Hormone Therapy Questions

Your real doctor should give you more info on the many ways to mitigate any side effects of ADT as well as any alternatives too ADT. If you don't get that, find another doctor.
For me, with mid-grade PC (Gleason 8) that escaped the capsule, ADT was my least favorite option with the same concerns as yours.
But after 18 months of Lupron I've progressed to being on a path to ending the ADT and have relieved the side effects.
I would also offer that "Dr Google" is a terrible source of info for making critical health decisions.
You might find good reference links there and find good questions for your real doctor; but otherwise IMneverHO Google (and Wiki) is just bad in this situation.
Plus, some manageable side effects are way better than chancing the progress of the PC.

I am on a similar path…last Lupron shot last month after 2yrs…ADT is not pleasant BUT manageable.. my psa remains undetectable… this treatment gives me the best chance for a positive outcome…stay active … live your life!

Thanks both...

My husband is half way through 2 years of ADT.
Hot flashes minimized by duloxetine.
He is very active and not experiencing any other bone, muscle side effects.
Gleason 8, he was treated at mayo with radiation. PSA went from 16 to undetectable. Zero libido, but we both feel stopping cancer growth is well worth it.
We are 71 and have been married 52 years, not having a sex life is not the end of the world....will libido come back after stopping ADT, who knows?
We are enjoying our active lives and 4 grandchildren. Greatful for his treatment and remission!!!
My advise, don't be so fearful of ADT if it can give you more years.

Dr. Stolz PCRI shares recent research Hormone Therapy. I found this helpful insight......and I believe a credible resource for those of us looking for direction along the way! Here is the link: https://youtu.be/cyY0nHXvzGc?si=siBqoClcFEaKZroo Would welcome your comments!

I sort of like Dr Google. Anything anyone has ever written is on google. Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Hospital, MD Anderson. Every Dr that has ever published. Including whats being written on this thread. That even has some interesting points.

I will say we have to pick and choose what we get off "google". When I was first searching prostate cancer I read an old article that said someone with stage 4 had 28% chance at 5 years. Then I seen one where someone posted the question " anyone on here living with stage 4 prostate cancer over 10 years?' And quite a blessing for me I ended up on Mayo support site. Best to all.

Well, without your clinical history, hard for the forum to provide you their assessment.

Yes, ADT can "suck." It's side effects are well known:

Fatigue
Muscle and joint stiffness
Hot flashes
Genitalia shrinkage
Bone density problems
Cardio vascular and metabolic issues.

Can you mitigate them, yes...here's what my medical team said I could do:

Exercise.
Diet.
Managing stress.

They can give you medications for the hot flashes. I never took them, just grinned and beared it.

They can also give you medications for bone density as well as recommend you take Vitamin D3.

If you have heart issues before starting ADT, I would add a cardiologist to your medical team, heck, even if not.

Are their alternatives to ADT? That depends. Depending on your clinical history and data, radiation only may be an option.

If ADT is in your future based on your clinical history, data and recommendations by your medical team, you have choices there too. A recent clinical trial had as a possibility only an ARI though it has side effects too.

Questions is, if ADT, is your medical team talking "lifetime" or for a defined period. If you are not castrate resistant, it may be possible (again, clinical history...) to do ADT for 6, 12, 18 or 24 months in combination with an ARI or some form of radiation to the prostate bed, PLNs, or SBRT in the case of say 1-3 sites of recurrence.

I've done ADT twice (see my attached clinical history), both times for defined periods (18 and 12 months), and in combination with radiation and, or chemotherapy. I'm off the 2nd go round now, stopped on 3 April. Because it was Orgovyx, fatigue and joint and muscle stiffness went away in the first 2-3 weeks, hot flashes still hanging around.

Were those times on ADT fun, no...However, I continued to live my life, exercised, travelled, worked, celebrated birthdays, anniversaries...Then again, in the winters I never ran the heater in my car (thank goodness for dual climate controls, my wife could run the heater on her side), when I swam at the gym, the heated pool was not my choice, I generally didn't go in the saunas or hot tub, I could be found on the back deck in the dead of winter, my wife knew better than to ask me to wear a pullover sweater when we went to social events...and I always ran the ceiling fan on high in the bedroom when sleeping.

Last thing to keep in mind, statistics and the Bell Curve. Some men will experience "horrific" side effects (to include psychological), others less so, most are in the middle (I was the latter). As I said, exercise, diet, stress management may be a factor in where you land.

Kevin

My daughter always tells me be careful what you read and belive. You can really scare yourself with some of the possibilities.

Did anyone else develop gluten sensitivity from Eligard and radiation treatments?