Have you been on ADT as part of your treatment?

Let me answer these in order

... Were you reluctant to go on ADT? Why?
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...Yes I was reluctant as I had spoken to several men who had been on ADT and were not happy with the side effects. Excessive weight gain and emotional outbursts along with night sweats and hot flashes

... Before you went on hormone treatment, did you receive counseling from your urologist or oncologist about the effects ADT might have on your sexual function and how to deal with it? If yes, could you comment on the extent of the information?
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... Yes kind of. The urologist said you might experience an occasional hot flash and some loss of libido. Well it turned out i was having hot flashes and night sweats many times day and night. I had ZERO sex drive and nothing worked for me. My so called 6 month shot lasted 14 months. That said some men have have no reaction - you just do not know in advance and most MD's have not had personal experience and thus no idea what it means

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... Had you gone through Radical Prostatectomy before ADT? Was ADT recommended as part of treatment for recurrence?
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... Yes I had undergone a RP in 2013 and all was shown to be "clear" By 2018 my PSA had risen to from 0.02 to 0.13 and I needed to consider 40 radiation treatments prior to my psa reaching 0.20 It was suggested that Lupron when given in advance of the EBT had a higher chance of success

....Were you using pharmaceuticals like Viagra, Cialis, or injections to restore sexual function after surgery when you were put on hormone treatment?
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... Yes Viagra was very effective
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If yes to #4, did you stop using these pharmaceuticals when you began hormone treatment? What was the reason?
If you stopped using these products, was it your decision or on the advice of your urologist or oncologist?
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... Plain and simple with a total loss of libido and no interest - no pills worked. After a while it just made no sense . No MD will tell you to stop as with all aspects of PCa - it is you the patient who decides. You are also under
the mental stress of knowing your insides are being microwaved and macho or

Regrettably, in my case, no choice other than to go on ADT as I was terminal at diagnosis with spread throughout the skeleton from pelvis to skull. Pretty grim! Oncologist did warn us about loss of sexual function in a light hearted way when he said "you'll be unable to get an erection but it may note be much of a problem as you won't have a libido!" Thankfully Tadalafil, a vacuum pump, a very good psychosexual therapist and a very understanding wife means that there is a little bit of function. Enough to see stars every now and then!

1. Had no choice as I was stage 4 at dx


2. I was warned that it would be an issue but I wasn’t offered counselling initially. Some time later my CNS referred us to a specialist sexual psychotherapist CNS which was a huge help.


3. N/A, stage 4 at dx.


4. I was prescribed Taladafil by the CNS. Now take 5mg daily 5 days per week and 20mgthr other two days (big pill day there’s a chance something might happen).


5. N/A.


6. Discussed and agreed with CNS who persuaded GP to prescribe.

Were you reluctant to go on ADT? Why?
- I expected to receive Divine healing of PCa, as I had of other serious medical conditions previously, but I knew that, at the time of diagnosis, neither I nor anyone I knew had the faith to believe for it. So I accepted the rock-bottom treatment, to stay in touch with the NHS.

Before you went on hormone treatment, did you receive counseling from your urologist or oncologist about the effects ADT might have on your sexual function and how to deal with it? If yes, could you comment on the extent of the information?
- Yes, it was very full, but in line with a generally negative ethos in the department. My "alternative" approach may have led to this, but it was only Sarah, the MacMillan nurse who at that time (and still to this day) took me seriously and helped me in terms of counseling.
On receiving diagnosis (Gleason 7, 4+3) I started to follow advice from the CareAcross site on diet and exercise* and 3 monthly Prostap injections. 8 months after diagnosis I knew (spiritually and intuitively) that I no longer needed them. My oncologist was not impressed but accepted my decision.
2 years from that decision I'm a grateful red-blooded male, on his 75th time round the Sun, whose last PSA was 1.9. Grateful both to God and to the NHS - I don't see the need to make any distinction.
*My thread on Prostate Cancer UK is "Diet and Spirituality and gives full details.

Had you gone through Radical Prostatectomy before ADT? Was ADT recommended as part of treatment for recurrence?
-No

Were you using pharmaceuticals like Viagra, Cialis, or injections to restore sexual function after surgery when you were put on hormone treatment?
-No