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Weight gain "after HT & radiation"

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Posted 3/28/2011 5:05 PM (GMT 0)
Finished 8 weeks IMRT in September 2010.

Finished 6 months of Hormone Therapy with Trelstar the middle of January 2011. The side effects seem to be going away but now even with a lot of exercise with treadmills, walking and weight lifting i seem to be gaining weight instead of losing it. Anyone else seen this happen.

PSA 4.8 before RP

RP in 2006 PSA 0.05 after.

PSA  .4 in June 2010.

0.03 11-1-10 after IMRT

Get checked again 5-3-11

Posted 3/28/2011 5:07 PM (GMT 0)
oh yeah.  last time i checked it was 27 lbs.  scared to check again cool .

ed

 

Posted 3/28/2011 5:15 PM (GMT 0)
You can't gain weight unless you are taking in more calories than you are burning..It's as simple as that..I had to eliminate one meal a day to stop the gain. Also, 1 hour working out and 10 hours sitting on your butt is not very effective..
Posted 3/28/2011 5:20 PM (GMT 0)
Fairwind -- i'll bet if you decrease calories by 20% you'll still gain weight.  of course i have been eating more but if i didn't exercise i'll bet i would have gained much more. 

ed

 

Posted 3/28/2011 5:39 PM (GMT 0)

I have been on HT for exactly 4 months and have gained about 7/8 lbs.  All of it and I mean all has gone to the belly area as fat. Maybe I am paranoid, but I question whether I have fat cells forming in the breast area. No tenderness but I don't like it. I eat carefully,  calorie wise and processed sugar free, and exercise regularly but the weight still is climbing.  I have a full year of this before any HT vacation. 20 lbs. added on seems to be the average for HT. I have heard that once HT is stopped it is very difficult to get the fat cells off.  Any truth to that guys?

Jack

Post Edited (Skate) : 3/28/2011 11:47:08 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 3/28/2011 5:44 PM (GMT 0)
No "butt sitting for me"

Work full time. Moving all the time at work.

Go home and chase after 2 grandsons.

Then 1/2 - 1 hour on the treadmill.

Had no weight gain at all during the IMRT & HT. for 6 months.

I am gathering from you guys that this is an after effect.

I guess i can't complain to much if the PSA stay's

down. 

 

 

Posted 3/28/2011 5:49 PM (GMT 0)
You might want to check out the South Beach diet- actually it is more of a lifestyle change rather than a diet. What caught my eye was that it was designed by a cardiologist ( Dr. Agalston ) to reduce cholesterol levels in his patients and one of the side-effects was weight loss- not a difficult progam to follow and the significant weight loss in the first few weeks is a great incentive to keep going- toughest thing for many is no alcohol of any kind for a month or more.

Post Edited (mjluke) : 3/28/2011 11:52:57 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 3/28/2011 6:23 PM (GMT 0)
I agree with calories in and calories out. But I think the calories out is lower with lowered test. In other words, your body burns off less calories when it has lower test.
Then the lower test levels throws off the hormone balance, ie. more estrogen than test, causing your body to store more fat (in the breasts, for example). There is probably a better scientific explanation......but here is some info:

http://lowtestosterone.org/low-testosterone/is-low-testosterone-preventing-your-weight-loss
Posted 3/28/2011 7:13 PM (GMT 0)

gibsonOO:

Thanks for the article. I aree with what they are saying. I kind of remember hearing of that some place before. The only problem i have is that the whole 6 months i was in treatment i was very consistent with weight. Had no weight gain at all. Now 2 months after i am off of it i started to gain weight. This seems to be reversed to me.

I'll have to check with the doctor when i go back in a month.

Posted 3/28/2011 9:30 PM (GMT 0)
NCOBJIM,
I gained over 20 pounds while on HT for 28 months. It's taken some work but I am finally under my weight at surgery 4 years ago. My goal is to get down further ~ Peak was 221, today is right at 200. C'mon 190 by June.

HT definitely was a cause of weight gain for me...

Tony
Posted 3/28/2011 9:40 PM (GMT 0)
Tony -- that gives me hope.  good going!

ed

 

Posted 3/28/2011 10:29 PM (GMT 0)
F8 it is costing me though.

But it sure was nice to be buying shirts with L's and no X's at Bass Pro Shop this past weekend...:-) I also was able to get some new shorts with a slimmer waist line as well.

Hang in there. And stay working at it. The rewards are good.

Tony
Posted 3/28/2011 10:45 PM (GMT 0)
Tony -- all i want to know is:  how did you do it cool ?

ed

Posted 3/28/2011 11:10 PM (GMT 0)
A bad day on the scale combined with the determination to work on it. And some good advice from a friend that specializes in oncology.

