What side effects have you experienced?
Share with others who are trying to make a treatment decision! What treatment did you have and what side effects did you experience?
I had SBRT and am winding up six months of ADT. SBRT was easy. For about two months afterward, I had frequent urination, burning urination if I drank acidic drinks (I just COULDN'T give up coffee), and some occasional tiredness.
ADT, though, has been awful. I have one more month to go and have decided I will NEVER do it again even if it means a shorter life. Where to begin on the side effects: tachycardia, muscle and joint pain, nausea, loss of appetite and weight as a result (40 pounds in 4 months), ED, anorgasmia, insomnia, severe depression and suicidal thoughts, and memory problems (forgetting names of common objects and sometimes people I've known for years). It makes for a very poor quality of life but I only have exactly one month to go.
I am so glad you only have one more month to go! I can't even imagine how difficult this has been for you. I really hope you can get your quality of life back quickly once you are done with ADT. Six month is a long time. Sending you strength. Jill (Team Member)
Incontinence for 18 months - trained by a pelvic floor PT lady to control most of it, then had a sling inserted surgically to maximize control.
Same for me. I had surgery and , despite the pelvic floor excercises, continued to leak . After further consultation decided to have the sling procedure after about 2 1/2 years. Great result. Most days no pads necessary. I do keep a supply of the thin pads on hand and I'll wear one when traveling, or excercising, just to be safe. I'd be happy to share my experience with the sling procedure, if anyone is considering that. 
While I did well after surgery, on occasion, I carry a thin pad as just in case backup, especially when traveling. Dennis(ProstateCancer.net TEAM)
I still need to wear a pad because of occasional leakage -- coughs and sneezes invariable push out some urine. Two pads every 24 hours is what I use, and in the beginning I needed 15 or so a day and usually needed to change underwear two or three times. Great progress.
that is great progress! You must be happy with this. Thanks for sharing with us. Jill (Team Member)
I had SBRT with the SpaceOAR barrier. The SpaceOAR had zero side effects, not even discomfort immediately following the placement. During SBRT I had some fatigue and mild urinary symptoms (urgency, weak stream). I used Flomax to help with those symptoms for about a week. About one week following the last radiation all side effects were gone. Two months out, my PSA has dropped from 15.47 pre-treatment to 1.00 now.
My biopsy had one of 12 cores positive for PC, although it was graded on the aggressive side of a Gleason 4+3=7. The cancer was confined to the gland as far as all the testing and judgement of my doctors can determine.
I know I’m one of the lucky ones. For those of you who catch it early, SBRT can be a great option.I believe that by having the SpaceOAR, other SEs were avoided or minimized. My experience has been similar. 6 weeks after SBRT, I still experience some burning with urination, weaker flow, and more frequent need to urinate than I would like but it has been steadily improving with those effects becoming less frequent and less severe to the point where some days there are no effect. I have not used Flomax but ibuprofen seems to help. I have not systematically tracked it but it seems that days when I load up on ibuprofen (800 to 1200 mgs/day) are the best days. The effects have become so mild that I would rather go without the ibuprofen most days. Feeling optimistic and nearly "normal".
