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Weighing the cancer risk reduction & quality-of-life cost of ADT?
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Feb 13 5:00pm | Replies (123)Comment receiving replies
If I could go back, I would have skipped the six months of ADT I did along with radiation. It's a full year later and I now have osteoporosis, low testosterone (it initially bounced back to normal and has been falling ever since--doctor says it's likely testicular failure), high cholesterol, less stamina during exercise and of course the sexual side effects of low T. The irony in looking at it from this side is that, while I'm probably less likely to die from prostate cancer, I'm now a lot more likely to die from something else and the low T is still causing a lot of depression symptoms even with therapy and medication. Radiation was tolerable but ADT GREATLY diminished my QOL.
Frankly, am still angry that my medical team told me "you'll have hot flashes and tiredness but you're likely to recover really quickly when you stop taking Orgovyx." Had they been honest with me I could have made a better decision.
Replies to "If I could go back, I would have skipped the six months of ADT I did..."
@scottbeammeup You know, Orgovyx was such a breakthrough (compared to lupron, etc) that I really don’t think your docs intentionally mislead you or omitted the possibility of the major SE’s you are experiencing. They are probably just as flummoxed as you are!
You read my posts and by now it is no secret that I am a big fan of Orgovyx; but that’s because of MY experience with it, not yours. If you read articles about its efficacy and risk profile it is far ahead of the older drugs.
That said, it seems to have really screwed up your entire system!
But every day that passes with undetectable PSA (or at least hitting your nadir and staying there) is another day closer to being able to go on TRT and hopefully reversing many of these lousy SE’s…maybe even jumpstart whatever is jammed and let your body function as it used to.🤞🤞
Phil
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@scottbeammeup
One thing that supposed to really help with the fatigue and the Depression is getting a lot of exercise. It seems contrary to logic, but I know a lot of people that have Given in to finally exercising a lot and it resolved their depression and fatigue. Exercise with weights is very important, It will keep your muscles in shape and also help with the osteoporosis. A year ago, I couldn’t get off the ground without pulling myself up on a bed or a chair or a fence. I went to the gym three times a week for an hour and within four months I was able to get up without any help.
This is talked about a lot in the ancan.org Weekly advanced prostate cancer online meetings. A lot of people have the exact problems you describe, and found that exercise made a major difference in mood and fatigue. You’re 62 or 63 you can easily do it.
Try to go to a park regularly and walk or run. If you have a problem, running because you get tired too quickly take electrolytes, They make a big difference and enable you to run longer distances. I started doing that about six months ago and my stamina increased incredibly so that I can run for a mile without stopping and I’m not fatigued or winded. At first I could only run part way, Had to walk a little then run a little, but with electrolytes I was immediately able to run a full mile without stopping. I’m 78 so I can’t run very fast but I can keep it up. Over a few months of doing it, I can now run the distance without the electrolytes.
My testosterone is less than five and I’ve been on ADT for almost eight years. I do take bone strengtheners because I’m castrate resistant. But no one would guess I have prostate cancer and have such low testosterone. I’m very active.