#1 Reduce the red meats, ya gotta. And when you do have them, start eating with the veggies first. I usually do not finish the meat anymore.
#2 I went to an Italian food store...lol not the place to find dietary foods right? But I found some excellent food mixes. For example I absolutely love Il Primo's Giardenierra (The hot version) It's an excellent tasting spicy veggie blend in olive oil to put on salads and sandwiches such. Heck I even put it on chicken and fish.
#3 It's riding season and I am out every weekend riding ATV's. Exercise is a very important part of staying healthy and losing weight.
#4 No alcohol or soft drinks. OK I still grab some vino on the weekends after a nice ride, but I reduced it a lot...

I did these things the last couple years but the weight loss was marginal and I easily regained it. But my T levels are back up and I feel more motivated.

Tonight's dinner?
I am making lobster tail with angel hair pasta with a light wine/olive oil sauce. This will go with a romaine hearts salad with the Il Primo mix and a Litehouse Balsamic Vinaigrette, and garlic bread. You can substitute the lobster with frozen shrimp it works fine. :-)

Tony

Post Edited (TC-LasVegas) : 3/28/2011 5:20:05 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 3/28/2011 11:19 PM (GMT 0)
I probably should also mention that my normally high blood pressure is down as well...

Just sayin'

Tony
Posted 3/28/2011 11:37 PM (GMT 0)
Not on HT, and first hand experience counts for a lot, and it seems that a lot do gain weight and is listed as a SE. I've never seen it explained why this happens. I gots to go with Fairwind, calories in calories out! I mean HT are female homones, I think and I,ve seen a lot of lean women at the gym.
Posted 3/29/2011 12:04 AM (GMT 0)

Logo

I suggest you do some research on Hormone Therapy.  A better understanding of how HT affects the male body and mind will assist you with writing more informed comments.

Jack

Posted 3/29/2011 12:31 AM (GMT 0)
Logo,
HT is not the injecting of female hormones. Though it can be with therapy using estrogens. The HT that we are referring generally is an LHRH agonist the blocks the male body from producing testosterone and in many cases includes an agent to acts as an anti-androgen. Big difference. Additionally, it can make your body metabolize foods differently, cause fatigue, shrinking muscles and retention of water. Several things that will cause weight gain even with seemingly adequate exercise. I ride every year, but I am now losing weight partly because I no longer am blocking male hormones...

Tony
Posted 3/29/2011 12:32 AM (GMT 0)

>>I suggest you do some research on Hormone Therapy.  A better understanding of how HT affects the male body and mind will assist you with writing more informed comments.<<

or do 9 months on lupron and report back -- and maybe we'll care what you think cool .

ed

Posted 3/29/2011 12:33 AM (GMT 0)
Tony -- what's your T level now?  i figure i'll get serious when mine hits 250.

ed

 

Posted 3/29/2011 12:48 AM (GMT 0)
I'm with you on the weight gain. I had the first shot of Eligard last October and will have my second in two weeks. I was dilligent and lost 15 pounds before the shot and treatment using Snuffy Meyers' diet. As Tony said...no red meat...or any land animal. I also cut out dairy, eggs, and sugar. I stuck with the red wine nightly, but alas, not enough exercise.

The 15 is back and a bit redistributed around the middle and I feel heavy and lousy. So, now I need more exercise and greater more dillgence with intake.

I swear I could eat two sheets of paper and a glass of water daily and gain weight on Eligard.
Posted 3/29/2011 12:51 AM (GMT 0)
Ed,
The last test in November was 263. Still low as some shops think it should be above 280. But way better than 21 where I was at the time I stopped HT. We discovered after all the therapy that I was only 218 before surgery. It was probably causing the slight ED I had that brought me in for the checkup.

Go figure...

Tony
Posted 3/29/2011 1:10 AM (GMT 0)
I knew that weight gain was a probability while on HT. I went on a diet of no meat and very reduced surgars. Also went to the gym 3 times a week, something that I just can't bring myself to continue.

I lost 20 lbs in the 6 months of HT; it's all back on now. If you watch what you eat and excercise regularly you can keep the weight off, but it is much more difficult.

JT

Posted 3/29/2011 1:33 AM (GMT 0)

JT

I was able to maintain my weight during the first three months on HT.  I have a strict diet of no milk products, no processed wheat products, no red meat, no dairy products  and no processed sugars.  I exercise 5 times a week, attend yoga once a week and teach power skating to hockey teams.  The fourth month I gained 7/8 lbs. and I am feeling the overall effects of HT now. Fat is one of them, so I just work harder.

Jack  

Posted 3/29/2011 1:51 AM (GMT 0)
My dad, who typically works out 4-5 times a week and maintains a great physique at 66 gained weight while on HT. His problem was that he lacked any and all motivation to go to the gym, which has been a normal part of his routine for 15 years. In addition, he all of a sudden acquired a sweet tooth while on HT. He had to have sweets EVERY night after dinner, which was not like him. However, once he stopped the HT, he managed to get his motivation back to go to the gym and looks great.
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