Gaining weight, muscle aches

[Bassdusty]

I just turned 47, psa was 13.1, 2 weeks later it was 15.9, did biopsy and had a Gleason 8, removed prostrate and 5 lympnoids on October 4th, started lupron injections 5 weeks later, shots are 6 months apart, just had my 3rd shot, doctor wants me to start taking zytiga everyday with this shot, hot flashes all the time, weight gain and muscle aches, just looking for a little better quality of life, wondering what types of supplements people are taking to help with energy and weight

[JamesAtlanta]

Welcome to our group...sorry about the need to join it. But we will all try and help. 😊

First, please post your recent PSA. And any other recent history, such as if the cancer has metastasized into bone or organs.

Second, I highly recommend you get your treatment by a medical oncologist who specializes in prostate cancer. A leading edge hospital would be best - like MD Anderson, Sloane Kettering, etc. If you post the city (and country) you live in, someone can recommend a treatment facility for you.

Regarding the side effects of Lupron, it is tough. To address the muscle stiffness and weight gain, exercise and stretching is key. Light weights help with the muscle loss. And even just walking 2-3 miles a day is a big help. I even started going to a beginners yoga class. Some in this site still bike 20-miles a day and one fellow runs marathons. You just have to push yourself to overcome the fatigue - It’s worth it, I promise

The hot flashes are tough to endure. I take Gabapentin for mine - a prescription your doctor can prescribe. Others have success with accupuncture and herbs. And some take anti-depressants, which help the. I tried Effexor, but could not tolerate the side effects. So back to Gabapentin.

Hope this post helps. Others will weigh in, too, with a lot of advice.

Best of luck managing your disease. We are here to help! Have a great day!

James

[AlanMeyer in reply to JamesAtlanta]

I endorse everything that James said. Exercise! Find a specialist in medical oncology. Post more info about your situation.

Your doctor is treating your prostate cancer very aggressively. I assume that, after removing the prostate and the lymph nodes your PSA did not drop completely. Is that right? If so what was your last PSA before you started the Lupron. That will be important along with your current status.

Your posting mentioned your doctor but didn't specify whether he was the same one who did the operation or not. James and I apparently each read it to mean that you're being treated by the same doctor, i.e., urologist, who performed your prostatectomy. Is that true? Can you tell us about him?

James suggested one of the famous cancer centers. Here is a list of them as determined by the U.S. National Cancer Institute:

cancer.gov/research/nci-rol...

Best of luck.

Alan

[Dr_WHO in reply to JamesAtlanta]

I agree, exercises are critical when you are on hormonal therapy. But please do not do it the way I did. I worked out my whole body using lights weights and walked between four to five miles a day. The one thing I exercised as hard as I could was riding my bike. The problem was I was only working hard certain thigh muscles while barely working out the rest of my thigh muscles. The end result was both of my knee caps moved about 45 degrees out of normal. I may end up having to have two partial knee replacements.

[softwaremom00]

My husband has found that taking ginseng can really help his energy. With his cancer diagnosis we moved to a whole foods plant based diet.

One change he made that gives him a lot more energy was he finally had a sleep study and got a bipap.(For sleep apnea) If you snore please consider getting a sleep study done and if needed get and use a cpap or a bipap. Sleep is an important part of your immune system. This is probably the single best change you can make.

Weight gain has not been a problem because of the diet change.. no processed food and I try to keep it relatively low fat. In general I don't use added oils but once in a while I break this rule. He does eat nuts and seeds and we don't worry about fats in vegetables... and of course salad dressing is ok as long as it is on a salad.

Make sure your vitamin D levels are good. If not take a supplement,we did 15000 units for one week then 10,000 units for a week then down to 5000 units for a week. We have been steady at 5000.

We tend to follow a lot of the guidelines in the book "Inflammation Nation" by Dr Sunil Pai. I mix Dr Pai's recommendations with the ones from the folks here. We take Bosmeric-Sr, The Oriveda Turkey Tail supplement (PSP50) I think. Until I can get metformin prescribed I have him taking Resveratrol and Oriveda Maitake to lower blood sugar. IP6 is supposed to help with cell health and immune system. Black Seed oil, BIRM, propolis, CBD Hemp Oil(legal in all 50 states does not have THC). Among other things. Since we are still in chemo mode we are also taking supplements to keep his red blood cell count up.

Additionally:

Every morning I make my husband a smoothie, with lots of raw frozen fruit, I add a 1/2 cup of very good Aloe Vera Juice, 1 teaspoon of amla, 1 scoop of modified citrus pectin, 1 teaspoon moringa, fresh pomegranate berries, ground flax seed.

1 cup of Essiac Tea every day.

If you would like I can send you pdf file of everything as there are more items. I do make changes to it and adjust the amounts. Please msg me if you wish to see this file.

We juice.. I make him fresh vegetable juices to drink every day. He is supposed to drink at least 40ounces of fresh juice a day. I am trying to add in a daily shot of wheat grass juice. He does not always drink the 40 ounces but most days he does.

I have him take an ozone sauna at least 3 times a week. I am not sure if the ozone does anything but I know he feels great afterwards. This is good enough for me! I recommend adding a sauna to your treatment if possible. The ozone sauna is a steam sauna but you can just add the water to it. It is portable and a pleasant experience. I love the steam sauna but any sauna would be helpful.

