What can be used with hormone therapy besides Abiretarone?

I have a question about hormone therapy. I had an enlarged prostate many years and took meds to shrink my prostate. The doctor said it “ may decrease labedo, however for me within 6 month I shrank to a small size and had no erection. Then I had a prostatectomy to remove my prostate cancer. That caused additional shrinkage. I am still in recovery 5 months post surgery!
Unfortunately after surgery my PSA did not reach 0. Mine was 0.045 which concerned my doctor.
I am on 6 mints observation visits but the doctor mentioned the possibility of radiation treatments and hormone therapy!
I have a buddy who took hormone therapy which he blames for his seemingly permanent impotence! That concerns me. I have yet to recover enough for a spontaneous erection but I’m hoping I will be able to in time. I worry what will happen if I take hormone therapy!
Can some on who has experienced radiation and/or Hormone therapy tell we you experience with it and the side effects to expect? I have provided many guys on here the “ real scoop” on what happens to you after a radical prostatectomy and they appreciated the facts based on my personal experience. I hope someone can do that for me now concerning radiation therapy and hormone therapy!
Thanks

@billybwbf2
The thing to watch here is your PSA. .045 May not be a serious problem, You need to see over the next few months if it goes up. After my prostatectomy The lowest I ever had my PSA was < .1 Because I didn’t get an ultrasensitive test that showed more than one decimal point. I have no idea what my PSA was in the ultra sensitive test. It did take 3 1/2 years before my PSA rose above .1 and I had to have salvage radiation.

I had about eight weeks of salvage radiation. I had no side effects at all from it. I would have it done in the morning and immediately would go to work and work a full day. I know some people would sit in their cars after treatment because they felt fatigue. That was 12 years ago. Today they are doing the same salvage radiation with around 20 treatments. Some people are having proctitis issues, Meaning the peeing is a problem, Burning or slow flow can be the result and people get Flomax pills to resolve some of it. You may not have a problem if you do come back here and ask for help. The thing is with your low PSA it may be a long time before it rises to .2 which is the point of which treatment is normally done.

You don’t include any information about your prostate cancer case. What was your Gleason score? Were any of these things found in the biopsy intraductal, ductal, large cribriform, Seminal vesicle invasion, EPE or ECE. (Extraprostatic extensions extra capsular extensions). They can make the cancer much more aggressive and can result in a quicker PSA rise after surgery.

Were the margins clear after the surgery? What did the biopsy of the prostate show? Were you a T1, T2a pr b, T3a or b.

All of these things give an Indication as to whether or not there is a problem coming up soon sooner or later.

Getting a decipher test could help find out whether or not your cancer is likely to reoccur.

@billybwbf2
I realized I didn’t answer all your questions.

Most people who get off hormone therapy (ADT) Are able to get back their sexual function after a period of time. It’s very infrequent that they don’t have any ability. While taking ADT, you can get an erection using injections or implants. The biggest problem is, you don’t have much desire.

I have been on hormone therapy (ADT) For eight years. Yes, it does inhibit your desire for sexual activity, but I have found the only thing that really bothers me, besides that, is the occasional hot flash. I have ways to manage it so it’s not a big deal. ADT causes a lot of other problems.

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.

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..

@jeffmarc thank you so much for four response. I don’t know all off the question you had asked but I was 4 + 3 Gleason, the cancer was contained in the prostate and testing of adjoining areas indicated no cancer. You knew was encouraging that I might not have a problem! Of course that is my hope. Next follow up is 6 months after surgery! May 5, 2026