I am a week into a 3 month Lupron shot with cosadex. The fatigue is unbelievable. I am due to start Zytiga next week and add 10 mg of prednisone. My cat scan last week showed 7 different met sites. PSA 37 down from 99 with 2 weeks cosadex pre lupron.
Does this fatigue ever lighten up?
I can give you advice that I didn’t learn until later in my ADT!! Too later in fact and now I’m paying for it!!! No, it does not let up, you just learn to live with it!! Don’t succumb to it!! Get up and do stuff!! Little thing if thats all you got but do stuff!! Move them joints or you will regret it!!!
Exercise your mind as well because that will turn on you too!!!
Best of luck
Jc
Thanks for the reply and advice. I will take it and do my best.
Boy, no truer words, Jimhoy. I came to that conclusion this week. The fatigue won't lift. Exercise, a good diet, and a positive attitude help to mitigate the effects, but I've come to accept that I'll continue to feel tired virtually ALL the time for the next 18 months. I'm walking 3-4 miles a day, lifting some weight, and doing pushups, sit-ups, ,and some other things. It truly helps. I don't feel nearly as decrepit as I'd otherwise feel, but honestly, I feel physically diminished. It's just the way it is.
It is believed that ADT causes fatigue by causing dysfunction in our mitochondria, organelles in our cells that convert food into usable energy. The best counter to that is exercise. You're unlikely to completely overcome the loss of energy, but you can make a big difference. It also helps to watch your diet to keep the weight down, and get a little extra sleep, maybe just an hour extra each day.
The exercise doesn't have to be overwhelming. Even just walking works pretty well if you keep it up. It will be hard at first. A half mile walk might completely wear you out, but don't give up. Walk a little bit further each day. Keep building up to a mile, two miles, even three if you can do it. Besides doing wonders for your energy production, it can also be a lot of fun. Walk to new places in your neighborhood that you haven't seen. Get a pair of earbuds and some kind of player or radio (smartphones work) and listen to music, news, or audiobooks while you walk. Other exercises are good too. For indoor exercise you might try a treadmill, elliptical trainer, or stationary bike. You can workout to music or audiobooks, or watch TV. I can read ebooks on my stationary bike and elliptical trainer while I'm exercising. If you can also do stretches, lifting light weights, pushups, situps, isometrics, whatever - go for it.
Keep it up. A fellow I knew built up to three or more miles a day of walking and felt very good. He thought, "I've beat the problem. I can knock off the exercise now." A few weeks later he was back where he started. He started walking again and kept it up. He's been going over 15 years now and still feels good.
Oh, and one more suggestion. You might like the Advanced Prostate Cancer group on HealthUnlocked. It's specifically intended for me like you with mets and is very active.Best of luck.
Best of luck.
Alan
"Oh, and one more suggestion. You might like the Advanced Prostate Cancer group on HealthUnlocked. It's specifically intended for me like you with mets and is very active.Best of luck."
I am totally confused... isn't this the Advance Cancer group for Pca? I was wondering why you were all of a sudden "the moderator". Did I turn right when I was supposed to turn left? Geezamacripe!!!
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n Thursday 06/13/2019 6:59 PM DST
John,
There are two groups. "Prostate Cancer Network" is intended for men who either haven't been treated yet, or had treatment and the cancer has not returned. "Advanced Prostate Cancer" is for guys whose cancer returned after treatment, or who have known or likely metastatic prostate cancer and can't be cured by the standard surgical or radiation techniques used for cancer that is localized in the prostate gland. The name of the group will show at the top of the page.
It seemed that men facing initial choices of surgery vs. radiation vs. active surveillance had a whole different set of problems from men facing long term drug therapy of various types. So Darryl, based on experience with other groups in the past, created two groups. However there is certainly some overlap of the problems men face in each stage of the disease. I've joined both of the groups. Maybe you did too.
Alan
I did? Damn hormones....
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n Thursday 06/13/2019 10:00 PM DST
I just clicked along in the Advance group and ended here in the Network group. First time that this has happened to me. I also notice user names from the Advance group here. Hmmmm... Also I notice the picture of one user is being displayed for other (wrong) users. But so you won't worry, I won't lose any sleep over the confusion (on my part or not my part). Good Night...
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n Thursday 06/13/2019 10.08 PM DST
I continued my long standing (over 20 years) exercise regimen while on a six month eligard shot and I didn't experience very much fatigue. You may want to consider low dose cialis or other means to try and promote penis health. I didn't receive this advice and experienced some atrophy.
I’ve been on Z + C + L for nine weeks, first month was by far hardest dealing with low T. Biggest SE for me was muscle fatigue, but I’m getting used to it. I only eat twice a day, basically a 16 hour fast and do sport before the first meal to go into deep caloric deficit. I feel putting my body into Keto, running off cellular fat gives me more energy. I can tell my body wants to gain weight on HT, and this regimen is the only way I can fight that tendency.
Thank you for sharing, good luck with your treatment.
I'm into 9 months on Lupron and the fatigue is slightly better, everyone reacts differently to Lupron but it knocks the hell out of you...
Good Luck
Yes it does knock you down, I am encouraged that it does seem to ease after a while. Thanks!
Six months into Zoladex and three months since my 40th and last radiation treatment, I still fight fatigue and mental fog on a daily basis. I'm starting to feel the onset of depression and fight it on a daily basis through exercise and attempts at positive thinking. It's not so much that I'm worried about my cancer (though I am), it's more the daily grind of battling fatigue and NEVER feeling anything close to energetic. Actually, I had an energetic day two weeks ago. I spent it gardening and it was glorious, but that was the only day that would so qualify. It's hard to overcome think positively when you feel so weighted down. I'm starting to cast out for a therapist but am not sure how to find the right one. Any suggestions? I've got 18 months to go. I'll get through it. I just hope I come out the other end with my sanity intact.
I've found the fatigue comes and goes, and can't stress enough the importance of exercise. While I'm relatively young (51), I'm only a little more than two months past chemotherapy and currently on Lupron + Zytiga (generic) + Prednisone + Xgeva. That should be a fatigue sandwich, but yesterday I mowed the lawn, ran some errands, then went out for an 8 mile run.
I did worry about increased fatigue from Zytiga, and the first week was pretty rough, but that has since passed. The treatments can be pretty rough, but for me at least they're not as bad as the disease without treatment.
I'm also on bupropion, which is a stimulating antidepressant, and take clonazepam as needed to improve sleep.
Weird.... I'm full of energy and not tired.... but I'm on Lupron and Casodex....
BTW you know what's worse than being a housewife? Being a househusband.
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n Thursday 06/13/2019 7:04 PM DST
I'm finally starting to feel a little more energetic. It's all relative, of course. I'm still tired most of the time and don't sleep well, but the fatigue isn't quite as disabling as before and the mental fog isn't as bad. Until recently, I didn't feel alert enough to drive. Now, I'm driving locally and running some errands. I'm now 7 months into ADT (Zoladex) and 2-3 months past radiation. My only advice is to eat a healthy diet and exercise, particularly when you feel like crashing. Get up and move.
Recovery of Testosterone 
Advanced PCa - medication side effects or brain mets?
New to the prostate cancer community
darolutamide without Lupron?
