1. < Prostate Cancer

Abiraterone Acetate

Posted by thomb22 @thomb22, 2 days ago

Hi, was wondering if anyone is having increased and un bearing side effects from their abiraterone acetate. In my case my insurance company is pushing me to take this medication distributed by Apotex. Excessive sweats and constipation issues. Read whereas this company had numerous violations by the FDA. Price fixing, the biggie is quality control. About the money not patient care. The prescription company I am talking about is humana Medicare.

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northoftheborder | @northoftheborder | 2 days ago

Abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) is an older. out of patent medication. so it's a relatively inexpensive generic these days

The newer ARSIs, the -lutamides, are far more effective for many (not necessarily all) patients, and don't require you to take a steroid with them, with all the extra potential side effects, but they're very expensive — especially in the U.S.

It's worth confirming with your oncology team that Abiraterone acetate (from any maker) is the best treatment for your cancer situation, and not just the best your insurer will allow. It might be so, but a frank discussion won't hurt. Steroids really did a number on me when I was on them to reduce spinal swelling, and I'm glad I don't have to take them with my Apalutamide.

REPLY
2 replies
lag | @lag | 2 days ago

My husband took Zytiga with prednisone for three years, and it kept his cancer suppressed and his PSA undetectable. He didn't have terrible side effects and would still be on it if it was still working. It sounds like the issues you mention are with the Humana firm or their PBM--Zytiga is now generic, so the original manufacturer isn't causing the problems you mention. Humana is notoriously stingy and uncooperative, as are many Advantage plans. Better to get onto original Medicare if you can.

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thomb22 | @thomb22 | 2 days ago

Thanks for your reply. I do have Medicare part D. Not advantage. Still issues.
Thanks again,
Tom

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jeffMar | @jeffmarc | 2 days ago

If you are on ADT then using abiraterone will make the hot flashes a little more frequent and intensive. As for incontinence, You’re gonna have that problem with almost any of the drugs for prostate cancer. Taking one Colace and a couple of Senna twice a day should help resolve that incontinence problem, it works for me.

I was on abiraterone For 2 1/2 years. It kept my PSA very low and gave me 2.5 more years before I’ve had to Move on to Darolutamide. In my case, I switched because of the heart issues that abiraterone causes, It raises your blood pressure and increases the chance of having Afib events.

There are ways to reduce the problem with a hot flashes. I was getting depo-provera Shots every three months, and it helped a lot with the Hot flashes, other hormones work the same, ask your doctor about it. I also got an EMBR Wave 2 Device, which can stop hot flashes while they come on and can really make a difference at night to prevent night sweats (embrlabs.com). There are other solutions as well, Some people have said that Eating tofu every day really reduces the hot flashes a lot. Acupuncture does work for some people.

REPLY
3 replies
thomb22 | @thomb22 | 2 days ago
In reply to @northoftheborder "Abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) is an older. out of patent medication. so it's a relatively inexpensive generic..." + (show)
@northoftheborder

Abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) is an older. out of patent medication. so it's a relatively inexpensive generic these days

The newer ARSIs, the -lutamides, are far more effective for many (not necessarily all) patients, and don't require you to take a steroid with them, with all the extra potential side effects, but they're very expensive — especially in the U.S.

It's worth confirming with your oncology team that Abiraterone acetate (from any maker) is the best treatment for your cancer situation, and not just the best your insurer will allow. It might be so, but a frank discussion won't hurt. Steroids really did a number on me when I was on them to reduce spinal swelling, and I'm glad I don't have to take them with my Apalutamide.

Jump to this post

Thanks a bunch. Very helpful.

REPLY
melcanada | @melcanada | 2 days ago
In reply to @jeffmarc "If you are on ADT then using abiraterone will make the hot flashes a little more..." + (show)
@jeffmarc

If you are on ADT then using abiraterone will make the hot flashes a little more frequent and intensive. As for incontinence, You’re gonna have that problem with almost any of the drugs for prostate cancer. Taking one Colace and a couple of Senna twice a day should help resolve that incontinence problem, it works for me.

I was on abiraterone For 2 1/2 years. It kept my PSA very low and gave me 2.5 more years before I’ve had to Move on to Darolutamide. In my case, I switched because of the heart issues that abiraterone causes, It raises your blood pressure and increases the chance of having Afib events.

There are ways to reduce the problem with a hot flashes. I was getting depo-provera Shots every three months, and it helped a lot with the Hot flashes, other hormones work the same, ask your doctor about it. I also got an EMBR Wave 2 Device, which can stop hot flashes while they come on and can really make a difference at night to prevent night sweats (embrlabs.com). There are other solutions as well, Some people have said that Eating tofu every day really reduces the hot flashes a lot. Acupuncture does work for some people.

