First post-ADT vacation PSA test

[fireandice123]

I just had the first PSA test after restarting Lupron in August. It was my second vacation and was about a year long. My PSA is now 0.3 so it seems I’m still castrate sensitive. My PSA has come down more quickly than it did after my first vacation. And almost as important is that the side effects are quite minimal compared to my previous rounds of ADT. My energy is good. With the help of Sildenafil I can still achieve an erection. I just have some minimal hot flashes. I know things can change in an heartbeat but for now all things considered life is good.

[GoBucks]

Great report. Wishing you continued success.

[Kaliber]

good for you brother …. Just in time to have a nice relaxed holiday with family and friends .

💪💪💪❤️❤️❤️

[fireandice123 in reply to Kaliber]

Thanks. It does make for a more relaxed holiday. I can put it out if my mind for another 3 months until my next PSA test when the stress ramps up again. Happy holidays to you and yours.

[Kaliber in reply to fireandice123]

backatcha brother … this will be my first Christmas in 49 months that I won’t be sick from Zometa infusions. Woohooo yayahahahaya. I’m definitely looking forward to this holiday. 😁😁😁😁

[CAMPSOUPS in reply to Kaliber]

Say whaaa ? I hope I read that right. If so Haleluja. You sure could use a break from your Zometa crashes.

[Kaliber in reply to CAMPSOUPS]

yep … after 48 consecutive Zometa infusions, my new oncologist was a little uncomfortable with all the Zometa they gave me. I’m still getting it tho , every three months now.

I’ll get my next infusion in January, after the holidays. It’ll be really nice to have a no Zometa Christmas and New year. Already had my first “ no Zometa “ thanksgiving … I had forgotten how good a holiday meal can taste when you’re not so sick. of course Ive still got the pile of “ other things “ but Zometa off is a BIG improvement.

Thank you brother , I appreciate your nice thoughts.

😁😁😁❤️❤️❤️

[Break60]

one estradiol patch, .1 mg changed weekly will stop the hot flashes. Good luck.

[Pianodude]

That's great! I have tried a couple times to take a vacation. My PSA starts going up rather quickly, so the longest time I have gotten is 4 weeks.

[CountryJoe]

Sounds like great news. I have been on my first vacatión (after 3 years of ADT) for the past 5 months. My PSA just jumped from .18 in Oct. to .36 in late Nov. Did anything like that happen to you during your vacation? What was your PSA when you decided to go back on ADT?

[fireandice123 in reply to CountryJoe]

I was good for about 8 months - PSA remained at 0.2. Then my PSA started to rise. It jumped from 0.2 to 1.0 in 3-4 months and I got a PSMA scan. It showed some small spots on my left ilium very close to my other mets that had been treated with RT. They may have been there all along but were too small to show up on my previous CT and bone scans. At that point the discussions with my MO and RO were about whether they would be treated with more RT or by going back on ADT. Ultimately we settled on ADT. By then my PSA had risen to 4.7.

[farmanerd in reply to fireandice123]

Were you getting monthly PSA tests while on vacation? I'm approaching one year of ADT after BCR at the beginning of 2022 and I'm starting to entertain thoughts of an ADT vacation later this year. Initially I had the monthly Firmagon injections, but then switched to Orgovyx due to injection site reactions giving me QoL issues -- four to five days of not being able to run, kayak or do many types of work on or around the house (4.5 days out of 28 days is 16% of the available time). My next PSA is at the end of April. I miss my 'T'.

[fireandice123 in reply to farmanerd]

Not monthly at first. It was 3-4 months until my PSA started back up. After it started rising then it became monthly.

[garyjp9]

Congrats on the good report and hope things continue that way for you

[Hidden]

It’s Very good that it still works for you . Some have taken Lupron for over a decade . I took it two years than an orch allowed me to drop the shots . When my pc specialist told me that T feeds the pc I said Addios to my juevos . No t for me . Ouch!