The conversations here have been very helpful; so thanks everybody.
I am curious about how quickly others who have had ADT (particularly Lupron) have experienced side effects. I am on my 11th day following my first shot. I felt a little sluggish at first and have had one or two flushes that may have been hot flashes. I have not been horny like I was previously (but wasn't sure if that was a side effect or due to the placebo effect). I did check out a little porn just to test things about five days in and no not the usual response there either. But in the lst several days I had a coupld of erotic dreams and awoke with a little swelling "down there" but not any effect when I try to stimulate myself. Otherewise, I feel pretty much the same as before the shot so far, but I realize I am not very far into it. The shot was a 30-day shot, if that makes any difference.
Some background: My canacer was diagnosed in 2014. I had surgery then. My PSA rose slowly over time but jumpted from 1.9 to 3.0 this last quarter. Bone scans are clear. A CT scan in inconclusive; there my be some activity in the prostate bed. (I'm not a candidate for radiation due to a history of Crohn's disease and immunosuppression following a liver transplant.)
Just curious about other initial experience witgh side effects.
. I am interested to know about Androgen Receptors, if you have information that would be helpful. Thanks again for responding to my post.
It may be possible for some to have minor side effects from Lupron but I think that is rare. It completely eliminates your testosterone. Testosterone does many things and without it you will be a very different person. I was on Lupron for over a year. I had severe hot flashes, general weakness and had a close call with some accidents before I understood that my sense of awareness and many other things I was used to had changed and that I needed to be very aware and extra careful. No more casual climbing of ladders etc.
Sex, what is that? I completely lost interest in sex. I could still appreciate the aesthetics of a beautiful man but had no interest in anything more than looking. I was completely amazed at how different a person I was for that year. I had Lupron in advance of and following radiation treatment so it lasted only about a year. It took another year, almost, to be back to "normal".
No t is devastating but we choose to live, rather than do nothing .Im clumbsy now accident prone and in effect fragile compared to pre-APC .Good luck in your journey!
Yes, indeed. We choose to live.
Thanks for the heads up. So far, I don't feel terribly different, but it is good to know that I need to be watchful. Also good to be prepared for what, I assume may come on gradually over time.