Hello Mikewo,
I am similar to you. I am turning 70 in a month and have been on TRT for the past 13 years. Unfortunately, I’ve also been seriously debilitated from CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME, FIBROMYALGIA and CHIARI MALFORMATION for the past 33 years. When I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in August of 2023, I had my RALP performed in October of 2023. As a result, I had to discontinue my TRT 1 month prior to my surgery and 4 months following it. I was a total mess and barely surviving. My Total Testosterone goes down to 20 if I discontinue it. Thats pretty much medically castrated right there. I feel like death and nothing in my life resembles living what so ever. Therefore, radiation and Lupron injections were never going to be my first choice to treat my Prostate Cancer. Within a week of resuming my TRT, I was feeling like a human being again. Cancer or no cancer, if your HYPOGONADISM is so bad and requires TRT, that’s what you should do if it means actually living and maintaining some quality of life or simply walking around as one of the “living dead!”
I can utilize radiation therapy if I need it in case my cancer returns. However, I won’t be discontinuing my TRT. Some cases are more unique than others. To simply stuff men into a certain kind of mold of “one size fits all” is simply barbaric and a very uncreative and reveals itself as a severiously severe lack of any forwarded thinking regarding updated treatment styles and options.
The studies that were done in the 1940’s which indicated that TRT following a prostatectomy were dangerous and a precursor to the return of a Biological return of cancer were extremely limited and used rats as medical subjects.
All the most resent research done from the early 2000’s to our current timeframe have overwhelmingly “debunked” this severely inaccurate and outdated information.
Physicians are now recommending placing prostate cancer surgery patients on TRT to increase their rate and overall quality of recovery following prostate surgery. Everybody is an individual and should be treated like one. Follow your labs and adjust accordingly. My PSA was < 0.025 the day after my Prostatectomy. My PSA has remained steady at < 0.014 since a week after my surgery, late October of 2023 through to today, mid July of 2024. I get it checked on the average of every 2 months. I try to keep my Total Testosterone between 550-700.
With my TRT I can function in life although it’s far from normal overall compared to most people. However, without TRT, I am pretty much already dead. Completely bedridden and home confined while feeling near death. It’s not even a choice for me. “ITS A NECESSITY!”
Best wishes,
Phil