Not so Common Lupron Side Effects

I've been on Lupron for 10 mths, post salvage radiation. Aside from some of the more common side effects, I've noticed a loss of body hair and loss of body odor. It's the weirdest thing. Has anyone experienced something similar? It may be the one side effect that is welcomed certainly the others are frustrating if not depressing.

Yes, I have virtually no body hair. I don't even have much nose hair. None of it bothers me much. I guess manscaping is the "in" thing these days anyway. 🙂 I'm glad it doesn't affect the hair on my head.

As for body odor, I couldn't say for sure.

I lost most of my body hair but actually regained some on my head. Now that I'm almost 1 year past the end of ADT (24 mths), my body hair is regrowing but so is the bald spot on my head .

The goal of "hormone therapy" is to deprive prostate or ovarian cancer cells from growing, reproducing and/or moving. As these cancer cells need sex hormones AND human growth hormones (HGH) to do those things, leuprolide chemotherapy is employed to do this. Leuprolide acetate (ex: Lupron, Eligard) 'jams' the hypothalamus gland which is closely connected to the pituitary gland and tells it what to do. This effectively shuts down the pituitary gland, stopping its production of a suite of hormones. This has profound repercussions.

No follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) means a lot of your hair falls out and your finger/toe nails get weak and brittle. Obviously, no T means no libido and shrinkage of sex organs. Lack of Prolactin means your kidneys don't know how much water to take out of your blood, so you get water weight gain as your mucous membranes get sloppy. Thyroids don't keep up your base metabolic rate so you gain fat. No T and no HGH means no new muscle or neural stem cells, you get mild cognitive impairment as you loose muscle.

There are a lot more side effects and the longer you are on this chemo, the worse they can get. Some of the side effects are permanent. In my case, leuprolide acetate chemotherapy killed my testicles and has damaged my immune system. While this treatment regimen can kick the cancer can down the road, there are costs involved as well.

I had loss of body hair, less body odor and a positive changes to facial complexion.

I've lost almost all of my leg, arm, chest, and some pubic hair too. I haven't had to use a deodorant at all.