Switch from Firmagon to Zoladex

[davebliz]

Met with my Urologist yesterday. I've been on Firmagon for 3 months, PSA dropped from 38 to 0.44 ug/L and Testosterone down to 0.6 nmol/L. He would like my testosterone to be lower so is switching me to Casodex and Zoladex. For background, I'm Gleason 4+4 and cancer in lymph nodes but not distant mets, planning on EBRT in a month. Anyone had this switch and any thoughts that my testosterone should be lower. Thanks.

[Tall_Allen]

That's = 17 ng/dL -- anything below 20 ng/dL is optimal. It may not be beneficial to knock it down further. But multimonth Zoladex is more convenient than single month Firmagon.

[davebliz in reply to Tall_Allen]

Do you have to use Casodex with Zoladex, if so, why? Also, it may not be of any benefit to lower testosterone but does it cause greater side effects such as greater bone density loss, more hot flashes, etc? Thanks.

[Tall_Allen in reply to davebliz]

When switching from Firmagon to Zoladex there's no need for Casodex because you've already obviated the need for a testosterone flare preventative with the Firmagon.

[GP24 in reply to davebliz]

There is no need to use Casodex for flare protection but your Urologist may want to treat you with Zoladex and Casodex combined. That's called a combined androgen blockade (CAB).