Ready to throw in the towel

Posted by scottbeammeup @scottbeammeup, Jul 19 6:50am

I'm 60 and was diagnosed as Gleason 7, T2B. Was given Lupron, 5 sessions of SBRT and they want me to continue Lupron for a year. I just got my second six month shot.

I honestly don't think I can make it. I worked REALLY hard to stay in shape but now my arms and legs are like toothpicks and my stomach is huge. I've forced myself on a 500 calorie a day diet (two protein shakes and a multivitamin) for the past month and it's STILL not getting rid of my belly. I stopped going to the gym because, frankly, I'm embarrassed to be seen there among my old gym buddies.

I had a fantastic sex life with a good number of f***buddies but now it takes so long to get an erection by myself that it's not even worth it.

Worse, though, is that I am SO sad with a grief I have never felt in my life before--not even when my parents died. I feel like I am underwater looking up at a hazy world. I cry or feel sad at least 4-5 hours a day.

I sleep, at most, four hours a night even though I take a double dose of Xanax (2 mg total) and two Benadryls. The drugs knock me out but I wake up at 2 or 3 AM and can't go back to sleep.

Today, I casually told a nurse I can't wait for the next six months to be over because that's the end of Lupron and she said it's going to be more like 18 months to get back to normal because Lupron takes a very long time to leave the body. Hearing that made me want to hurl myself off the roof of the medical building--I just literally froze with fear.

I'm technically "alive" but there is no quality to anything. My day consists of faking my way through work, then coming home and crying on the couch and staring into space. Sometimes my heart will start racing at 150-180 bpm for a few minutes and I pray I will just have a heart attack and die.

My friends and family have given up on me, and I honestly don't blame them. I also got tired of their "you need to be positive," "you need to have a positive outlook" bull****.

I guess what I'm asking is how the hell do so many other guys do this and still have any kind of a life. I feel like I'm 100% destroyed inside.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

Sounds like you would be no worse off without all this shit . medication - At least in the short term , a break so to speak .
Tell your Urologist etc . and see their response .
I realyy don't think you want to give up .
"WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH -- THE TOUGH GETS GOING "
You made it this far in life . I bet you had challenges before . To hell with the people at the gym . it's your health , I'm sure your buddies are no models . When I started losing my hair in my early twenties my co-workers kept reminding me .
My response " You think about it more than me " -- KEEP TRUCKING , YOUR'E STILL A YOUNG MAN .
Keep me posted .

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omg reading through your comments , a deep resonance insists i respond, on the only level I have is empathy. I feel the same way the disease is enough the ' medications ' make it thrice as bad.my advice. I am in the same frame of mind, Try to push it away , I told the radiologist I was not going to miss a session. And I did not . Yeah I am stil weakened by all the crap in my case 2 years of lupron, 39 radiology sessions etc. I had a terrible radilogist but no use getting in to that. After speaking to a real professional at Mayo Clnic I felt a lot better .
Beside the point though is the fact that we were on top of our game and then it simply imploded, did for me ! What we have left . is still there , stimlate yourself a little at a time, I do not mean sexually I mean health, if you decide to return to your fitness activities no matter how unsettling or difficult , it will feel better . Even a little bit at a time will reinforce you with a feeling of control , you may not float to the top right away but as time goes on you'll come to the surface

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YOU'VE GOT THIS! Sorry you are where you in the process and let me give you some perspective that might help. I cannot walk in your shoes as I am now 27 months post radical prostatectomy and am among a group that I call the cancer light group so yes I am fortunate so far but our reality can and does require a perspective. That said, I am 61 and a child of a career fighter pilot and remain friends with a dwindling number of POWs from the Vietnam War that he flew with over there or that I've met at various pilot events over the years. These men gave me strength and inspired me decades ago as I knew most of their horrifying stories before I met them and if anyone should have given up it was them. The incredible abuse, both physical and mental, they endured is hard to comprehend just as yours is as well. BUT if they can do it while regaining a meaningful life you can too! Hang in there and stay on this site while you fight the good fight one day at a time for that day when you can look back and say it was well worth it!
YOU CAN DO IT!

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Dear Scott, I think you are to Spartan to yourself with just 2 shakes and a pill. I don't know, but could it be that you have problems sleeping, and feeling so utterly hopeless, because you are hungry?
Be kind to yourself and eat food that gives you pleasure. And why not, if you like to have a glass or two of wine, enjoy it. In short, be your own best friend. Your title "Ready to throw the towel" gives you permission to seek the pleasures you still can have. To heck with the cancer!

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@solidwater

omg reading through your comments , a deep resonance insists i respond, on the only level I have is empathy. I feel the same way the disease is enough the ' medications ' make it thrice as bad.my advice. I am in the same frame of mind, Try to push it away , I told the radiologist I was not going to miss a session. And I did not . Yeah I am stil weakened by all the crap in my case 2 years of lupron, 39 radiology sessions etc. I had a terrible radilogist but no use getting in to that. After speaking to a real professional at Mayo Clnic I felt a lot better .
Beside the point though is the fact that we were on top of our game and then it simply imploded, did for me ! What we have left . is still there , stimlate yourself a little at a time, I do not mean sexually I mean health, if you decide to return to your fitness activities no matter how unsettling or difficult , it will feel better . Even a little bit at a time will reinforce you with a feeling of control , you may not float to the top right away but as time goes on you'll come to the surface

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The next conundrum is testosterone ,I get a PSA every three months been 9
months at this time. The PSA is not detectable but the tt just began to
recover some it is now 360, which may be the ' new normal '. Whatever here
I am with what I have left. Heading to te gym,,,,that is very important !!

