Holy hotflashes. The Lupron side effects have started. A few friends IRL have asked me the purpose of Lupron, so I thought I'd copy a decent defination in this post.
Side effects: hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and headaches.
Lupron (leuprolide acetate) is an injectable medication administered just below the skin (subcutaneously or SQ). It is a gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist which means it should stimulate the release of FSH and LH from the pituitary gland. What is seen, in actuality, is a paradoxical effect. After an initial stimulation of gonadotropin release, Lupron actually prevents release of FSH and LH. This is the desired clinical application of Lupron in an ovarian stimulation cycle. By preventing the pituitary gland from stimulating the ovaries with FSH, and preventing LH from triggering ovulation, the ovaries are effectively "turned off". This allows your physician to control the amount of ovarian stimulation by the amount of medication you inject. Ovulation is also not likely without the surge of LH that is also blocked by Lupron. When the follicles are ready, ovulation can be triggered by giving HCG which has structural similarities to LH. After ovulation has been triggered there is no further need to continue Lupron.
Lupron is usually overlapped with birth control pills to help coordinate the treatment cycle and synchronize the growth of follicles.
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