Sagittarian said...
What side effects have you experienced ?
There's a chance, I will be a candidate for SRT.
Thanks
Glenn
Glenn,
I did experience a lot of fatigue. It didn't start until the end of the 2nd week of treatment. I came back to work that day, and about
an hour after the treatment I started feeling sluggish. It lasted for about
2-3 hours. Each treatment after that it would last longer, until about
the 4th week it was a constant fatigue, all day. By the time I got home from work I was wiped out. I would go to bed by 8:30 PM. The hardest part about
it, is that its not tiredness. If it were you could just get extra sleep. It's fatigue. It's a weariness that you just can't alleviate. The radiation technicians told me to listen to my body. When your body tells you to rest; then rest. Sitting in my LazyBoy, reading, was just as effective as a nap would have been. By Friday of each week, I was pretty wiped out. My dear wife made sure that I was not disturbed during the weekends, so I could rest up for the next week of treatments.
The other side-effect I experienced was some minor diarrhea. That didn't start until about
week 5. Taking 1 Imodium AD per day seemed to help with that. I also avoided spicy foods, and dairy products. I ate lots of bananas and applesauce, as well.
I am now 7 weeks post-treatments, and the fatigue is all but gone. I still get more tired in the evenings than I used to; but that's not bad. I have had 3 bouts of diarrhea in the last 4 weeks. My rad-onc said that the radiation can kill the good bacteria in the gut, so I should take pro-biotics; which I have been doing.
I did not experience any incontinence issues, at all. I still use an ultra-light pad every day; but I've been doing that since my surgery almost 4 years ago. The radiation did not seem to make that any worse. I did notice the last week of treatments, and about
a week and a half after, that if I let my bladder get too full, I had to go "right now". So, there was an urgency. A couple of times I almost did not make it to the bathroom in time. That is all gone now.
ED-wise, I did not have nerve-sparing surgery 4 years ago; because the cancer had escaped the capsule; so I have not been able to have an erection since then. The radiation had no chance to cause problems that way, so I can't speak to that.
Bottom line: for me the fatigue was pretty bad; but manageable. The diarrhea was easily controlled by Imodium and diet. All in all, it was worth it to see that undetectable PSA number! And remember, each man is different. Some guys on here only had a very minor fatigue, and no other problems. My rad-onc told me he did have one other patient who had a very hard time with fatigue, and incontinence. Most of his patients seemed to be like me; varying degrees of fatigue, and minor problems with diarrhea. My best advice is the same that technician gave me - listen to your body. If you start to feel fatigue; rest. If you have diarrhea; hit it with Imodium right away, and change your diet.
Best of luck to you!
-Bob