VENT: How are you doing? - Really.
Life with prostate cancer has its challenges and frustrations. This is a safe space to vent about what's happening with you. How are you doing?
Coping, had a complete urostomy, ware a bag, have lost 101% of my sex life,chemo ruined my balance. I feel completely useless as I can not do the things I want to. Basically have very little to look forward to.
Sorry to hear you are feeling down. Please understand you are not alone. Even with an aggressive PCa diagnosis, there is a lot in life to look forward to.
I have battled an aggressive Gleason-9 PCa since 2013 at age 70 -- I am still here, and at age 81, I am getting married again in September and living life to the fullest.
This tip may help. Scroll up to the magnifying glass at the top of this page. Here, you can search for articles written by patients who, over the past years, have shared personal, real-life stories and experiences with PCa.
You can also find information articles researched and penned by the editorial staff. While learning you have PCa is upsetting, understand there are many things that you can still enjoy if you choose to do so ... Best ...Dennis ( Patient Leader)
The last 90 day Lupron shot, approx 30 days ago seems to have drained most of what energy and stamina I had. It took almost the full month before the hot flashes started and this weakness has been spread out over the same 30 days.
I am concerned that I won’t be able to do routine jobs like the groceries unless I use the scooters. I won’t be ashamed to use them but the fact that I do will further reduce my independence.
I have already decided that in February I will return my leased vehicle and I will not replace it. Even have thought about a Segway Scooter for neighborhood pharmacy and watering hole. That will depend on my physical condition though.: I also experienced flashes and night sweats, and went so far as to install ceiling fans in several rooms, especially the bedroom. I also carried a small personal fan with a water reservoir. The evaporating water with the fan was a blessing.
An issue I was not aware of was the ease with which one can rapidly gain significant unwanted weight. Consider the benefits of a Mediterranean diet, and I also needed to be mindful of hidden calories in adult beverages.
Understand, these were my reactions to Lupron - other men in my support group did not experience the same impacts. Best to you on this journey, and please keep us posted... Dennis(Patient Leader)
Basically, I feel like I've been through a meat grinder.
They removed the inside of my prostate. I haven't been able to get an erection since with the exception of nocturnal boners
Zip on sex drive now
I'm also fighting invasive melanomaMy hormone injections, after 48 EBRT sessions, was ELIGARD. However, one of the side effects of ELIGARD is high glucose so that now I am prediabetic. I have two questions which perhaps someone in the community can answer: 1. The last Eligard injection was one and a half years ago: will my high glucose level return to normal? I ask this especially since my PSA has remained steady at 0.50 for the last year and a half and my oncologist does not recommend any more hormone injections. 2. One of the effects of EBRT and hormone injections is severe ED. My oncologist recommended 100 mg daily of Viagra but this is the result: I have been taking this 100mg for a few months (13) and my ED has improved but not hard enough for penetration. Any suggestions? Should I increase my Viagra dosage? My oncologist lives in the USA and I am currently living abroad and cannot contact my oncologist regularly although I have an appointment with him this June. I am in a third world country where it is quite difficult to find an oncologist. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Hi
. While it is rare, there are some cases where glucose levels do not recover after ADT (see here for example: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4931216). That said, there cases that can take quite a while to recover.
Concerning ED, there are a number of medications for it and this article goes into further detail: https://prostatecancer.net/treatment/ed-medications. Also, here is an article from one of our contributors on how pelvic floor therapy helped him recover from ED: https://prostatecancer.net/living/post-treatment-erections. Hope this information is helpful and that your doctors can provide further guidance. Best, Richard (Team Member)
Had a radical prostatecomy. I feel the same way
I hear you. There's a physical and emotional toll/recovery. Hopefully you know this already since you've found the community here but please know you're not alone. Others in this community have walked this road too, and there’s space here for whatever you’re going through. - Jake (Team Member)
