HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

LUPRON - aches and pains??

Support Forums
>
Prostate Cancer
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 6/13/2010 2:21 AM (GMT 0)

My LHRH Lupron depot three month shot was received on Feb 26.  Have been getting frequent hot flashes but none have been really severe.  In the last week or so, I have been getting some nasty wrist pains lasting the entire day and night..  I have done absolutely nothing to really injure the wrist joint so now I'm wondering it the Lupron is doing some nasty stuff to my wrist AND forearm.  Of course I now am also beginning to  wonder about the C going to my bones.  I hope to speak to my Urologist on Monday since he was the guy that gave me that shot.  Is this type of ache and pain a common side effect that us Lupron receivers may expect??  If so, I wonder how long it may be expected to last (I  know that we are all different and results of this drug will vary with individuals).  Anyone care to help me out here with their experience???

Posted 6/13/2010 4:30 AM (GMT 0)
ERBob:

I've been on Lupron for 8 months now. Actually, Lupron + Casodex.

I had (have) so many aches & pains before that I can't really tell if the Lupron is making them worse. But it's not making them better for sure!

If they keep you on Lupron for an extended time (over one year) you will need to have something to protect your bones. A monthly IV of Zometa is the usual.

I have chosen the folks at Denver University hosp to take care of me as this is a big teaching hosp and they should know what they are doing.

My next visit with them is the 29th of this month and I'll find out about the Zometa at that time.

Lupron is effective, but it is also EVIL!

BTW I also live in southern Colorado.

...Don K.

Posted 6/13/2010 11:52 AM (GMT 0)
Hey Don the Lupron is Evil thing, I basically agree, effective well yeah for awhile like most drugs, long term??? Question the long term thing the total side effects accumulate like memory loss, muscle mass, bone loss...great stuff and overpriced too. It is commonly dispensed to PCa patients in general. Patients have more choices than they are told about but hey let's make alot of money off them and don't mention any choices.

My uro-doc had me on ADT1 (lots of side effects) I insisted and got it to ADT3 and the doc intended to keep me on it for life (had real bad case of PCa 2002), he never mentioned zometa or fosamax and such. Must have been his oversite? He also never mentioned other drugs and I was the one whom added and insisted on the casodex and proscar for max. therapy. He did not put me on casodex first at per Dr. Strums book (especially bad for flare on patients with high risk stats...like me). After 2 yrs. and hating the side effects, I fired the doc, hired an onco-doc and got onto DES, it outperformed the ADT3 combo as I monitored psa levels monthly (usually) and no side effects except tender nipples (bfd). Been using such for intermittent use for about 5 yrs. now. Been happy camper ever since dumping the uro-doc and his protocol. He had not been fired probably before, he seemed stunned by it all....good! That's my story in short I intend to never take ADT drugs again.
Posted 6/13/2010 2:22 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Don K and zufus. Thanks for the response. Actually, I have only had the one shot of Lupron and one prescription of Bicalutamide and I don't believe the Onco Doc will recommend any more of those. I took those only to shrink my prostate down to a more desirable/workable size. Hopefully, all I have to do now is get the PSA tested in late August. I got on the web site "WEB MD" a little while ago and see that there are also a lot of nasty side effects by taking Pravastatin (for chlorestrol lowering). I'm taking that stuff and will also have to talk to the Primary Doc about taking something else like maybe Crestor, which is more expensive and the VA will not furnish that particular one but it may be worth the switch and extra dough. After more research, I see that these statins also are famous for muscle and joint pains, severe in many cases - so that may also contribute to my extremely nasty wrist pain. After getting the Brachytherapy procedure, I was put on Tamsulosin which is a generic for Flomax. Now, I'm getting up nightly, about four or five times to take a leak and the leak is slow to start so I think I'll ask for the real stuff - Flomax..
So, it all boils down to Lupron, Tamsulosin and Pravastatin, one or a combination of them doing the number on my poor old wrist. It's REALLY painful now to just to make a fist - no, not for that, since I received the PC Dx I have not even had the urge in months for ANY bedroom activity. sad
Don, if you don't mind, give me an email some time.
Posted 6/13/2010 7:22 PM (GMT 0)
Sure hope to hear from more of my fellow PC guys about what nasty side effects they are/were encountering with the LUPRON shots. Anyone else??
I do know that the vast majority of guys on this web site experienced surgeries and apparently only a very small hand full of us went the Brachytherapy route. Maybe that's why I'm getting so few responses about the LUPRON. Hope it's not because I'm only a newbie here. eyes
Posted 6/13/2010 9:11 PM (GMT 0)
I'm supposed to get my first Eligard shot tomorrow but not looking forward to it from what others have said.  rolleyes

