my MO tried something out of the ordinary - let me have a 'vacation' from ADT for a short while, even though i am Castrate -resistant. he was hoping we coudl keep PSA down while my Testosterone recovered, to see if that woudl make me feel better. to use his words, i have 'complained bitterly of the disruptive side effects of medical castration (mostly low libido and dysphoria)' . during that break i had a PSMA-PET scan showing uptake in my T12 vertebrae , possible C7, and at the prostate. he referred me to Radiation to see if 'de-bulking' by radiating would help lengthen my vacation. finally after a month i was able to see the RO, and she wanted MRIs. she said she would not re-radiate the prostate, which has a small tumor growing nearby. but they woudl radiate the spine, and referred me to the spine team.
it has been two months since i was referred to Radiation, and i have yet to see the spine specialist. my PSA during my vacation has gone from 0.55 to 9.69 as of Monday - nearly doubling in just the last three weeks alone. i do not see getting radiation before the end of the year as a possibility, so Monday i made the painful decision to end my 'vacation' from ADT. my Testosterone went up from 13 to 16 during that time. i was so worried that we would not be able to get a handle on the rising PSA if we let it go any higher that i let them give me another lethal injection of Eligard. i really don't know how some of you guys do it - my brain does not function right without Testosterone. I have had crippling depression, and we have tried Zoloft, Bupropion Duloxetine (which caused serotonin syndrome, worst five days of my life) and after turning myself in to the Behavioral Health Immediate Care on my 25th wedding anniversary due to obsessive thoughts taking up my days, they put me on Abilify, which is an anti-psychotic of all things. before ADT i was solid as a rock, mentally. i never understood depression before i had it. anyway to the point here - my doctor asked me to re-start Zytiga Monday also - we tried it in April but quit after four days due to Dizziness. well, after two days of Zytiga and prednisone, the dizziness is back. i don't know if it is the Zytiga or the prednisone, but my doc said Zytiga is one of the best-tolerated of the second line drugs.
Does the dizziness get better? anyone with experience? i hate to take this tool out of out 'toolbox' of things to fight cancer - i have a 6th grader i really need to be here for until she graduates high school in 6 1/2 years - i think we are going to need every tool in the box. .
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Tonwantonga
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I understand exactly what you mean by not functioning without testo and wondering how everyone here seem to handle it so well. I too experienced crippling depression and had to go on maximum doses of two anti depressants along with therapy to cope. Never had depression prior to ADT (quite the opposite - I considered myself being one of the happiest people in the world most of my adult life).
I don’t remember feeling dizzy from Abiraterone, but brain fog from ADT.
I hope Zytiga works better for you this time. Perhaps give it some more time - and don’t forget to work out, as this seem to be the absolute best way to minimize the side effects.
I didn't have depression when I used Zytiga. But I did have high blood pressure and changes in prednisone dose did not seem to reduce it.
My MO told me to go off of Zytiga. After I was off of it for a few weeks I gradually added it back. 250 mg for a week, 500 mg for a week... full dose. My BP was high but not nearly as bad as it was when I started.
I was on Zytiga(since 4/1/23) + Orgovyx (since 8/15/22), I stopped taking both on 10/16/23 for 2 weeks due to nerve issue I have getting worse. I definitely felt better with less brain fog and more energy. I started back on Orgovyx 11/1 and tried to restart Zytiga 11/15 but my lower legs and joints hurt really bad when restarting 1000mg. My MO agreed to delay Zytiga restart until Jan 1 to give my nerve issues a chance to recover. When I do restart I plan on 1 week at 500 and then back to 1,000. 10mg prednisone when I'm on Zytiga.
I blamed my dizziness on ADT interaction with other medications. After 3 yrs I was dz with Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS). It can be caused by radiation. Only was to know is a bone marrow biopsy. It is very rare with about 15,000 cases in the US each year, but an avenue if other blood #s are off.
Better save to pay for the college and graduation fund and beyond for that little girl of yours.....You'll be around to pay all her bills.....apartment, marriage, grand kids too..... Keep walking straight.........
you would think at 58 i am old enough to know better- i was so angry after making the decision to end the vacation Monday , that when i got home i took a shovel and bashed it against a log until i broke the shovel. then, still mad, a punched a tree. and another. and probably two more. one of them was harder than i am - i just got home from Urgent Care with a temporary cast , two broken bones in my hand. that's going to make it hard to pour concrete next week in the shed I'm building. I haven't had a good rage in three years at least- not sure where it all came from. seems kind of silly now.
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Vacation from Lupron/Zytiga - Temporary or Permanent!
Following the CSPC Prednisone recommendations from Zytiga? 
Lupron only or lupron plus zytiga and Prednisone?
Moving on from Zytiga
