Hormone Therapy and depression

prop70

I know the path that you have walked down over the past few years and so happy that you have found relief with Cymbalta. There will be opinions and suggestions all over the map in responding to your question so it really becomes a personal one that you will need to make. The good news is that there are specialists to help with your depression in tandem to the adjuvent treatments to fight this hideous disease.

After consulting with my M.O. he clearly recommend first starting with HT for six weeks and then begin IMRT while on HT. For my situation, he felt 2 years on HT was necessary for my Gleason 9. He had statistics that showed dramatic success in fighting the cancer when combining both HT and IMRT so that is the route I will go down once my PSA returns for the Finale Tour. That being said, as I have to watch my PSA on a monthly basis since I am such a high risk, I will have to monitor my mental health and the toll that the HT will definitely take as I begin that treatment.

My loved ones are in tune and watch my Aura and give me good feedback when it is time to call the doctor up and have an appointment and discuss the need to calibrate the depression medication to help with the lost sense of feeling well due to low testosterone levels (I have been very low for over a decade and was doing Testosterone injections until up tp my diagnosis and that came to a halt) which required my Psych, doctor to figure out which prescriptions and what levels. If you have loved ones around watching you and your Aura and how you are acting, and if you have the strength to tell people around you that you are depressed and need help then I would suggest you give serious consideration to embarking with HT for the proven benefit it gives. Just monitor yourself closely and reach out for help when needed. I am amazed at the love and compassion when I reach out and tell people I am really down at times and even tell them to watch me closely while I am waiting to see the doctor to adjust depression meds.

I am sure you have found many wonderful medical professionals that really care about what they do for a living and really care for their patients. We seem to get an extra does of concern since we are dealing with cancer,

best luck on your decision and I hope you are able to endure the experience but make sure you have the safety net in place if you begin to descent into the dark abyss.

I know it's scary but my thought is that if your depression is manged with the current med then your doctors should be able to make adjustments for the HT. It might be worth a try.

At your young age, I would definitely think of including HT. It's not fun, but it is manageable. Think long term. I'm just finishing a 2 year course of Lupron. Have had my ups and downs for sure.

Interestingly, some of the drugs used to reduce hot flashes, also are anti-depressants. I use Effexor. Hard to tell if it works though, since I was pretty much of an emotional mess when I started it, and so much has changed in the interim.

Treat aggressively, as you have a long life ahead.

Also, find a way to connect with a few others fighting PCa. Just a coffees shop meeting or whatever. I remember the first time that Jeff (Corvetteman) and I had dinner together. It was amazing how calming it was for me to talk with another man about things that others just wouldn't understand. Gfmph meetings are worth more than any therapy session one could ever attend.

K