In a few hours, I'll begin a new phase in my 10 yr PCa 'journey': my first Lupron shot. I'll also drop from the 150 mg Bicalutamide to 50mg. I'm a little nervous - not just the big needle, but I've not really been adequately briefed on what to expect. I keep active and will increase my weights regime to try to stave off muscle loss. What else can I expect? Should I take the medication that helps mitigate the hot flashes, or should I wait and see how it affects me? And my biggest concern is the brain fog. My job is public speaking, so I worry that it will affect my coherence.
Any advice on supplements that may keep my life relatively normal
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CrocodileShoes
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In my case ,I hardly experienced hot flashes...very little.. more like cold chills in first two months and then even those chills went away
I also deal with people in my job all day..i was concerned with possibility of brain fog and that never happened.
What I had was daily regular bouts of tiredness worse from 10am to 1 pm. After 5 months the tiredness is 90% gone. I know what helped me... I believe it is my brisk walking 4 to 5 miles every day without even a day's break and also stretching Yoga exercise.
I don't believe it makes any difference. 3 month shots are convenient. I was switched recently from Lupron IM to Eligard Sub cutaneous in belly fat...I like Eligard better as there are no bouts of tiredness in morning.
Eligard caused a stinging sensation when injected ..it lasted for 5 minutes and nothing after that...only some itching sensation for 2 days.
I’m going to say (based upon my reading) that the “rule” is that you’ll experience common andropause symptoms (e.g. mood swings (crying, anger, etc), no libido, hot flashes & night sweats, fatigue, maybe man boobs, etc). You could be a some sort of freak and get through with absolutely nothing!!!
The “exception” will vary greatly in both scope and severity, and could greatly dwarf the above.
The shot itself is not bad. I take monthly shots, and it's about 5-10 seconds. It's sore for about a day. If you walk or run the day of the shot it will mitigate some of the soreness. After nine months, main SE is muscle fatigue. Probably have lost 10-15% of my strength even though I'm very active.
Hi Shoes, in addition to some of the “bad” symptoms like hot flashes and fatigue etc. I’ve had some “good” symptoms. I’m not sure if it’s the loss of testosterone or the new perspective of a possibly shorter life, but I’ve developed an artistic side that I didn’t know I had. I see things so differently. I began taking photographs on my beach walks of compositions that I wouldn’t have noticed before. Also, I began writing poetry. Another change I had was almost a complete loss of ability for getting angry. It’s strange but I miss being able to get angry. We sometimes think of it as a “bad” emotion but when you lose it you miss it. And I’m not able to handle stressful situations so I just relax and let things go. It’s helped me to communicate with my wife about the changes so she understands the “new” me.
Yes to almost everything you are asking about. It is important that you keep physically active to try to counteract the decrease in energy you might experience. With low T you'll have to watch the belly fat.
And then many of us experience sweats (severe) and hot flashes. After all, you are now going to be undergoing male menopause on a daily basis. I use venlafaxine, a generic antidepressant.
Wow, so much great advice. Thank you so much, guys. Well, I had the first Prostap injection today. The anticipation was far worse than the reality. Because the nurse listened to my circumstances (a 2 month working/speaking tour of Australia in the New Year, we agreed that I should take a month shot today and follow it up with 3 month shot in January, thus negating the need to find a GP in Melbourne willing to inject.
My wonderful, understanding wife is going through the menopause, so she just shrugs and says 'welcome to my world...' I will double-down on my gym regime and take the evening primrose oil (if needed). As far as the mood swings go - well, that comes with the territory.
I received a 4 month Lupron injection today to begin my ADT treatment. I have a 4+4 gleason score and a 23.1 PSA. I can feel the effects of the ADT treatment already. My skin is tingling and my mind is foggy. I am an Engineering Manager and manage a large team; so, managing the side effects will be a huge challenge.
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