Visit to Hospital for Beads

Hi Folks

Well I have not been on the site for a few weeks because I just had to get my head straight.  I felt I was drowning and my insides were in knots most of the time.  I just wanted time out before we started to get stuck in to the treatment.  Last time I posted, Peter's PSA had dropped from 9.4 to 8 (early July) and we were waiting for Peter's testosterone depot injection  to wear off, which would be early August. (Peter has a pituitary tumour, so has very little testosterone produced by his body). He has become more and more tired, sometimes to the point he has his breakfast in bed and then just lies down again and goes back to sleep.  It isn't a case of just lying in bed, he is fast asleep.  Of course, the effect of the stroke is also a contributing factor as his muscles on the right side are very weak to the point of arm and leg not moving. His physiotherapist has been trying to keep him motivated to keep moving, but it is becoming more and more difficult.  Peter goes in on Wednesday to have the gold beads inserted.  I think he is a bit apprehensive about this, but because his speech is very limited, he can't express how he feels.  So I would like to know how these beads are placed in the prostate.  Is he sedated?  Is it painful?  Peter was a big brawny builder before the stroke changed him forever.  He had a high threshhold to pain, but now it is so different.  This morning he had a blood test in readiness for Wednesday and anyone would think he was going to have his arm amputated.  It is brain damage I know, but I hate to see him frightened.  When he had all the other procedures done to him in 2008 he was in a coma and so didn't know anything about it.  I believe he has to go back 10 days later for the CT scan and tattoing.  Then the treatment starts in early November.  Are there any side effects other than extreme fatigue when he is having the treatment?

Many thanks to you all for being there to ask these questions.

I had Calypso markers inserted, which are much the same size and the same function as the gold markers in the RT process.

There were three insertions in my prostate bed tissue (my RT was adjuvant, meaning that my prostate had already been removed). Each was more painful than an equivalent "punch" for the biopsy, but there were only three as opposed to twelve.

They could have offered me a pill to sedate me, I suppose, but being alone, I had to be able to drive home afterward. The process was the same as my biopsy. Anitbiotic before and after, twenty minutes or so in the office.

If your husband is having gold markers inserted for external beam therapy, I can reassure you a bit. My husband had three gold markers placed before his IMRT and it was just basically nothing!! He said the two biopsies he had were much more painful. He had no sedation or tranquilizers at all. He was back in the waiting room of the urologist's office in less than ten minutes as I recall, ready to go! He said he felt three quick zings and it was over.

My heart goes out to your husband. It is very hard to undergo medical procedures when you do not feel in control. Please let us know how things go for you two.

Juliet

Thank you so much for the reassurance. We went to Peter MacCallums today and were disappointed. In fact, I wasn't a happy bunny. Peter's doctor had been called away overseas due to a family crisis and the young doctor who attended the appointment didn't have her act together. When she asked how Peter had been coping with his anti-testosterone injections, I thought, what the hell!! She got rather flustered when I told her to read his notes properly and that Peter was not having any treatment!! Anyway, the upshot is, the gold markers were not inserted. She is going to email Peter's doctor to find out what he wants to happen. He should have the beads put in within the next two weeks. I told her I wanted it sooner rather than later. She saw the "EYES", always very expressive of my feelings LOL. The good news was Peter's PSA had gone down to 6.9 and his testosterone was 6.8, which is low. But could it be lower I asked, if he had casodex? This is what she is going to ask his doctor, should he go on casodex. She said she would be back to me by Friday. If she isn't, well the phone will be ringing HOT!
Again many thanks for caring. PS I have told Peter it won't be any worse than the biopsy and he got through that alright.

Wow, how disappointing. Is she the one who will be inserting the markers? Do you have any choice in what doctor will be doing the procedure? I would think that experience counts as with any procedure. Good luck.