HT Question

In my case, the HT did sap my energy somewhat, but the biggest effects were the hot flashes and the fact that it completely destroyed my libido. While it wasn't a walk in the park, it was also very manageable.

Re energy, one of the best things that you can do is spend time in the gym, since that helps neutralize the energy loss and it can also help keep your muscle tone (losing muscle being another SE). I had decent success with that, although I really should have spent more time in the gym.

Good luck to you!

I was on Lupron for a year and am now on a break.

Hot flashes seem to differ in severity by individual. Mine were kind of a nuisance but not debilitating. Never needed to try anything to counter act them.

Unlike a lot of the others I did not see any weight gain. In fact I lost a few pounds during the year. I did see some muscle loss, but that was my own fault for not really getting into the gym and doing some strength training during the year. I have been working with a personal trainer now and have pretty much been able to catch up.

Lack of libido is a given in almost everyone. Never seemed to have much in the way of mental fog or issues.

I did not have any boob growth as some have experienced. I did three days of radiation to the breast buds before starting to ensure I would not have that SE. Seems to have worked too. I did it because with my numbers it was a given that HT would be a part of my life forever.

One thing I did notice from the reports here and conversations I had with others on HT, is that the 3 month shot seemed to lessen the degree of SEs. Those who had the 4 or 6 month shot seemed to be hit harder.

FWIW,

Sonny

At this point, curing your cancer should be your main focus. You just manage the HT SE's the best you can..You are in a fight for your life here..Gym workouts and maintaining muscle mass become secondary considerations...

1 year on the sauce, loss/softening of body hair, weight loss, libido evaporated ,gained belly fat, minor breast enlargement, some brain fog, I continued to work out, but lost muscle mass. Can't see how it would be possible to increase under the influence. Everyone does react differently however. Never had hot flashes, although I had an estrogen patch to prevent that. The exercise helped me through it, Good luck

While I agree with Fairwind that pretty much everything takes a backseat to survival, I would also say that you're on the right track by asking about the gym since it's very much a QOL issue. The more muscle mass you can keep on, the less weight you'll gain and the better you'll feel. It's also important for bone strength since HT can affect your bone density. (To that end, my oncologist had me do a baseline bone density test before I started HT and then put me on Boniva all the time I was on it.)

I wish I had worked out more. I'm not an exercise guy by nature, but I believe the fact that I did something at all helped me.