This is a report on my experiences with estrogen transdermal patches with benefits and pitfalls to date.
first a bit of my information. I’m a medical super responder ( it’s rare, you can google super responder ) stage4advanced prostrate cancer patient. I’ve authorized both my oncologist and palliative care Dr specialist to do “ papers “ on their patient experience / treatment with me. That being so, everything mentioned here might be / probably will be somewhat different for non super responders. My PSA was 1400-1600 when DXed and my initial diagnosis very grim and immediate entry into inpatient hospice urged , that I had very little time left to live. That was 6 years ago this past October….I've been on xtandi , lupron , zometa ever since.
So, as time passed, I slowly physically degenerated….. lost my mobility a couple years ago ( I’m in a wheelchair ) , have substantial neuropathy waste down, have small vessel, white matter brain damage ( minor , so far …from xtandi ) , diabetes/ vision impairment and many others. My psa stays at less than 0.10 so far. Recent body scans show a slow progression of my already body wide extensive Mets.
In recent times I began to spiral down / auger in , mostly from treatment SEs. As recently as 5-6 weeks ago I was in a state where I was asleep 16-24 hours a day ( waking to pee every 25-40 minutes ) . I was spiraling down , in a groggy state mostly unable to become fully awake or make myself get up off my couch or bed and even go outdoors, let alone get in a vehicle and go somewhere. It was dire and scary / alarming and progressing.
Based upon reports I’ve read here on the group, a while back , I asked my palliative care specialist to try transdermal estrogen patches. Initially she said NO ( emphatic ) , but a couple weeks later she called and said she had conferred with some of her peers and decided to let me try them. ( no doubt a bit spurred on by the juicing up of the research papers they are going to do, as well ).
I started with the lowest dose 0.025 mg patches. Basically a micro dose. This about 4 weeks ago. I’m starting my 5th week today. Immediately, within the first 24-36 hours , my sleepiness started to dramatically disappear . I’m awake now , mostly normal ( still with a slightly groggy element ) . I get up and get out, I’ve been out of the house more in the last two-three weeks than many months combined preceding the patches. Also the patches have a psychological element, they are a mood elevator as well. A very pleasant and handy mood elevation. there are other minor SEs, so far, breast further enlarging, finger nails and hair growing at amazing rates, ……. Shopping for designer handbags on Amazon ( rotflol …. Kidding about the guccchi ….maybe )
Alas, all that glitters is NOT gold. Estrogen causes me serious constipation / bowel movement - bowel blockage issues, I haven’t had a normal bowel movement in weeks. Estrogen causes me to have serious bowel blockages which are very difficult to manage and will make you terribly sick with sepsis and cause a scary trip to the emergency room if you let them go without clearing them for several days.
I love the benefits of the patch. For me, they are life changing in a beneficial way. I would REALLY hate to have to give them up. Currently I’m managing BMs manually, every couple days, with mom and or sienna. I have an appointment on December the 2nd to review the patches with my Palliative care specialist. I’ll know more after that meeting. That’s it for now, this my report on transdermal estrogen, I’ll report more if something interesting comes up.
Thank you brothers and sisters,
Love you all, hang in there
❤️❤️❤️
Picture: me out of the house on my etrike ( horns on helmet ) thanks to estrogen. Having lunch at a sidewalk restaurant near my house, at a table they kindly keep set up for me on my etrike.
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