’m concerned that the Lupron and/or anastrazole is making my depression worse. Does this get better or worse with time?

Jinx27

Hey Danee78,

My condolences to you and your family.

I have been on Lupron (quarterly) and Arimidex (daily) since 2016/2017 and have had mild depression, hot flashes (am/pm), fatigue, irritability weight gain, elevated cholesterol, vagianl changes like dryness and atrophy, lowered libido. As you can see the list is long for me. These side effects vary but you will find that some fonts on here have some or all of them. Alot of folks are finding ways to manage them well.

Here is a link

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/78/topics/870169?page=1

As we are all social distancing, I decided to book a virtual appointment with my therapist. I also found that having a routine in the am with exercising has helped me, it feels like an up hill battle sometimes because Im not always consistent with my routine.

Id say I found the best results with managing my side effects by adjusting my diet and activity to that of someone who is in menopause, even though we are both young, we basically are medically induced menopause right now. There are alot of great resources online on how to eat and be active and maintain you moods, mental and vaginal health while on these medications. Look around on the forums.

If your concerned about your existing depression make a note to speak with both your Primary Care physician and oncologist, perhaps they can communicate and come up with a blended approach for you.