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Yes its damn hard, life is good and life is hard. Twenty years ago at age 54 PSA of 10 - had surgery and as I was finishing radiation my wife diagnosed with advanced Breast Cancer she died after four years of surgery, radiation and Chemo, at age 60 return of PSA and since been on intermittent Lupron.
Cancer, like the loss of a spouse, cannot be imagined by someone without the experience.
Know that others know your trials.
Lean on the Lord.

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If you don't have a psychiatrist on your team, IMHO you need to get one. You are showing definite symptoms of depression. I have been fighting that battle, along with anxiety for 6 months. They have been far more debilitating than my prostate cancer and treatment. There are a host of drugs that can help you. So PLEASE find a good psychiatrist who can diagnose your condition and prescribe effective medications. I'd also advise you find a therapist you can give you some tools to deal with the mental torment you are going through. You are NOT alone. Get the help you need and deserve.

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To everyone responding to this post--thank you! I will say it is an older post and I have gotten help in many ways:

I joined a support group, I have a prostate cancer mentor, I am seeing a psychologist and a sexual health physician, and of course still participating in this group. One "advantage" of getting a prostate cancer diagnosis early in the year is that I was able to quickly meet my insurance deductible so don't have any out of pocket cost for these things until January so plan to take FULL advantage of any and everything available to me through my cancer center.

I have also been exercising a lot and outdoors as much as possible. I find being in nature is helpful. I also listen to a lot of sad music which is oddly cathartic and have been writing about my life which helps me to channel a lot of feelings and ideas into things that might somehow help others.

So, while this post was negative and is true to how I felt at the time, my outlook is improving. I'm still not quite the cheerful carefree guy I was before but I'm also not crying three hours a day anymore, either. So, progress is being made and thank you to all who are responding.

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I hear ya. It’s the ADT. I went through a period of Grief - feeling like my old self was gone and I don’t like the new self. My body - same. Lost muscle and gained belly. I saw a picture of myself recently from a family function and deleted it. I was going to the gym regularly and when I was I felt better. I went out of town twice and had family in and got away from the habit. I’ve got to get back to it. Maybe change gyms for you ?
I think we need to look longer term,.. ya. It sux but it beats the alternative. I’m 2 months post ADT drugs and the side effects are wearing off some. I was out socially with a girl friend (not dating) and I told her I was out of the dating circuit and why. She had her own battle with breast cancer and gets the shame factor on new limitations of performance. I’m starting to just get used to it but it’s a sad deal to know that isn’t an option now. Like I suddenly got Old over a short period.
All this is short term in the big picture and I’ve put my energy into other things. Other interests. I’m getting better at putting energy into just friendships. There are so many that have it worse. So I’m adjusting and finding a new normal. You will get better. You will adjust. Read the side effects of the ADT and it will help you know it’s just the drug and it will be over soon.

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@chamblee54

I hear ya. It’s the ADT. I went through a period of Grief - feeling like my old self was gone and I don’t like the new self. My body - same. Lost muscle and gained belly. I saw a picture of myself recently from a family function and deleted it. I was going to the gym regularly and when I was I felt better. I went out of town twice and had family in and got away from the habit. I’ve got to get back to it. Maybe change gyms for you ?
I think we need to look longer term,.. ya. It sux but it beats the alternative. I’m 2 months post ADT drugs and the side effects are wearing off some. I was out socially with a girl friend (not dating) and I told her I was out of the dating circuit and why. She had her own battle with breast cancer and gets the shame factor on new limitations of performance. I’m starting to just get used to it but it’s a sad deal to know that isn’t an option now. Like I suddenly got Old over a short period.
All this is short term in the big picture and I’ve put my energy into other things. Other interests. I’m getting better at putting energy into just friendships. There are so many that have it worse. So I’m adjusting and finding a new normal. You will get better. You will adjust. Read the side effects of the ADT and it will help you know it’s just the drug and it will be over soon.

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Hey Chamblee, That was such a great post! You really distilled all the emotions and turmoil men face when they no longer see the ‘ME’ they always knew.
Men suffer as much shame and feelings of inadequacy sexually - perhaps more- than breast cancer patients. Not trying to minimize their anguish but breast reconstruction has really come a long way - and you DON’T need a breast(s) to perform sexually.
This disease robs the majority of men of their ability to achieve penetration; pills and injections MAY help some, but others like me who are totally impotent have to think about implants, pumps and inserts to even come close!
Lucky for me I am married for almost 40 years to a wonderful woman who really understands my literal shortcomings. She’s not happy for either of us but even though our sex lives are non-existent (ADT as well) our love is even stronger than before. I never believed it when someone said that (yeah, right…) but I’ve found it to be true. Best to you!
Phil

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