Has anyone lowered their Abiraterone Dosage? To what effect?

Posted by joecontheroad @joecontheroad, Nov 9, 2023

Has anyone had personal experience (or know of others' experiences or know of related studies) taking half the usual dosage of abiraterone (i.e., taking 500mg daily instead of the usual 1000mg daily)?


If so, what was the effect on testosterone levels, and any other information you feel is relevant (except a recommendation not to do so, unless accompanied by pertinent experiences and/or studies, please)?
Thanks.

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My understanding is that eligard works to reduce testosterone production in the testicles and that is 90% of the source. Abiraterone works to reduce testosterone production in the adrenal gland and that is the remaining 10% of source. So, to field your question could have the impact of reducing the impact. Just make sure you also reduce the prednisone in a similar amount. Personally I'm not sure of the benefit.

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I have been on Abiraterone 1000 for the last year, but about 5 months ago my doctor reduced the dose of Prednisone from 10 mg to 5 mg.

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My husband's doc also reduced his prednisone to 5mg hoping to reduce night hot flashes. She said if it doesnt help after trying for a couple weeks, go back to 10mg.

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Again, everybody, I am asking about a reduced dosage of abiraterone, not prednisone. I only included the prednisone in parentheses so readers would know I was also taking prednisone and so wouldn't bother recommending it.

samidh and shelby29, were your experiences with prednisone related to taking a reduced dosage of abiraterone (from the usual 1000mg)? If so, what were the effects you experienced from the *reduced* dosage, or were you originally prescribed the lower (less than 1000mg daily) dosage?

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@joecontheroad

Again, everybody, I am asking about a reduced dosage of abiraterone, not prednisone. I only included the prednisone in parentheses so readers would know I was also taking prednisone and so wouldn't bother recommending it.

samidh and shelby29, were your experiences with prednisone related to taking a reduced dosage of abiraterone (from the usual 1000mg)? If so, what were the effects you experienced from the *reduced* dosage, or were you originally prescribed the lower (less than 1000mg daily) dosage?

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I have the same question, after hearing Dr. Scholz and Dr. Moyer discuss this on a PCRI video. They said "a study" showed the equivalent efficacy of taking one-half the dosage of Abiraterone with a healthy breakfast. They chuckled that everyone is excited about the results--except the drug companies. So far I have not been able to find the study. (Parenthetically, it would be nice if it also meant one-half the dose of Prednisone.) I will message my P.A. at Mayo to see what they recommend.

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To be honest, I don't know what the effects would be, on reducing the regular amount of Abiraterone. They put me on 1000mg, four pills at 250mgs, at once, with just only 5mgs of Prednisone. I guess my question would be why reduce the Abiraterone to 500mgs, when originally prescribed 1000mg? Are you trying to stretch the prescription? I would think that would be less affective, also PSA may raise?? Maybe you should ask your physician? But that's a good question, let us know if you find the answers your looking for.

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I reduced my abiraterone from 1000mg to 750mg due to side effects impacting my heart.
My PSA went from 18 in July 2022 to 0.07 in March 2023. I did get my hematology oncologist permission.
I received 25 rounds of proton therapy radiation in July -August 2023. My PSA dropped to 0.04. As of October 2023, my PSA is 0.05. I was also on Lupron for a year. Hope this info helps. Good luck

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@maurq61

I reduced my abiraterone from 1000mg to 750mg due to side effects impacting my heart.
My PSA went from 18 in July 2022 to 0.07 in March 2023. I did get my hematology oncologist permission.
I received 25 rounds of proton therapy radiation in July -August 2023. My PSA dropped to 0.04. As of October 2023, my PSA is 0.05. I was also on Lupron for a year. Hope this info helps. Good luck

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Congratulations on your PSA dropping, my PSA was a 13
two months ago, now it's 0.03. My Doctor put me on Abiraterone at 1000mg, with 5mg of Prednisone. I haven't gotten the proton radiation treatments yet but I'm hopeful that I don't have to get any proton treatments, but if I have to I will. I'm in the process of getting PSA testing every 3 months, and getting a Lupron injection every 6 months. Thank you for your update, it give all of us fighting the battle hope to continue on. Thank you again for your good readings and sharing your experience.

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@joecontheroad

Again, everybody, I am asking about a reduced dosage of abiraterone, not prednisone. I only included the prednisone in parentheses so readers would know I was also taking prednisone and so wouldn't bother recommending it.

samidh and shelby29, were your experiences with prednisone related to taking a reduced dosage of abiraterone (from the usual 1000mg)? If so, what were the effects you experienced from the *reduced* dosage, or were you originally prescribed the lower (less than 1000mg daily) dosage?

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To clarify, my dosage of Abiraterone has always remained at 1000mg. Only my Pred dosage was decreased from 10mg to 5mg, and with this revised dosage of Pred there was no appreciable difference that I could feel.

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@griff1492

I have the same question, after hearing Dr. Scholz and Dr. Moyer discuss this on a PCRI video. They said "a study" showed the equivalent efficacy of taking one-half the dosage of Abiraterone with a healthy breakfast. They chuckled that everyone is excited about the results--except the drug companies. So far I have not been able to find the study. (Parenthetically, it would be nice if it also meant one-half the dose of Prednisone.) I will message my P.A. at Mayo to see what they recommend.

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Please do let us know what they reply. Thanks.

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