Having been on ADT for 5 years, one of the problems I have encountered is good old crotch rot.
I tried Gold Bond Mens powder, which made quite a mess but didn't seem to stop the fungus that would grow in my crotch, between my buttocks, in my belly fold, under my breasts and sometimes under my arms. I was using prescription ketaconazole which made short work of the problem but it always came back.
So I decided to try a "men's hygiene" product. I found ToppCock (AKA TP CK) on Amazon which has tea tree oil, silver nano-particles and aloe. It took a little while to get the right amount (too much and it can be sticky, right amount and it dries almost instantly).
End result: no more fungus, anywhere. No muss in the bathroom, and it smells good as well.
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Miccoman
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the other thing that works - for me - is Antiseptic Skin Cleanser active ingredient is Chlorhexidine gluconate 4% solution . I get it OTC at Walgreens. Also learned to make sure I am DRY DRY DRY after a shower. Even use the hair dryer on the low setting .
With my hot flashes from the ADT getting dry can be quite a trick! I often find myself drying twice or more after a shower as a nice warm shower seems to bring on sweating.
Certainly staying dry is not an option as I am completely drenched in sweat several times a day, so I was quite surprised that a powder didn't do the trick. I like the smell of what I'm using and very pleased at the results.
I live in Florida where it's hot and humid most of the year and it's fungi everywhere -- on the drive, in my belly fold, on the shed.
The great advantage to a gel is that it doesn't make such a mess in the bathroom for the robot vac to clean up! My pressure washer does a fair job on the drive and shed where even a chlorine wash doesn't keep it at bay for very long.
Prior to ADT I didn't have infections much at all. I think it has a lot to do with the hot flashes -- being sweaty and having the belly fold as well my groin for stuff to grow in.
I do seem to take longer for scratches and such to heal up and there is a lot of random itching going on which seems centered around fuzzy Seborrheic keratoses, which the dermatologists assure me are just old age related.
Some of that itching, I believe is due to a persistent UTI but no matter how poorly I feel and how stinky and foamy my urine or how burning or poor my urine stream is it never grows anything, so it's just Flowmax as the answer.
It's hard to deal with a doctor's preconceptions all by one's self. At least my oncologist will listen and proceed on evidence, not just snap decisions without discussion. Luckily I have just a couple more CT scans (post nephrectomy -- want them all done at the same place and read by the same radiologist for consistency) to go before I can find another urologist who isn't so full of himself and where I don't have to watch Fox News in the waiting room for up to an hour before I'm seen. And they wonder why my blood pressure is high when they take it.
Yes i know, if you could keep the area Dry I know your going to say wtf I know that, but what I have found out, only use your towels once, white are best because bleach them and dry bone dry on high heat Do not use towel twice, I know a pain, but you don’t want jock itch, find out what type you have and apply light film and Desnex when needed powder
Wash floors in shower with bleach toliet seat any where you sit changing right of shower
I I got athletes foot at the pool and never sit on bench in locker room your tempted but don’t due it
Takes many weeks to heal and repair and then use desnex daily and see see the dermatologist and see which cream he would like you to use
If you take a towel to the pool brink your own fungus loves the plastic chairs and travels
Thanks for the reminder to use fresh white towels. I do not use a fresh one every day but they are white and I do bleach them and dry them on hot. Luckily for me the men's hygiene product I use has done away completely with my problem. I don't go to a public gym or pool so I haven't had to deal with foot fungus in many years.
It is interesting to see how different people deal with this. I am also successfully loosing weight so that has a positive effect as well, I think: much less belly fold and even somewhat smaller breasts, although they will never go back to being flat.
I'd have to agree, although diet has also had a big effect for me as well. I exercise almost daily for about an hour on an elliptical/recumbent machine (it's great to be able to sit down when winded and just pedal). I've dropped nearly 30 pounds in the last two years and hope to loose another 30.
My therapist asked me what I thought was the most effective thing I had done diet-wise. After some thought I think it is eating nuts at night. High protein, low cal and something to chew on while watching TV. Since I need extra calcium due to Xgeva for the bone mets and osteoporosis, I eat about a pound of raw almonds a week. I mix it up with unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts for variety (when they're on sale).
And I am also very alive and quite healthy (pesky LDL aside) but also very alone. It is quite a quandary, working hard to stay alive when you see nothing ahead except a Medicaid nursing home unless I can find a well paying job in the next 12 months. And at 70...
But I can't give up until I'm living in a right-to-die state. So at least I have a near term goal.
Hi Miccoman. I’m glad you bring up the bone issue. One of the reasons I work out so much is to do all I can on the bone loss (and lean muscle mass loss) issue. I’m 53 and have been on ADT for three years now. In February, I’m due for my next bone scan and I’m really hoping that I’m stemming the decline bone loss. I’ve already got osteopenia so it really makes me wonder where my bones will be if I’m fortunate enough to make it to 60. 😳 well, once I get to osteoporosis, my insurance should cover the bone strengthening meds. Fun stuff this is. Take care. ✌️
I'm surprised, Dougnola, that your insurance doesn't cover some sort of bisphosphonate for a diagnosis of osteopenia. If you were a woman your age, they would.
The heavy duty monoclonal antibody, Xgeva/Prolia (denosumab) is, as I understand it, used for oeteoporosis and bone mets. It's great as long as you keep on top of your doctors about it (like everything else).
My bones have shown marked increased density on a 2017 DEXA bone density scan over a 2014 scan. They give me a DEXA every 3 years. I get a regular bone scan every year which have shown slow general improvement.
One thing to remember is that you need lots of Vitamin D. The supplement Citrical is a good source of calcium and D and as long as your labs don't show high calcium levels you should be ok (you _do not_ want kidney stones!) although you might just do a half dose to start. Calcium gummies are just ok -- not the best source of calcium -- but they are yummy
f.y.i.
Prolia is given every 6 months.
At the VA and in Europe they give Xgeva every 3 months. In private practice in the US, they give it every month. Fun fact: did you know the pharmacy filling a prescription gets about a 2% kickback on the retail price of the drug?
I finally rebelled after a year and got mine to 3 months and now they've backed off to 6 months for fear of side effects (bone death), in view of my radically increased projected life span (my initial "at most 10 years" is now 15 to 20 years from the diagnosis date of terminal stage disease). That's where I started (presented in doc -speak) so they never looked at RP or anything other than ADT.
The problem, for me, in getting the Xgeva shot every month, was that I had to go to the doctor to get a blood test and them come back a week later for the shot. So that tied up at least a week every month and I couldn't travel. And I use a lab half a mile from that _former_ doctor for my regular blood tests and they deliver results in 24 hours...
Trying to educate doctors that they are service providers and I am a customer is quite a challenge. Of course, since I have traditional Medicare there is no insurance company to go through so I see who I want and walk away when they prove not up to rendering the level of care I need -- no preapprovals or referrals required.
I guess what I am saying is be careful the doctors aren't unconsciously treating you as hopeless. If you suspect they are, a good way to shock them into focus, I find, is asking them which hospice they recommend. When they stop the "but, but, but, but" routine I find them much easier to engage about quality of life issues.
Best of luck for good test results and good health -- my new oncologist insists there's some wonderful treatments in the pipeline he believes will make PC a chronic disease, not a terminal one -- at the least.
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