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Has anyone gone off hormone therapy (ADT) after radiation?
My husband has completed 5 weeks of radiation and 4 months of hormone therapy, 3.5 months ADT. His PSA is less than .2 The doctor seems pleased with the PSA and is hoping that it will soon be undetectable. If he gets to that point, can he take a break from hormone therapy and ADT. He gets his next hormone shot in October. I am hoping he will get Orgovyx , instead of the Elegard. I hate that the hormone therapy has impacted his muscle and bone density. He looks smaller to me. He is trying to do weights and he is signed up for a weight room next month, when we return home from our summer holiday. I would appreciate any input
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I was on Lupron for 3 years, Enzalutimide for one year (the cost went from $0 to $1,600 a month so I was on Abiraterone for two years ($2.50 a month)
The side effects tend to get worse with time. That was my experience. That is why (with my oncologist’s blessing) I went off a year ago. The side effects are still here, but my blood pressure and blood sugar are better. Earlier, I was on Lupron alone for sic months and after three months off, my testosterone returned to 400 and my side effects went away. So, I’m hoping that in another six months, my testosterone will again be normal and my side effects will disappear again
Just to be clear, many of the ADT side effects are actually the effects of low or absent testosterone . ADT and hormone therapy in general are prescribed to lower testosterone. Side effects like weight gain, bone and muscle loss, depression, low red blood cell count, mood swings, frequent crying, ED and hair loss are all symptoms of low testosterone.
Get rid of the cancer and then you can start trying to get your testosterone back.
Sorry, I forgot hot flashes 🥵
I had severe hot flashes when I first went on Lupron. My oncologist prescribed a depo-provera Shot and the hot flashes almost completely disappeared, until I went on Zytiga. I took Depo-provera For six years and it did control the hottest hot flashes After 6+ years on Lupron I switched to orgovyx. The hot flashes actually stopped for five months and then came back. I decided that after eight years on ADT my testosterone would not come back and my oncologist agreed that I could stop taking it. Unfortunately, my testosterone came back quickly, and I had to start back up on Orgovyx. About six weeks ago, I went and got another depo-provera shot And now I’m getting a very few hot flashes and when I get them, I just get a little warm.
I have an embrlabs.com wave product (wave 2). I’ve used it for Over four years now. It’s like a refrigerator that looks like a watch and sits on the inside of your wrist. You could set up one of the buttons for their night mode . Hit the button twice and It Produces cold waves at measured times during the night and prevents hot flashes and night sweats. They used to bug me, before I got this device . When you start to feel a hot flash coming on, you hit another one of the buttons twice and it sends cold chills through your arms and it reduces the intensity, shortens the life and can stop the hot flashes if hit quickly enough.
https://embrlabs.com/
Along with the depo-provera shot hot flashes really are a minimal issue right now.
You can continue ADT with depo-provera shots Every three months.
If you are taking Prilosec, you need to make sure that the Orgovyx pill is taken at least six hours before or after the Prilosec pill. If you don’t do that, the hot flashes are much stronger.
Sorry I didn't give you the whole story... after the removal of the prostate, we tested my PSA and it was still at 2.4 that's when we did a PET and found cancerous cells in the area the prostate had been, but nowhere else, so he scheduled the radiation. I got the Eligard shot in june, 2 months after the surgery. Do I still need another shot?
How do you know when you are rid of the cancer?
If it weren't so sad, it would, actually, be funny. You know those commercials you see on television for pills or supplements. They sound wonderful and then they say they could cause weight gain, bone and muscle loss, depression, low red blood cell count, mood swings, frequent crying, ED and hair loss...... Yikes.
My husband's most recent blood test showed low red and white blood cells. The oncologist chalked it up to radiation and seemed to think it would pass. but maybe not?
I was doing almost 90 min of exercise daily, and am now splitting it into 40 min “A-B” days with cardio MWF and stretching/walking/balance TTH. I’ve only done this a few weeks but it seems to be leaving a little more energy for the rest of the day. I plan to take Orgovyx for at least one year, hoping to be allowed to change to Nubeqa for six months and then take a holiday. At 74, I don’t think I can tolerate two years either and life afterward be worth continuing. Wishing you the best.
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