Zytiga

I have been on Zytiga and Prednisone now for 2 months. I take 3 tablets of Zytiga a day (all at once during night time) and a morning and evening tab of prednisone. I also take one tab of slow acting morphine to help with pain I have from previous radiations.

I am experiencing joint pain almost exclusively in the shoulder-neck area that on certain days is rather discomforting. to me it feels like arthritis and I seem to feel it mostly on humid or hot days. I cannot say what Prednisone is doing as far as side effects go. I also would be very reluctant to skip Prednisone while on Zytiga as I might find the pain unbearable. While I was on Lupron treatment I had my first hot flashes. For me Zytiga has increased the magnitude of these, but, still its bearable.

With this said, I have always been sensitive to meds. So far psa is down and holding.

   Zytiga works for many ... but not for all! But then, that's true for any med for PCa.

   Zytiga was my first PCa med - beyond Lupron ... and the first med prescribed by my Oncologist. I was on Zytiga for 5-months along with the 10mg of prednisone.

   My only major SE was my depleted appatite. As a result, I did lose weight. I went from about 220-pounds down to under 180-pounds. My best weight would be about 205-pounds.

   Ultimately, my PSA did move upwards while on this med. I was on 4-capsules daily - in the morning, and as I recall (over two years ago), had a 5mg prednisone in the morning and one in the evening.

   Good luck with it .... use Insure or Boost if needed!!!

Peace and wellness

Rob & Gizmo

         

I just switched back from Xtandi to Zytiga (which I used before and did not totally fail on results with), Xtandi side effects were getting bad on me, super tiredness and lack of steam, going to bed really early (but this was after like 6 weeks of using it or so). Switched and so far feel great on Zytiga, you can perhaps get by with less dosage if you have it with food (as per Dr. Myers), you could use Dexamethasone vs. Prednisone and with Dexa a lower dosage as they are not equal potency. The side effects may not be all to bad on this drug, since it is comparable to Keto drug as targeting CYP17 enzyme, don't drink grapefruit juice while taking the drug (with Keto mega drug interaction can occur). You cannot stop taking either of the steroid drugs above while on Zytiga or Keto, you have to wean off of them slowly cutting back the dosage (fyi).

Apparently Zytiga is much more effective than Keto drug, I tried Keto high and low dose and in combos and got like no results, did Zytiga a few months and did show results and now back on it. Had a Xtandi deal I couldn't refuse and decided to try it a few months ago, so switched to it then, now switched back. The pills are a little smaller than Xtandi but still big enough, not the most fun downing them. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!!!

Zytiga now for a year. Side effects similar to Lupron. Fatigue, hot flashes, irresistible urge to shop for shoes, opted to see a chick flick instead of Godzilla. My voice is a shade higher and nipples are perky. Psa down from 29 to less than 0.05. It's a good thing. Todd

My husband Marshall went on Zytiga in March of 2012 and it was a miracle drug for him. His pain went away and his PSA went down to 2. He's been on the Zytiga for 15 months now and the only real side effects have been fatigue, lack of appetite and mood swings. And except for a small period of time where Vitamin D was low and iron levels low (and he took supplements to get it back in line), all lab work was normal.

However, at our last visit to the oncologist, the PSA has gone up to 7.4 so we are going to "wait and see" for another month, then get more scans, and then, if necessary, move on to Xtandi. So Zytiga was wonderful for us. I pray that it works that well for everyone else.

Now I have to start researching Xtandi!!

Good luck to everyone.
Marilyn