ADT Side Effects and Supplements.

[Professorgary]

Ok I just read some comments about Lupron and ADT side effects and felt I had to ask the members a question. Yesterday I saw my urologist for my 6 month routine follow up. He looked at my labs and commented on how good they were for a guy on adt for two years. When he got to my kidney function his comment was that my kidney function rocks. My flow rate is 117.5. I am on Abi and Lupron. I also take Celebrex, 200 mg 2x a day and atorvastatin 20mg daily. My kidney gfr was in the 80 to 90 range before adt. My bilirubin was 1.8 before adt and now it is .5. Very mild hot flashes and a little weight gain but pretty good energy for a guy nearing 74 years of age. The big change I made when I started adt was adding 400 mg magnesium and 2800 mg curcumin daily. Almost forgot, normal BMD. I read a comment by a member who felt Lupron should be illegal. SOOO, my question is two fold. First, how would you rate your side effects which includes QOL plus bp and lab work. Second, are you taking any supplements. I am posting this to see if there is a connection between supplements and adt side effects. Even if you do not take supplements your comments are valuable in an effort to see if there is actually a connection. I’ll go first. Thanks so much and God bless.

[Professorgary]

lupron and low dose Abi. Mild side effects. Labs and bp good. Supplement with 400 mg daily and 2800mg curcumin daily. Good QOL.

[mrscruffy]

No side effects after I started working out 6 days a week. I take supplements in the form of vitamins and a body building supplement

[ARIES29]

My experience with Lupron was terrible & I think people taking it should not be allowed to operate machinery. Many years ago my GP gave me one injection & results were I could not stay awake, going to sleep while driving.

It did reduce the PSA reading however but Firmagon worked better without the SE.

[MarkS]

I'm on prostap, aka Lupron, age 72. No hot flushes, body fat % constant at 8%, no muscle gain or loss. I walk an hour a day and go to 4-5 quite energetic classes at the gym per week. I have cut back on supplements and just take Vit K2. I don't think I am any more tired than before. Perhaps slightly more forgetful and I think my muscles ache more after exercise as the repair mechanism is not as efficient.

[pilot52]

Hi, I have been on Lupron since 2017 with very brief vacations due to receiving different treatment paradigm . So over 6 year for sure. All good, I do Peloton , and do resistance training. Sorry about the guy who cannot operate machinery . FAA clears me to fly....Working out is really essential which seems to be proven in a number of clinical studies....Have a positive attitude and get after it....Blue Skies

[Boywonder56]

it sux....cancer sux....but life doesnt suck....i eat what i want ...when i want....i have a place in mi. on lake huron....a place in nm in the mtns....and i have lived 50 yrs in a swamp called houston tx. i worked as a hands on gc all my life.....i didnt push a pencil.....so im done with heavy lifting...long walks ...and pina coladas on th beach.....any one who says theres...no se from adt....must of had a cow for a wife ....no sex ......and yeah i know how to please me wife.....but its not the same.....is a bad enough se.....there ...i said it.......now go to the gym....im going to perrys steakhouse...

[MaxWife]

My husband was on Lupron for the entirety of his cancer treatment (almost 10 years). He took no supplements specific to the Lupron. He did remain physically active (yard work, the gym, etc) and ate a balanced diet. His labs were never affected. He only started to gain weight when they added prednisone (with the Zytiga) and during chemotherapy due to marked decreased activity and choosing to eat whatever he desired. The cancer eventually spread and he lost all that extra weight. Who knows, maybe it was protective in some way in the end?

I believe that every body is different. Every person’s experience with each drug will be different in some way. It is great to get different points of view regarding drugs and treatment regiments. However, in the end the decision is yours. You must ask yourself what is best for you? I believe that it is more important to stay on top of your own treatment plan and results. For instance, long after the Zytiga was stopped and he had been on docetaxel for almost a year, he was still taking prednisone (and gaining 5 pounds every 3 weeks). I questioned his Oncologist as to “why” he needed to be on the prednisone. We stopped it when he did not have a reason. The weight gain stopped. He did not lose that weight until a year later when chemo stopped working and his cancer was spreading.

Stay abreast of the current standard of care as well as the new treatments coming down the pike. Listen to personal stories. Question your doctors when/if something doesn’t make sense or if you are unsure of its efficacy. Most importantly, do not take a back seat. Remain an active participant in your care and the choices you make regarding treatments. After all, it is your life. You get to choose how you live it! Live well! Love fiercely. God bless!