ADT and SRT Journey Part 6

Well Gang just wanted to bring up the old thread for one last time. Closing this chapter in this journey of PCA .. My PSA came back undetectable again so I got my last Lupron shot which will be for a total of 2 yrs and then the Radiation team said goodbye to me as their job was done. I was handed back to my Urology team to get my PSA checkups every 6 months for the next 5 yrs. If and when I get BCR then I would be turned over to a MO. I told the Doctor that I didn't plan on that ever happening and he agreed let's think positive, but always remember with your high risk aggressive cancer diagnosis there's always that possibility. I'll take that as good news and keep the hope high! On my bone density test I was exactly where I was in Feb 2018 so was really happy about that. The Doctor said keep taking those calcium pills your doing good, I didn't have the heart to tell him I probably have only taken 20. But I drink skim milk and eat cheese and lots of spinach and other green vegetables and take a daily multivitamin so that's good enough for me. On my echo cardiogram it showed that my mild aorta stenosis had gotten worse since 2014. I had a consultation yesterday with a couple of drs one of them being a major cardio dept head at the Mayo. It now is considered acute mild stenosis after much discussion it was centered around me having scarlet fever when I was a young kid and maybe some due to the effects of Lupron. They agreed that if I can make 5 yrs before needing a valve replacement that would be pretty good I told them maybe in 15 yrs they just kind of chuckled and said no if you make 5 yrs you will be doing good. The rest of my heart looked fantastic and she said that if I didn't have the bad valve my heart would outlast everything else so that made me feel good maybe all the years of exercising paid off a little. So all in all when I left the Mayo today well I guess actually yesterday I was felt pretty good, even driving thru the 4" of snow by Duluth! LOL Somebody needs to tell the Weather Gods it's May 9th!! So I just wanted to tell everyone thnx for all the inputs and great posts over the last year and a half but unless someone else wants to update this thread I'll just be sitting on the sidelines here as I said closing this chapter and hopefully never moving on to the next!

Larry

Congratulations! Hoping done means done. Good luck in all things going forward.

Hey Skypilot56,

I have had insomnia all my life. The best prescription I have ever taken for it is Trazodone, an off label use since it is an antidepressant. I read somewhere that Trazodone is the most widely prescribed drug for insomnia.

Trazodone has a side effect of resolving ED in some patients. It works for me, supplemented with 100 mg of Viagra. I started at 50 mg taken just before bedtime and moved up to 100 mg. I still have about one episode of insomnia ever 20 days or so. I have no noticeable side effects except for the occasional night time erections and less ED.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trazodone

Great to hear Larry! I got good news today at another 6 month PSA check...still undetectable! That's 15 months post SRT. RO recommends another a check in one year.

Great news indeed, AZ! I agree with your RO -- relax and wait a year to retest. A retest at 6 months would at worst show at slight rise into the detectable range, not enough to push you back into treatment but enough to create needless anxiety. Chill.

Domino95 et al.: I'm also taking an antidepressant, mirtazapine (Remeron), for off-label tx of insomnia. It's been very helpful. Hadn't heard trazodone helps with ED. I'm seeing lots of literature online investigating anecdotal evidence of this SE but no hard evidence (sorry, I had to say "hard") supporting it. I'll ask my PCP about trazodone when I see her next month.

mattam said...
I think in most circumstances I’m more comfortable knowing what my PSA is doing than not knowing - even if having that information wouldn’t affect treatment decisions at that time.

Truth be told, mattam, I'm that way too. My RO says I don't need a retest till September (6 months since my March <.02), but my PCP reflexively checked the box for uPSA on my lab order for June (CBC, lipid panel) and I don't plan to tell the lab to skip it.

Thanks everybody for the words of encouragement! Congrats to everybody for your good reports. Nytngale glad hear your hubby is not suffering SE's too bad sounds like he has enough other issues, My hat's off to him to be able to keep working those kind of hrs thru all of this. AZ Guy as the guys have said doesn't always seem like there is a standard protocol for psa testing and treatments. Even tho the radiation dept kicked me back to the urology dept I will keep getting 6 month psa checks for 5 yrs they said this was due to my high risk aggressive path report. I won't be concerned about the one in November but the one a year from now I might think about it more as the Lupron should be well on it's way to starting to wear off. What was interesting was it was almost 7 months since last shot and I think I was starting to see some of the side effects starting to wear off. I didn't have to push myself to get out for a walk or do things around the house like I had to before. It's been interesting how each shot I have gotten the soreness where I got the shot seems to be longer still have a dull ache. The hot flashes have returned full force and thank God for my friends and my pooch as they force me to get off my lazy butt and do something! Hope everyone has a chance to get out and enjoy the great day cause as I heard " getting older is like a roll of toilet paper the closer you get to the end the faster it goes" Larry

Larry, Terrific news. Very happy for you and the encouraging results. Hoping to join the ADT retirement club myself down the road. I've now finished half my planned 3-month injections, with 3 more to go. But who's counting?

I had to see a Hematologist for an issue unrelated to PC . She did a bunch of blood tests, and I asked her while she’s out and if she would mind doing a testosterone test which she did .
I got the results today and my T is up to 48. It was funny when she gave me the results as though it was a terrible thing. I was really happy, because it was the first sign that my T us going in the right direction, and I’m 4 months past the point where Lupron should have cleared out. (6 1/2 months from my last 3 month shot)

2 months ago, my T was 7. 6 months before that the day of my last shot it was 4. Note, this was a different lab, not the MSKCC lab that I usually use, which uses a proprietary ultra sensitive testosterone test. But I don’t think the different lab would cause a seven fold increase
So I’ll celebrate a 48.
I seem to be having a bit easier to I’m losing some weight than I did a month ago, but the hot flashes are still coming hot and heavy (no pun intended)

P.s. I purposely did not ask for a PSA test. I don’t want to do that until I have to

Nice. Up up and away!

I do my first post-ADH testosterone test next week. Will post result.

Congrats Prato and good luck Rich. My PSA&T is next month. It's been 17 months since my last shot. Not holding my breath.

Thank you Ken. You have been very supportive through the whole thing. And Gary, Richard, Peter, Matt... others, too many to remember all. I really do appreciate all the support from you guys.