5/13/22: Lupron + Blood Draw and Results

After more than 2 years of monthly Lupron appointments, if the BSO surgery goes according to schedule, today will be my second-to-last Lupron injection. 

During check-in, the receptionist who is always extra friendly to me (not the original receptionist who always recognized me, who's long gone by now) was training a new person, and I waved to another familiar receptionist. The new hire remarked that I appeared to be well-known in the hospital, and I explained that I've been coming in at least once a month for almost 3 years! Ironically, I then told them about my upcoming surgery, which will put a stop to my monthly visits. The extra friendly receptionist was happy for me, that I might finally reach a point of stability in my treatment, with no more new interventions.

I got my blood drawn, and then went upstairs for the Lupron shot. The nurse who gives me the shot is not always the same, but most times it's the one who was trained by my old infusion nurse. I like her because her shots are the least painful - sometimes even pain-free - and she's always easy to talk to. She saw in my medical records that I have a surgery coming up, and I told her how the surgery means I won't be coming in for shots anymore, after the next time. She, too, expressed support and wished me luck. 

It's funny, you do something long enough, and you feel a sense of loss, even if that thing wasn't exactly something you enjoyed. I know I will appreciate not having to schedule my life around monthly appointments, but at the same time, it's a big change to my routine. In a good way, of course, but still a change, and I will miss the kindness and support of all the people I've been seeing regularly.

The good news is that my LFTs have continued to go down. Yay! They are now the lowest they've been while still being "high". (My first "high" results came in December 2021.) I don't know if lower LFTs automatically means the steatosis is also improving, but I certainly hope so. I will ask my hepatologist when I see him in August.

Meanwhile, my estradiol is back down to <5, which is where it should be. I guess it doesn't matter, though, since we know that it fluctuates and can get "too high". So it just happens to be low this month, but I don't think that will change my BSO plans.