ADT & Radiation, next part of the adventure!

Hey Chipe, the best I can tell you is that it is like a short term job - it takes work if you want it to be successful with less SE’s.
I used the 10 weeks before radiation to fine tune my diet, as I eat tons of fermentable fiber (beans, corn, broccoli, etc) which is forbidden during radiation. My whole system shut down and I had to find ‘no gas’ fiber substitutes to stay regular…it really drove me nuts but you may not have this problem so just consider it a heads up if you do.
The second part of the job is exercise, exercise and more exercise; you have to breathe hard and sweat during whatever aerobics you choose and you MUST lift weights to maintain muscle tone.
You don’t have to kill yourself with them, but you want to use a comfortable weight to load the muscles and not stress them. There are plenty of simple moves and you can use dumbbells, barbells or a machine, doesn’t matter.
The important thing is that you remember that this is a job and job performance counts! You will get out what you put in and it will be over before you know it. Then, you can retire🤞Best of Luck!
Phil

@heavyphil Thank you for mentioning about diets. I am not menu prep for my husband’s upcoming radiation treatment. It’s like doing nutritional class. 😅 I told him that he should practice empty bowel and full bladder now. We’re waiting for our insurance’s pre-authorization on radiation treatment. We hope it’ll be done by next week.

@prettypass2000 Yes, now is the time to prepare; the paradox of no fiber - and having a bowel movement every day before treatment - was truly a challenge in my case.
Healthy Fiber (Amazon) 3X per day with lots of water really helped, as it produces no gas but gets the bowel moving.
Stay away from herbal teas - they can cause gas too!
Phil

@heavyphil Thank you so much. We live in Germany, so I’ll have to find the equivalent of Healthy Fiber for my husband.

@prettypass2000 Amazon online… https://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Origins-Fiber-Natural-Non-GMO/dp/B00PFXPB38/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa

Got the call from Oncopharm and went through "the talk" with one of their pharmacists. Here is what she told me:
Most common side effects: back/joint pain, constipation/diarrhea, fatigue, and hot flashes/flushes.
Remedies: take loperamide for diarrhea; get a cooling neck collar and cooling fan for night hot flashes; exercise at least 3 times a week, if not more; Tylenol.
-takes 5-7 days for side effects to kick in

I received my first bottle of pills yesterday, but I am not going to start them until next Wednesday due to my granddaughter's 2nd birthday next Saturday.

Thought I'd let you know what she said.

@chipe
Never had diarrhea from ADT. Constipation is more common. Imodium is for the diarrhea. For constipation, I take 2 Colace Twice a day and one Senna twice a day.

If you get serious, hot flashes, Which don’t happen to everybody, Come back and I can give you multiple recommendations for how to resolve them.

Due to their different mechanisms of action. ADT which includes Orgovyx, Firmagon, Lupron, Eligard, Prostap, Camcevi, Lucrin, Zoladex, Trelstar, Pamorelin, and Decapeptyl can cause numerous side effects. Actually due to a lack of testosterone.
Hot flashes
Fatigue
Muscle deterioration
Bone weakening
Brain fog
Depression
Weight gain
Joint pain
Difficulty in breathing

Not all of these side effects occur to everyone on the drugs. Most of them are just things you have to be aware of and circumvent. I run on the track twice a day, 1 mile at least, to help prevent bone weakening, fatigue and muscle deterioration. I also go to the gym three days a week (usually) and spend an hour with all different types of weight exercises. One thing that happens is people get a beer belly from the muscle deterioration, I do a lot of sit-ups to offset that.

Some people get depression but it is not common. It is easily treatable, according to people that have reported it on here and on Online Meetings I have participated in. If he has that problem Come back and ask for help, Or see a psychiatrist about doing something to relieve the depression.

Some people get no hot flashes at all. Others only have a few hot flashes and they are very minor. I had severe hot flashes for the first year on Lupron. As a hot flash was hitting I would feel a lot of fatigue. After a year, my oncologist prescribed a depo-provera shot every three months and it really stopped those hot flashes on Lupron. There are other hormones that can do this, speak to your doctor. If you have this problem, we can give you a list of drugs that can stop it. Ae doctor at a recent conference, put out a big list
I know one person that says eating tofu every day really controlled his hot flashes, another person in this forum said the same thing. Tofu does have properties similar to endocrine hormones but a lot weaker. Can’t hurt to try it. Seems they ate it daily.

According to a doctor that spoke to a recent webinar, many people on ADT, if they are staying on ADT for an extended period or have become castrate resistant should be taking bone straighteners. I took Fosamax for six years and I’m now on Zometa. That along with calcium taken daily helps keep your bones strong. Ask your doctor about this. Almost all doctors, recommend 500mg of calcium twice a day and vitamin D. That is really critical because of the bone awakening you get from ADT.

I have never gained any weight while on ADT. I get on the scale every morning and base what I eat on what I weigh. Skip lunch at times. Some people gain a lot of weight. The average is 5 pounds but some gain more and some gain none..

@chipe
Never had diarrhea from ADT. Constipation is more common. Imodium is for the diarrhea. For constipation, I take 2 Colace Twice a day and one Senna twice a day.

If you get serious, hot flashes, Which don’t happen to everybody, Come back and I can give you multiple recommendations for how to resolve them.

Due to their different mechanisms of action. ADT which includes Orgovyx, Firmagon, Lupron, Eligard, Prostap, Camcevi, Lucrin, Zoladex, Trelstar, Pamorelin, and Decapeptyl can cause numerous side effects. Actually due to a lack of testosterone.
Hot flashes
Fatigue
Muscle deterioration
Bone weakening
Brain fog
Depression
Weight gain
Joint pain
Difficulty in breathing

Not all of these side effects occur to everyone on the drugs. Most of them are just things you have to be aware of and circumvent. I run on the track twice a day, 1 mile at least, to help prevent bone weakening, fatigue and muscle deterioration. I also go to the gym three days a week (usually) and spend an hour with all different types of weight exercises. One thing that happens is people get a beer belly from the muscle deterioration, I do a lot of sit-ups to offset that.

Some people get depression but it is not common. It is easily treatable, according to people that have reported it on here and on Online Meetings I have participated in. If he has that problem Come back and ask for help, Or see a psychiatrist about doing something to relieve the depression.

Some people get no hot flashes at all. Others only have a few hot flashes and they are very minor. I had severe hot flashes for the first year on Lupron. As a hot flash was hitting I would feel a lot of fatigue. After a year, my oncologist prescribed a depo-provera shot every three months and it really stopped those hot flashes on Lupron. There are other hormones that can do this, speak to your doctor. If you have this problem, we can give you a list of drugs that can stop it. Ae doctor at a recent conference, put out a big list
I know one person that says eating tofu every day really controlled his hot flashes, another person in this forum said the same thing. Tofu does have properties similar to endocrine hormones but a lot weaker. Can’t hurt to try it. Seems they ate it daily.

According to a doctor that spoke to a recent webinar, many people on ADT, if they are staying on ADT for an extended period or have become castrate resistant should be taking bone straighteners. I took Fosamax for six years and I’m now on Zometa. That along with calcium taken daily helps keep your bones strong. Ask your doctor about this. Almost all doctors, recommend 500mg of calcium twice a day and vitamin D. That is really critical because of the bone awakening you get from ADT.

I have never gained any weight while on ADT. I get on the scale every morning and base what I eat on what I weigh. Skip lunch at times. Some people gain a lot of weight. The average is 5 pounds but some gain more and some gain none..