@lacraig1

I was 82 when I started Lupron during 44 radiation treatments. It almost killed me and I had to stop at 4 months. My testosterone only recovered to 122 and continued to fall to 111 over the next year. My horrible side effects continued night and day. Three weeks ago, my urologist put me on a low dose of testosterone and most of my side effects stopped within the first week. Six months earlier he had absolutely refused to give me TRT but after reading about the latest studies showing that increasing testosterone does not promote cancer, he was adamant that I raise my testosterone. I am giving myself shots but there are creams and patches that are also effective. It is beginning to look like testosterone does not support prostate cancer and I wonder if the shots of Lupron that I got may have been harmful.

@lacraig1 You have effectively been on ADT for almost a year. Castrate levels are at 50 so despite being a little higher you are still well short of the 280-320 that is low normal. A lot of the symptoms of low testosterone are the same as menopause including hot flashes, night sweats, and bone loss. With an increase in testosterone either natural or by TRT (gels, patches, shots) will make them go away. You did not state how serious your cancer was. If it was metastatic than TRT has a high risk of making the cancer worse. If the ADT was part of a treatment plan where the prostate was removed or radiated than the time already spent with low testosterone may have provided 90%+ of what a longer course could achieve. If going for TRT discuss with your urologist and aim for low normal to eliminate the symptoms while minimizing the risk.