Firmagon seems to have stopped suppressing testosterone

[johnscats]

Hi everyone I have been taking firmagon adt treatment for 6 years for stage 4 cancer last 2 blood tests have one a month showed increase in testosterone 0.76 in December then January test 1.76 this last test also showed a rise in psa has anyone had this problem I'm getting the shot regularly so can't understand this

[Kittenlover50]

what’s PSA?

[RyderLake1]

Hello,

I echo “kittenlover”s comments. You mention testosterone scores but not your PSA. scores. All ADT drugs (including Firmagon) eventually fail. You still continue taking them but must add ARPI (androgen receptor pathway inhibitor) drugs to the mix. These include the lutamide family of drugs (enza, daro, or apo) or Zytiga (abiraterone). Good luck!

[Tall_Allen]

1.7 nmol/L is at the far edge of castration level. You may want to repeat the test. I can't think of any reason why Firmagon would ever stop suppressing testosterone.

[johnscats in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thanks Allan going on wensday either they did the test wrong or I've got somebody's else's blood results back

[TeleGuy]

My T started bouncing up and down on my third round of IADT on degarelix so we switched to goserelin which has kept it down ever since (continuous ADT)

[addicted2cycling]

Time to switch as mentioned.

Understanding the wants/needs for ADT drugs but I chose an Orchiectomy that achieves a consistent T<2.5ng/dL (lowest lab value). Doing self directed BAT independently and have just stopped T injections with T=475ng/dL last month and down to T=30ng/dL last week and by next week will be T=2.5ng/dL.

[dhccpa in reply to addicted2cycling]

How do you get your T? Do you have a doc working with you? Thanks.

[addicted2cycling in reply to dhccpa]

T (Cypionate) was prescribed by my Dr. in Jan. 2016 one month following the end of his treatment. I began my own on/off/on T as I followed PSA.

[dhccpa in reply to addicted2cycling]

Interesting that your oncologist went along back in 2016. I guess I thought the doc would look on it as contradicting your orchiectomy. Did you have to educate him about high T?

[addicted2cycling in reply to dhccpa]

Not an oncologist but is Dr. Gary Onik, pioneered PCa Cryoablation and IRE who has developed an Immunotherapy Protocol.

[dhccpa in reply to addicted2cycling]

Got it. Thanks

[dhccpa in reply to addicted2cycling]

I see now what you told me recently. I got mixed up about Onik and BAT.

[johnscats in reply to dhccpa]

Yes it's done every month for the last 6 years it's the first time my t has started to rise for no apparent reason could be not tested correctly or they have sent somebody's else's result to me by mistake

[Bcgkelly]

Can I ask what it’s been like on Firmagon as I’m due to start it shortly? I’ve been told the injection monthly can cause issues. Is this something you experienced and what have the side-effects been like? Did you administer the injection yourself or have a medical professional do it? Thanks.