My guy has been suffering from an almost complete loss of appetite since he stopped using cannabis to trigger an urge to eat. The cannabis was starting to have adverse mental health effects on him.
His stage 4, gleason 9, mCRPC is being effectively controlled right now by abiraterone, prednisone and lupron.
The combination of the lupron and the cannabis seems to particularly difficult in terms of the mental health effects, and he has started considering an orchiectomy in the future.
For now, am looking for any suggestions for how to stimulate his appetite - any thoughts would be appreciated. I feel like we are between a rock and a hard place right now.
Thx!
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lss65
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A progesterone patch (like Megace) will do double duty - helping with appetite and hot flashes.
I can relate to his status . What negative effect does he get from cannabis? If I don’t partake I won’t eat either . Exercise promotes appetite also .. I did Lupron 18 months until an orchiectomy allowed me to drop the shots . I’m on a pill form adt that prevents adrenal production . I had some suicidal ideations after the orch .Feelings of worthlessness. I got over it . The orch has been positive for me .. a positive mental status is half of our battle . Losing t is a great hit to our system . What once made us strong and decisive will now kill us . I dream of returning to t somehow in the future ? That will mean shots.. My mo doesn’t want to rock mu undetectable boat now . I’m working on five years clear in March .. Please keep yourself healthy .As a care giver your stressed too . Good luck finding his path . We all take things differently . Although we are all basically in the same boat .. Good day!
he becomes dissociative, not horribly, but enough that it is becoming problematic. Looking into it, I see the lupron and cannabis both can cause dissociative symptoms. And this happens at predictable times during the lupron cycle, almost like clockwork. At least I now figured out what is going on - the first time we went through it, I was really reactive, like anybody not realizing someone is dissociating would be. He can really beat himself up over some imagined transgression that wasn't even a real world issue. I've discovered as long as I stay calm, he regains his balance fairly quickly. But given this, I think getting the orchiectomy should be seriously considered, because I'm worried this might get worse with each additional lupron injection.
And the cannabis just magnifies the problem.
You make a good point that if he eventually wants T back, he can get it administered exogenously, so this really isn't a lifetime decision. Just a management one.
It could be a lifetime decision . I firmly believe that my orch took out 85% of my t . I think it gave my pc no food ..We walk a thin line ...He self isolates? From you too? You sound just like my wife..calm cool and collect..I’m similar to him in many ways . Once our male hormone is gone our self image and ego change . It’s hell on the spouse . No sugar coating it . You have a handle on it . I self loathe and turn sour at times . Luckily for me and your husband our parters are cool . This is a grand psychological and spiritual journey to find daily happiness living with APC . God have mercy on us all. Wishing you a more peaceful path forward.
What is his diet like? Appetite is related to the foods available, in other words, the saying "there's always room for dessert" is actually true. Many times I'll wake up and have no interest in cereal or a whole wheat bagel, but if a chocolate chip muffin is available it will disappear in a hurry. My philosophy is eat anything you want until you reach a healthy weight (assuming you need to gain to get there), then worry about the quality of your food.
Also, does he have any digestive issues? I'm in the middle of chemo and have plenty of digestive issues. Many times a pepcid and a nausea pill will fix my digestive issues and improve my appetite. Speaking of digestive issues, constipation can cause nausea, which obviously will make food less appealing.
Nalakrats, if you could find the name of that cannabinol, I would appreciate it. We are in a crazy time period here, so it would help me out a little bit. If it is too difficult, don't worry about it - I can find it.
The remeron idea is of particular immediate interest because I have a lot on hand that I have used with my son for off-label reasons. So that medication would be easy to test.
Hello I am grouser's wife . He too has problems eating. It bothers me terribly . Somehow I feel my ability to feed him will help everything. So maybe more for me then for him. I make healthy cookies and puddings also I put a shot of premier protein in his coffee. Lots of talk about sugar as the enemy but right now I cannot address that. Caregiver guilt is an awful thing just do your best Good wishes to you.
Sugar in excess is the enemy. Sugar is probably your friend right now. The cancer will take what it needs to grow from the bloodstream, and if you restrict nutrition you'll only end up starving the healthy cells.
Fun fact: sugar is actually composed of glucose and fructose, which use different transporters in the digestive system to enter the bloodstream. If I recall correctly, Gatorade has figured out that a 2:1 ratio of glucose to fructose is ideal for maximizing the rate of uptake by the digestive system. This is important when running a marathon or riding in the tour de france when the body is burning calories far faster than the digestive system can absorb calories. It's also useful for diabetics having a hypoglycemic crisis, or cancer patients like me that have trouble absorbing what we eat due to chemo damage to the digestive tract.
I suffer a similar fate with zero interest in food, and many things are tasteless after a few bite. I have been using Dronabinol before lunch and dinner ( it contains a small amount of THC to stimulate the appetite.
Megace made me hungry all the time.... quit acct affected my driving... middle line to rumble strip to scare anyone riding with me.. didn't even know it.. I felt fine.
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how to improve appetite/consume more calories. Pls help!
How much memory loss is due to Lupron?
No Appetite, Cant Eat, Nauseas 
