Testosterone Recovery with short ADT use?

When I went off Lupron, it took five months for my testosterone to be detectable, & another five to be stable at a normal level. Lupron has a half-life of about 3 months, I think, so don't expect results soon.

I can easily take 9 to 12 months to get testosterone back to normal levels. That’s why we tell people to get Orgovyx, it takes half the time to recover.

A single 3-month shot of Lupron shouldn’t take but an additional 1.5 to 2 months beyond that 3-month period to rebound. (But, those are averages; you might be one of the ones that take longer.)

Was your baseline testosterone level within normal range?

How old are you?

(I had two 3-month injections of Eligard; it took an additional 3-1/2 months beyond those 6 months for me T level to rebound. I could literally “feel” my strength return. I recall telling my wife that I thought the Eligard was wearing off because I was beginning to lift heavier weights at the gym. Since I wasn’t due for another “official” bloodwork for another couple of months, I self-ordered another PSA & testosterone test (out of curiosity), and those came back as 0.13 & 403.0, respectively, meaning that everything was going exactly as expected - that is, PSA staying low and testosterone increasing as the Eligard was leaving my system.)

Orgovyx 4+ mos w/ salvage radiation treatment at age 73; baseline T 439

5 mos - ~ 60 % Testosterone return
12 mos - ~ 70%
18 - 24 mos - 100% return of T

Best wishes.

My RO and medical oncologist both minimized the problems with ADT and urged me to take it. I was mostly concerned about the hot flashes, fatigue and bone loss I'd heard about but went on it anyway. Then it dawned, T levels may never come back. I'm 76, and advancing age is a factor. High BMI is a factor that doesn't affect me. Anyway, the attached chart shows the kind of thing. If a patient is on ADT for 4 months he can expect rapid recovery. 12 months or 24 months on it and the recovery is slow and it flattens out more than the graph shows as time goes on.

The data is from several 2006 papers and one 2019 paper. I expect this is all Lupron data.

However, it is becoming acceptable for a patient off ADT to get testosterone therapy. What's the difference, if your testosterone recovers, you've got testosterone. If it doesn't, and you take testosterone, you've got testosterone. The idea clinicians have that its dangerous to take testosterone doesn't seem to make sense and apparently there is data showing this.

Video discussion: "Testosterone Recovery After ADT: Timing, Predictive Factors, and Clinical Implications - Pierre Blanchard"
https://www.urotoday.com/video-lectures/localized-prostate-cancer/video/4077-testosterone-recovery-after-adt-timing-predictive-factors-and-clinical-implications-pierre-blanchard.html

Thanks for all of the thoughts here. I’m relatively young at 54 and was in excellent health prior to diagnosis, including no issues with strength endurance or any ED issues at all. Looks like I should rebound soon and am fortunate to have only received a 3 month dose. I asked my urologist about Orgovyx and he said he wasn’t as effective for a case as urgent as mine (very high PSA and other factors).

Thanks again all.

1. Age does seem to play a big role in recovering,
2. I took only 2 shots of Lupron in 2022.
3. I still have not regained my pre-Lupron mobility.
4. I am 89 years old.

@climateguy Fantastic observation!! I have often wondered why your RO will congratulate you (and himself/herself) on your healthy recovery of T, but sneer in disdain if you mention T supplements.
What the hell is the difference if your T recovery is suboptimal and causing you problems? No one is suggesting a Barry Bonds approach - just a small amount to put you in range. Again, great point,
Phil

I've become settled in the "everybody's different" view. After 6 months of Orgovyx which started 6 weeks before SBRT, my testosterone level was near 0 and my PSA undetectable. I stopped the ADT six months ago; the side effects of the ADT were gone after about a momth. I was retested two weeks ago and ny testosterone level had completely recovered to pre-ADT levels, PSA .13. I'm 81.