But it's either that or get castrasted which I really don't want to do! smhair

Hopefully it will help and put the cancer in remission for a while & let me get on with living again. yeah

I have been on the Casodex for two weeks now which has really helped with the bone pain & the side effects have not been too bad - just some hot flashes & feeling kinda lethargic a lot. confused

I have also had some back pain but taking some Percocet to help with that - still have to self-cath some but the Uro thought the Casodex/Eligard combo but might shrink it enough where I don't have to - I can go more on my own but not enought to empty it entirely. eyes

This has really changed my life - I've accepted it now and want to get on with the healing process but I know things will never be the same - I have a really aggressive form of the disease and am really scared of where & how it might spread. rolleyes

This site has been great for support but I just wish it would not have happened to me, right now but we all go through hell sometimes, huh? devil

Posted 6/13/2010 11:47 PM (GMT 0)
Midi are you getting the 1 yr. eligard implant thing or what? The implant thing if used is sometimes dosed as a 1 yr. amount and implanted under the skin, could be removed but probably doc will say no to that. Having a one year implant kind of takes away your right to quit if adverse effects hit one to hard. The typical hormone protocol seems to be a 3 mo. shot is normally given to patients and even 1 mo. shot exits for these other LHRH drugs. Hope you handle it well, it should do its thing...the question is always for how long, how well and what are my side effects. You actually have other options, which either your doc won't mention or you do not  know exist, too. This is typical in PCa treatments, profits are better than having patients with options.

Expect some nasty heavy sweating, hot flashes, muscle loss and aches, if long enough memory loss, bone loss and other wonderful effects. Later on you can switch to other drugs with lesser effects if you get to know about options a patient actually has. I have done both and have seen the differences, blanking amazing differences.
Posted 6/14/2010 12:00 AM (GMT 0)
Its a six month shot but he did not mention any other options except for radiation or chemo later on if the hormone therapy stops working - but h'es saying it should be good for 3-7 years...

What other options are you talking about?
Posted 6/14/2010 12:31 AM (GMT 0)
I have been on Lupron since Jan. 2207 <4 mos. injections>. I'am passed the hot flashes, but the joints are starting to act up. Had scare with my right femur <pain> I broke my femur when I was 13. Had full bone scan, it was good, yee hah. Now we are looking at my right knee, might have to have some work on it. The cancer keeps trying but my body and mind won't let it. Hang in there, mind over matter.
Posted 6/14/2010 4:50 AM (GMT 0)
erbob:

Something just occured to me re your sore wrist:

I had the same thing happen to me (but just before the Lupron stuff) finally went to the Doc and he said, "Classic case of tendonitus".

Gave me a wrist brace to wear and about a week did it for me.

How I ever got tendonitus is a mystery to me, but it was just as you described.

You can get these at any drug store. Kinda clumsy, but if you also get a small elastic bandage at the same time it works out well. After a week, I just used it at bedtime for awhile so people would not think me a wuss.

Might be worth a try.

...Don K....

PS: I'll Email you soon

Posted 6/14/2010 5:08 AM (GMT 0)
Zufus:

First an apology to erbob for hijacking his thread.

And Zufus, I just want to say that I am impressed with your knowledge and straightforward way of talking. I've been lurking here for about a year now.

The first thing the Oncs at Denver Uni hosp wanted to do was to hustle me into their new TOMO external beam machine (cost them 2.5 million bucks) and I demurred. I asked about ADT and they agreed that it was OK to do that until my PSA went down to a preset level and then take a vacation until it went back up to 2 or 3.

My point is that they seemed surprised that I even questioned them about what might be best for me. Not the usual sheep I guess.

When I get up there on the 29th I will have some more questions for them. Like, "How about DES? or the patches?"

Zufus, Whether you know it or not, you are reaching hundreds if not thousands of PCa patients with your wisdom and I, for one, appreciate it.

...Don K...