Jump to this post

On Abiraterone since Jan PSA still going up to 218 Not happy Oncologist keeps meon it
Have done Xtandi, Radium 223 and 2 chemo's that caused my lungs to fill with fluid Prednisone and oxygen for 6 moths then Abirat

Is darolutamide better? No insurance issues for me

I did PSMA PET and qualify for LU 177 as C only in bones Had radiation T 4 to T 7 and hip Pain still in shoulder

Advise please

REPLY
2 replies
thomb22 | @thomb22 | 1 day ago
In reply to @jeffmarc "If you are on ADT then using abiraterone will make the hot flashes a little more..." + (show)
@jeffmarc

If you are on ADT then using abiraterone will make the hot flashes a little more frequent and intensive. As for incontinence, You’re gonna have that problem with almost any of the drugs for prostate cancer. Taking one Colace and a couple of Senna twice a day should help resolve that incontinence problem, it works for me.

I was on abiraterone For 2 1/2 years. It kept my PSA very low and gave me 2.5 more years before I’ve had to Move on to Darolutamide. In my case, I switched because of the heart issues that abiraterone causes, It raises your blood pressure and increases the chance of having Afib events.

There are ways to reduce the problem with a hot flashes. I was getting depo-provera Shots every three months, and it helped a lot with the Hot flashes, other hormones work the same, ask your doctor about it. I also got an EMBR Wave 2 Device, which can stop hot flashes while they come on and can really make a difference at night to prevent night sweats (embrlabs.com). There are other solutions as well, Some people have said that Eating tofu every day really reduces the hot flashes a lot. Acupuncture does work for some people.

Jump to this post

Thanks so much for the info. Sorry, I didn't fully explain my situation. I have been on abiraterone for 5 1/2 years. In the beginning the side effects were bad, with time much better. The point I was trying to make that abiraterone is made by a number of manufacturers and like any medicine, depending on the Indvidual the side effects will vary. When I changed from private insurance to Medicare my insurance company now is dictating what medicine(manufacture) in this case apotex. I have tried before, and the side effects were thru the roof. When I asked for the medicine, I was taking before, they told me they can't regardless of if you can tolerate or not. Company policy not patient care.

REPLY
1 reply
thomb22 | @thomb22 | 1 day ago
In reply to @northoftheborder "Abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) is an older. out of patent medication. so it's a relatively inexpensive generic..." + (show)
@northoftheborder

Abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) is an older. out of patent medication. so it's a relatively inexpensive generic these days

The newer ARSIs, the -lutamides, are far more effective for many (not necessarily all) patients, and don't require you to take a steroid with them, with all the extra potential side effects, but they're very expensive — especially in the U.S.

It's worth confirming with your oncology team that Abiraterone acetate (from any maker) is the best treatment for your cancer situation, and not just the best your insurer will allow. It might be so, but a frank discussion won't hurt. Steroids really did a number on me when I was on them to reduce spinal swelling, and I'm glad I don't have to take them with my Apalutamide.

Jump to this post

Thanks.

REPLY
1 reply
ecurb | @ecurb | 1 day ago
In reply to @jeffmarc "If you are on ADT then using abiraterone will make the hot flashes a little more..." + (show)
@jeffmarc

If you are on ADT then using abiraterone will make the hot flashes a little more frequent and intensive. As for incontinence, You’re gonna have that problem with almost any of the drugs for prostate cancer. Taking one Colace and a couple of Senna twice a day should help resolve that incontinence problem, it works for me.

I was on abiraterone For 2 1/2 years. It kept my PSA very low and gave me 2.5 more years before I’ve had to Move on to Darolutamide. In my case, I switched because of the heart issues that abiraterone causes, It raises your blood pressure and increases the chance of having Afib events.

There are ways to reduce the problem with a hot flashes. I was getting depo-provera Shots every three months, and it helped a lot with the Hot flashes, other hormones work the same, ask your doctor about it. I also got an EMBR Wave 2 Device, which can stop hot flashes while they come on and can really make a difference at night to prevent night sweats (embrlabs.com). There are other solutions as well, Some people have said that Eating tofu every day really reduces the hot flashes a lot. Acupuncture does work for some people.

Jump to this post

Jeffmarc is like the Pope- a universal. Assistant with great information

REPLY
northoftheborder | @northoftheborder | 1 day ago
In reply to @melcanada "On Abiraterone since Jan PSA still going up to 218 Not happy Oncologist keeps meon it..." + (show)
@melcanada

On Abiraterone since Jan PSA still going up to 218 Not happy Oncologist keeps meon it
Have done Xtandi, Radium 223 and 2 chemo's that caused my lungs to fill with fluid Prednisone and oxygen for 6 moths then Abirat

Is darolutamide better? No insurance issues for me

I did PSMA PET and qualify for LU 177 as C only in bones Had radiation T 4 to T 7 and hip Pain still in shoulder

Advise please

Jump to this post

The -lutamides are approved for specific cancer situations. In my case, I'm on Apalutamide (Erleada) + ADT because the TITAN study demonstrated that combo was more effective than any other horomone therapy for treating metastatic castrate-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC). The SPARTAN study also demonstrated Apalutamide's effectiveness for non-metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC).

Other -lutamides are approved for various situations, but I don't know as much about them.

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