We started Meditation in October and this has been a wonderful change.

I hope some of this helps. If I could list the best changes we have made it would be

1.sleep changes(BiPap)

2.Diet changes

3.Meditation

4. Sauna

5.Supplements.

I think the supplements help but the lifestyle changes help the most.

Prayers and hugs for you. I hope you feel better soon!

[Hidden in reply to softwaremom00]

Sounds like good good!!!

[whatsinaname in reply to Hidden]

Sounds awful to me, to be honest

Read a few posts down, some of the crap the guy has been put on.

I would frankly rather die. I am not saying this lightly.

[pmvc in reply to softwaremom00]

Madam, can you send the PDF file for types of food one can take for APC. My mail I'd is [e-mail]

[Andrika in reply to softwaremom00]

Could you tell me what you do as far as daily diet for your husband. Is it mostly veggies

[softwaremom00 in reply to Andrika]

It is a lot of veggies. But to keep from getting hungry he gets a lot of grains too. My goal was to move to more raw but we started a 6 week chemo and I know he can get in more iron through beans.. so it is just raw for breakfast and lunch and then lots of cooked beans and grains and vegetables for dinner and snacks. He does not eat eggs, dairy, or any meat. I try to get him to eat some cruciferous vegetables every day. I also throw some beet powder in his morning smoothie. I cook beets whenever I can. He gets 40 ounces of carrot juice a day. Wheatgrass juice when I have enough. I try to follow the guidelines in the book "52 simple ways to prevent, control and turn off cancer".. I look for recipes that have those foods. It is a cute book.. fun to read and has a sweetness about it. I hope this helps!! My husband loves soups so that makes it easy on me.. but I have to make enough to feed the kids too.

[Hohman in reply to softwaremom00]

My email is [e-mail] and I would love the off file...currently on Lupron shot every 3 months and undetectable but having much joint pain....starting to gain weight in the middle....Had prostatectomy and hip metastasis. Thank you

[softwaremom00 in reply to Hohman]

Wow, it has been a while.. but let me see if I can find it and see what changes we have made. Some I have stopped due to information on HealthUnlocked and we have added a few extra. (Try ginger for the joint pain.. Work your way up to 1 teaspoon of ground ginger a day is supposed to help with joint pains... I put it in my husbands smoothie and take it in mine too.. at first it tasted kind of yucky but now I do not notice it. I just buy organic on Amazon and grind it in a coffee grinder.)

[Andrika in reply to softwaremom00]

My email is [e-mail].

[GOLFER72 in reply to softwaremom00]

I welcome your input [e-mail]

[Hidden]

Matcha tea is good for energy, ginger, tumerric. Exercise if possible can promote energy. I’ve gone thru some chronic fatigue. even then , when you feel like doing absolutely nothing, exercise helps. About 3yrs for me dealing with APC. Keep chugging along no matter what. At this point when I’ve been trying to adapt to the “new” me I reales that no matter what turmoils we suffer it’s important to be grateful and find even just a tiny bit of joy every day. Good luck on your path.

[Hidden]

It's also important to take everything with a grain of salt!

[whatsinaname in reply to Hidden]

A sack of salt, more likely

[vandy69]

Good Morning Bassdusty,

For cancer related fatigue, Mayo Clinic did a trial with Wisconsin American Ginseng and those who took it had less fatigue than those on placebo. You can Google for data.

I buy it from the Co-Op in Wisconsin. Dr. Mark Moyad also recommends it as one supplement that actually works!

Best wishes. Never Give In.

Mark, Atlanta

[Hidden in reply to vandy69]

I like that ginsing..

[Andrika]

Medical marijuana

[Hidden in reply to Andrika]

Oh yah. Peace!

[Break60]

I’ve been using estradiol patch changed twice a week for hot flashes. Works very well. Vigorous Exercise and healthy diet are necessary for bone, joint, muscle aches/ deterioration and weight gain. You gotta Keep moving!

Bob

[softwaremom00]

Nalakrats is a great resource. I really like his recommendations. I have tried to implement all of them!

[ronton2]

You are getting plenty of good advice, Bassdusty, but let me repeat what others have said: start exercising daily, walking and lifting some weights. No need to overdue it but just Do It. Also, I found a change in diet is very helpful in keeping the weight under control. More veggies, fiber and sugar-free liquids. Some forms of marijuana will give you pain relief, too. As to the hot flashes, consult your Oncologist. He may have a patch, pill or cream to offer. Don't let this overwhelm you. Take it one day at a time.

[softwaremom00]

I got my husband a rebounder for Christmas and it came very fast. And he is using it. It really seems to be helping his edema. Just 15 minutes of gentle bouncing.. make a difference. I just wanted to report it. If you get one.. buy one with a bar.. it makes it so much easier to use. Reboundair has nice ones and have $45 off sale(Code is Blackfriday17). Some of their mini-trampolines have up to 400 lb weight allowance, for bigger guys this is a nice feature. We got the one with a 300lb weight allowance as it is a little cheaper. rebound-air.com/ Shipping was super fast. You can even just sit on it and bounce..and that has benefits. Get Well wishes.