reduced mobility and energy on Lupron and lubecka

[HaveHope66]

My husband’s ability to walk and to climb stairs and his energy level is much diminished now that he has been on lupron and lubecka for about a year and a half. Is this typical? What do other men taking these drugs do to maintain their energy level and to stay mobile?

[ARIES29]

In a word Exercise & I know how hard it can be to push oneself to do that, especially if going to the Gym but having a gym trainer helps. Also there are different supplements to provide that extra energy.

[j-o-h-n in reply to ARIES29]

I don't think you meant the medication "lubecka" I think you meant Nubeqa. If that's the case you can edit and fix your post. I'm 87 years old and don't do any routine exercise except work around the house (and post here). BTW it's a good idea to include your dear Husbands bio in his/your bio area. That data will help you and help us......Thank you!!!

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Monday 11/06/2023 7:59 PM EST

[mrscruffy in reply to j-o-h-n]

Does chasing skirts count as exercise? Asking for a friend

[Bethpage in reply to mrscruffy]

LOL, mrscruffy, you beat me to it by half a day or more. Good one!

[j-o-h-n in reply to mrscruffy]

Chase em? In my household I'm the one wearing them.....😪

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Tuesday 11/07/2023 11:12 PM EST

[mrscruffy]

Hired a trainer and am in the gym lifting heavy 5 days a week. Wife is my gym partner, we are in our 60's

[JohnInTheMiddle in reply to mrscruffy]

I like to do that myself but I have three rotted vertebrae and there is a risk for lifting things. Interestingly reading about this is revealed poor support for people in my condition. Apparently if you have a lot of money you could get a biomechanical analysis based on scanning and engineering modeling. Or you could have a "physiatrist" who really knows their biomechanics.

There are the beginnings of research in this area but typically the articles start off with how little this is studied. So I'm doing really well on my therapies and have no serious disability. And I understand the importance of exercise.But the only serious advice that I've been given is "yeah you can exercise but don't twist".

Oddly this is not a corner case in terms of quality of life for men with metastatic prostate cancer.

[mrscruffy in reply to JohnInTheMiddle]

Have you looked into resistance bands. No impact and tons of different exercises

[JohnInTheMiddle in reply to mrscruffy]

Thanks Mr. Scruffy! It's great to emphasize resistance bands. I do have them and I'm slowly figuring out a routine. Also this topic I'm budgeting for a Bullworker again, can I use to use as a youth.The whole question of an exercise recipe and understanding what to do is easier said than done I think. My summary now is both aerobic and resistance.

And I'm looking at the research which suggests that high volume of exercise per week could be really important for men with prostate cancer (and I suspect women or men with breast cancer). On a good week now I'm up to 7 hours.

[mrscruffy in reply to JohnInTheMiddle]

Ya it is going to be hit and miss. I think there are studies showing benefits of exercise, but how scientific I don't know. My MO says that my great response to cancer meds is because of exercise. Purely anecdotal

[j-o-h-n in reply to mrscruffy]

Boy am I lucky, my mail carrier leaves me one every day........

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Tuesday 11/07/2023 11:21 PM EST

[Kaliber]

it’s not unusual for problems with mobility to develop with Lupron adt. Difficulties range from mild to mobility impaired requiring a wheelchair to get around ( me ). Most guys are mild to medium .

[London441]

Cardiovascular and strength training exercise. Not easy but profoundly worth it.

[Schwah]

weight training three days a week to all muscle groups. My MO said without fail those that do weight training on ADT do well, those that don’t ….don’t. Without it our muscles turn to mush and with it we can actually gain muscle mass or at least stay where we started. I hate every session and swear it will be my last but I feel pretty damn good.

Schwah

[Gatodd in reply to Schwah]

Agree 100% with Schwah, it’s tough exercising when you don’t see increases in you weight lifts or feel like you are improving endurance. But if I miss time, I see a big difference when I restart. So I try very hard not to miss time.

[mrscruffy in reply to Gatodd]

There is a way to remedy this. Muscle growth, endurance and heavier lifts are possible

[Gatodd in reply to mrscruffy]

The last time I tried to lift additional meaningful weight, I pulled something in my back. Decided to go slow, steady and frequent. But you are right, it is possible. Just started with resistance bands. Those work muscles I didn’t know I had.

[mrscruffy in reply to Gatodd]

I started a few years ago with bands and then started doing different things to se what I liked. Yoga, PIYO, HIIT, boxing training and Bare. All good workouts

[mrscruffy in reply to Schwah]

Except for the cancer I am in the best shape of my life, Time in the gym pays off

[JohnInTheMiddle]

1. Bravo the posts here about exercise. At one point after my chemo (my therapy adds up to triplet) I also could not walk upstairs without difficulty. I also had balance issues.

I suspect your husband might have had some real challenges currently. And if your husband is unable to get more exercise than that's not good. As lots of people here have mentioned it's really, really hard to do.

All this enthusiasm for exercise would be cruel however if your husband is fundamentally unable to work up exercises over time.

However if there is no fundamental reason then your husband should try and try to exercise.

I have noticed over a year and a half the huge impact of exercise. And even when I have a setback and didn't exercise, I noticed growing weakness and stiffness very quickly - but now I'm confident I can work back. Even in a period of a week or two weeks I noticed the difference.

2. In terms of energy also now on methylphenidate one or two pills a day. It helps.

[SteveTheJ]

Provigil is an excellent medication I've been on for 2+ years and not even every day but it can improve energy and motivation. You can also consider relocating everything to one floor of the house if possible so stair-climbing is less problematic.

Mostly, remember that the medications are prolonging life. You stop the medication, you're opening the door for the cancer to come roaring back.

[NecessarilySo]

Check iron, red blood cells, hemoglobin, and hematocrit and B12 levels. I'm 3 years on Lupron and had a constant decline, recently had shortness of breath and fatigue, so I take iron supplement and B12 daily. It's slowly improving. Can't say the ADT is to blame, but you should check this.

If iron deficiency is the problem, exercise smexercise.

[Mgtd]

I want to echo two points. Start slow and use light weights. It will be hard but the alternative is really scary.

Second, I have been doing resistance/weights for going on 6 months. My physical appearance has really improved, I eat less and overall I feel great.

I am hoping that it has a positive effect on keeping the cancer at bay. I have lost weight but not muscle.

Now if I could regrow some hair and improve the face dropping I would call this cancer a complete renovation at half the price.