Starting on the road ...
So after a huge amount of resistance, talking to a counselor, being in the pit of depression, and getting lots of pressure from my brother and sister I reluctantly decided to start a treatment plan for my G4+3 T2C cancer.
After several visits to surgeons and radiation oncologists I found one who offered a program that seems do-able and who told me I most likely will retain sexual function at the end, which is critical to me.
I'm doing six months of ADT, two medications, which I started two weeks ago and then five weeks of EBRT radiation starting in late June.
I had so much anxiety the week before starting the treatment that I threw my heart out of rhythm multiple times, threw up repeatedly, and had intense stomach pains. And this is just BEFORE the treatment gets going.
The doctor told me that, after ADT, it will take about six months to get back to normal functioning and that radiation may impair sexual function several years down the road but not immediately like surgery. He also said many men get a "second puberty" and become horndogs which sounds like it could be fun.
So far, the only side effects I'm having are inability to sleep more than 1-2 hours and ever increasing anxiety which I don't think is due to the meds but rather just my personality. My heart has come close to going out of rhythm again but I've been able to stop it. I imagine these side effects will get worse before they get better but if it becomes unbearable I did tell the doctor I would stop ADT and just go with radiation. He has strongly encouraged me to tough it out, but seeing that heart attacks and death are side effects of ADT is really only increasing my fear.
I am concerned that I'll gain a lot of weight on ADT which I've heard is virtually impossible to lose, but I also have a friend on Ozempic who couldn't tolerate it and she gave me eight doses. I won't use it during treatment but if I gain a lot of weight I know that, in six months, they'll be in the fridge ready to help me lose it (yes, I know, don't take meds without doctor prescribing and blah blah blah).
Hi
thanks for sharing with us. I remember from your other posts that you were trying to figure out what treatment you would choose. I am glad that you made a decision, I know that was not easy for you. I wish you were not having so much anxiety and your were able to get more sleep. Please keep us posted on how you are feeling. I do hope you have some relief now that you have a made your decision. Sending lots of strength. Jill, prostatecancer.net team Lorazepam
Hi There ...I received a 6-month shot of Lupron (ADT) before a planned 8 weeks of radiation therapy It took me some 14 months for the full impact of the ADT shot to wear off. It is great you were made aware in advance of the potential for weight gain.
I was not made aware of it initially and put on quite a few pounds. Once I became tuned in to the issue and watched what I was eating --- my weight gain slowed dramatically. Once the ADT wore off I lost the added weight very quickly and decided to stick with a healthy diet.
Early on I also had sleep issues with the ADT and after some time I adjusted and was able to get more sleep. Glad to learn you have decided to undergo radiation treatment and do hope you will keep us posted on your progress. I will say ALL of this is a process ... it was best for me when I relaxed and took it a step at a time. Dennis(ProstateCancer.net TEAM)