Posted 6/14/2010 7:56 AM (GMT 0)
Remember - we are blessed & mind over matter can cure us all!
Posted 6/19/2010 9:07 PM (GMT 0)
Just a little update on my dang painful wrist. Apparently the LUPRON shot had nothing to do with my wrist problem. Just had Xrays taken and an MRI done yesterday and now have been referred to a "Hand Surgeon". What next? Will meet with that Doc on Monday at Colorado Springs to see if I will need some corrective surgery for an apparent torn/ruptured tendon going to my little finger on right hand. This all started when I was tying my shoe and heard a loud pop. Blasted little finger is very maneuverable in closing a fist but then I can't easily open the little finger to a full open position like the other fingers.
Tried to pull the slide back on a .45 Auto the other day and it felt as though I'd been hit with a bolt of lightning in the hand. Apparently I suffered some finger spasms while getting the MRI as it had to be done over three times. So, LUPRON was NOT the culprit after all.
Posted 6/19/2010 10:05 PM (GMT 0)
Did you ever have the 'infamous' Lupron spike after taking the injection? I just got the shot Monday and most of the pain came back on Friday - taking Perocets and Advil helps some...
Posted 6/20/2010 10:14 PM (GMT 0)

midi, I have received only one Lupron shot and I anticipate receiving no more of those things.

Never did have any pain or real discomfort from that single shot.  I'm still getting some HOT flashes now after four months since the shot.  It's 96 degrees here in southern Colorado at about 4PM so even just a little hot flash is surely not needed right now.  At least the hunidity is only 7% so not too bad. 

Posted 6/20/2010 10:30 PM (GMT 0)
I had some horrible pain from the last two days - what they call a flare-up I think from the injection. sad

Doc said I could wait it out with pain killers or if it got real bad to go to E/R. nono

Did  some Percocet & Advil last nite - woke up today with a lot LESS pain, so maybe it's just a temp thing I hope. :-)

Posted 6/20/2010 10:40 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Midi,
I hope this is just a bump - a big bump - in the road. Pain can be controlled.
Are you still self catheterizing or has the swelling subsided?
I think about you every time I spasm and dribble on the floor.
Jeff (the leaking one)
Posted 6/20/2010 10:46 PM (GMT 0)
Thx Jeff, I hope so too - sry to hear your still leaking - yes swelling is down but still need to self-cath although not as much. I just went thru this awful Lupron falre-up and wish I would've never got the injection - I seemed to be doing OK on the Casodex alone - still kicking myself for not getting PSA checked years ago instead of wiating till this January and maybe I would not have had to go thru this sad
Posted 6/21/2010 1:33 AM (GMT 0)
Midi. Sorry for the journey you're having to go thru.I was reading your stats and your PSA wasn't as high as I've seen some guys .,it just shows that PC can be a mean bugger !!!!!!!!!!!! I wish you all the best and my thought and prayers are with you and keep on fighting !!!!!!!!
DEERHUNTER
Posted 6/21/2010 3:22 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks DEERHUNTER - I have been in so much pain I have felt like giving up but I'm hanging in there!
Posted 6/21/2010 11:05 AM (GMT 0)
Hey Midi,

You can't kick yourself for not having a PSA done earlier. Look at my stats. I had a complete physical when I was 51. My GP ordered blood work for everything but a PSA, since a "European study" concluded PSA screening for men only saved 1 life in 1000 but leads to much over treatment and complications for men with no family history, no previous problems, and negative DREs. I got a DRE, "Pass. See you in five years." I was scheduled for my next physical in September, just shy of when I would have turned 57. That is when I would have had my first PSA!
During the intervening years, my employer decided to save money by canceled our health and life insurance benefits so I had to get a complete physical early. MetLife demanded a full test, and that is when they found my PSa was 17.8, one month later it was 22.6 . I was in perfect health -- except for that one little number...
By my 57th birthday would I have had lower back pain like you? I could easily rationalize it as injuring myself while splitting wood. I might be on this site asking about Lupron instead of pee pads. Who knows.

In our medical system you cannot just decide to get a PSA test. You were under the care of a physician who was treating you for sciatica. You did what made sense to you and your physician at the time. He was the paid professional with ability to order a PSA not you.
Of course, hindsight is always 20-20.

Met-Life did not insure me, but they might have saved my life. (I'm not sure if I love them or hate them.)

Maybe now you can understand why your situation strikes a chord with me.
I wish you well.
Jeff
Posted 6/21/2010 8:21 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks - going to see the oncologist today - pain is somewhat down so hoping it was just a flare-up from the injection - the should make PSA test mandatory from 40+
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply