Extremely tired of chemical castration

[woppaginny]

I'm interested in chatting with those who have had an orchiectomy, guess thats how you spell it. I'm tired of all the side affects of cancer drugs and all the problems they cause to my body so I'm concidering having an orchiectomy. Yes I know all about what happens when you get this but as far as I'm concerned it is better then having your body go threw all the problems these chemicals cause to your organs and your brain. I'm 78 so reproduction does not matter to me. I know that it is still possible to get an erection even after a orchiectomy so sex life is still somewhat still there. So anyone who has had an orchiectomy could you tell me what I'm in store for after the orchiectomy. Pain level, how you handle the changes, how long before your back to somewhat normal. How you feel about it and what its like and do you think you should have done it sooner. Some may think I may have loss my mind. I've been on these drugs for years and it is time to get off them. I'll be on them until I kick the bucket so it is no longer fesible to stay on them.Thanks for your time

[Tall_Allen]

Did you try the search bar? A lot of members have gone that route.

[Derf4223]

With a PSA of 9-something and taking Casodex, the odds of an orchiectomy allowing discontinuance of Casodex sounds somewhat remote to me.

[Knittingque in reply to Derf4223]

My husband 72 has had 11 years with PC and yes tired and put on loads of weight which bothered him mentallly, afib issues, loss of muscle mass, osteopenia all the side effects of adt, He had an Orchiectomy in March, it was a simple surgery, not much pain after, he was pissed cos he couldn't get on his bike rides for 4 weeks, lol He was back to normal around 6 weeks. No problems with the macho mental thing, that was the least of his concerns He said its the best decision he made. Continuing on Xdandi 80mg per day Psa down from 82 to 10.0 in 6 weeks next psa is in a couple of weeks eager to see how much further it will drop after adding the patch as with no testosterone goes the aromatised estrogen. He has been administering estrogen patch for 6 weeks as and add back dose, now he looks and feels so much better, normal he says.Energy is resuming slowly as adt takes a while to get out of the system side effects subsiding eg hot flashes,brain fog .He wished he had done it years ago and yes orgasms returned not quite the same but wow after years of nothing. Bike rides are much more comfortable as well.😁Hope this helps, good luck with whatever decision you make.

[VHRguy in reply to Knittingque]

Congratulations to him. I think it is a very good option indeed for those on permanent ADT. His experience sounds like mine, and others with whom I've talked about it.

The estradiol "backfill" strategy with patches is also very effective. Has he had his blood E2 level checked? That would verify his patch dose is sufficient. I'm on a substantial estradiol dose, and feel absolutely great. I recommend this to many, though there are few men open-minded enough to pursue this path.

All the best!

[Knittingque]

Quality of Life is worth it.

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

I beg to differ with your husband's comment in your post above. You claimed that "He said it's (the Orchiectomy) the best decision he made." The best decision he made was to marry you. Happy Mom's day.

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n

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

Thank you Sir😘

[j-o-h-n]

Hey Tony,

Hey Paisan, if you're going to go through all of this trouble just for an Orchiectomy, it just may be a good idea to have your balls cut off instead.

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n

[j-o-h-n]

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n

[j-o-h-n]

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n

[woppaginny]

Right back at ya, have fun

[Eugmn]

I have currently had an Orchiectomy. Last year I did 10 infusions of chemo. I finished up in late August. I had great results. PSA dropped to 2.8. Mets had all improved.

I was due for my next 6 month Lupron injection around the 1st week of Oct. I chose to get an Orchiectomy instead of the Lupron. Within just a couple weeks of the Orchiectomy procedure my PSA started to rapidly rise. My OC said not to worry about it as procedures such as this can cause a brief increase in PSA. By Jan 2024 my PSA increased dramatically. I had new set of CT and bone scan and I have several mets that were previously undiscovered.

my doctor claim that it is just a coincidence that having my Orchiectomy And my PSA rising had anything to do with each other. I’m not so certain because I’m not a big believer in coincidences. I don’t know if any of this information is useful to you, but I just thought I would share since you are considering an orchiectomy.

as far as the orchiotomy procedure itself. It was a breeze. I just relaxed a couple days after having it done. Applied some ice to the bruised area and I was back at it in just a few days.

[Nusch]

I’ve had orchiectomy couple of month ago. I don’t regret. My last lupron shot was back in October 2023, my PSA two weeks ago still undetectable. Testosterone also almost 0. I’m feeling well and enjoy this time without medications.

[Professorgary in reply to Nusch]

Are you saying your testosterone is almost 0 without and additional drugs and if so what was your T level while on lupron. Thanks and God bless.

[Nusch in reply to Professorgary]

Yes, after orchiectomy it’s close to 0 and it was the same with lupron and both testicle.

[Professorgary in reply to Nusch]

Thanks, I see my urologist and orchiectomy will be discussed.

[Nusch in reply to Professorgary]

When you do it, ask them to do surgery via scrotum. This was so easy for me, no pain at all from waking up onwards.

[VHRguy in reply to Professorgary]

Doctors don't offer it, and few support it. I'll just admit my cynicism, but there's no ongoing cash flow to them if you have your testicles removed. They make a LOT of money from the ADT jabs, and have to believe there is some degree of business interest in maintaining that market.

[Jack54 in reply to VHRguy]

After reading posts like this I feel extremely lucky for my doctor. I finally decided to ask him about doing an orchidectomy this past Tuesday 7/9/24. We discussed it for a few minutes and without hesitation he said, “I have no problem with that, how about next Monday?” That’s 7/15/24 at 7:30am. It’s now around 3 pm the day before. Will post at a later date on how things are going.

[VHRguy in reply to Jack54]

With any luck, you're home and beginning recovery by now. I hope all went well.

For most, the recovery isn't too hard. It's most uncomfortable the first 24-48 hours, though all I ever needed was extra strength Tylenol. Ice/water bags wrapped in a towel and applied to the area, like 20 minutes on/ 20 off, help reduce initial swelling. By the third day, gentle warm compresses can help with healing.

My stitches were slow to "dissolve". They were rather "pinchy" feeling after a couple of weeks.

[woppaginny]

Testasterone level is 0.14.due to taking Lupron injections and Nubeqa. PSA was climing when just on lupron to injections because I had become resistant to it. Doc put me on Nubeqa which lowered testosterone .14

[Guber]

Had one a year ago, never looked back.

[Velohomme]

The chemical analogue for orchiectomy is Lupron. You will still need to take Nubeqa to get the control you are currently experiencing.