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ART & Lupron side effects?

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Posted 8/6/2015 1:24 AM (GMT 0)
Following robotic surgeryin April, Lupron 6 mo injection on June 24th, radiation began 8/3/15 for 39 treatments. This is all due to lousy pathology findings post surgery. Gleason 9 with SVI, etc.

Any input on how bad side effects will be?

Thanks.

(Added a subject - 142)

Post Edited By Moderator (142) : 8/6/2015 9:29:55 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/6/2015 3:28 AM (GMT 0)
not bad. RT is kind of boring actually. You might get some fatigue, so bowel troubles and maybe a little random pains here and there.

You'll do fine. It's not fun, but won't add that much to your problems.

Andrew
Posted 8/6/2015 3:44 AM (GMT 0)
SRT side effects are not bad
Posted 8/6/2015 1:19 PM (GMT 0)
I had a six-month injection of Lupron last Friday and the nurse mentioned that side effects (if you are going to have any) will begin 5-7 days post injection. So I'm at six days and so far the only weirdness I've noted is occasional fatigue which hits me all of a sudden (not even sure that's a valid SE) and yesterday I was in a bit of a blue mode and not my usual cheerful self. That is a Lupron SE.

Then I have 30 sessions of IMRT to look forward to early November.
Posted 8/6/2015 3:56 PM (GMT 0)
The side effects of the radiation are generally not that bad. Fatigue is common starting a few weeks in. Exercise and/or staying active help with the fatigue. If you have hemorrhoids the radiation will sometimes make them worse. If you haven't fully recovered continence after surgery the radiation will often make that even more difficult going forward.

As to the Lupron, do you know how long the doctor plans to keep you on it? There are a few side effects that hit right away but many more are cumulative things that take months to years to pile up. Lupron initially makes your testosterone levels go up but then it crashes after a week or two and stays down. Some men find that the hot flashes start fairly quickly (about a month into treatment) but they are idiosyncratic and vary from man to man. Fatigue, muscle loss, bone density loss, etc., happen more slowly and can be delayed by determined exercise. Loss of body hair and slowing of beard growth take a few months, as does loss of body odor (possibly the only good side effect.) Loss of interest in sex and erectile dysfunction happen gradually over the first few months.
Posted 8/7/2015 12:09 PM (GMT 0)
My side effect experience from the concurrent RARP surgery, androgen deprivation (3 mo Firmagon to 6 mo Lupron to 18 mo Eligard), and 80 Gy of radiation are kind - of smeared as to which of those is to blame for a specific unpleasant experience.

After a year or so of therapy, I lost most all my body hair and a lot of my muscle mass. I began gaining belly fat, adipose tissue and weight, went from 200 pounds to 213 pounds over the last 31 months. I appear to have aged the anecdotal 15 years that comes with extended ADT. No thoughts of sex, not a single natural erection since Jan of 2012. My finger and toe nails got brittle and began growing in funky & split into the quick (gotta keep them very short). My Longshoreman's hemorrhoids bled worse than usual, I got the 'radiation craps' as the RO warned me I would - lots of effort for a bit of mucous or a very small result. The fatigue was worst the first year, I am still dealing with that but am coping well...back up to my usual 50 miles a week since this past Jan (was 42 miles a week last year, 39 & 1/2 in 2012). A daily 1 hour nap helps too.

The very worst side effects for me though, were anxiety, depression and nausea attacks. They are/were from the chemo for sure, as they were very bad for the fist couple of months after a hit of Eligard. Not so bad now 9 months after the last treatment. The anxiety and depression I work through with a Zen mindfulness regimen, for the nausea attacks I use a Pax vaporizer and organic cannabis. My daily Taekwondo practice and 7+ mile run with my Labrador Retriever help a lot. :-)

For the first year after surgery I had the commonly experienced mental deficit from being held under general anesthesia. After that lightened up, I got the mental deficit that comes with extended ADT. Still have that, but - while it is annoying - I am pretty sure it will fade when my pituitary gland fires back up sometime later this year.

I cannot advocate avoiding comprehensive treatment for prostate cancer due to fear of the side effects, however. Better the relatively short - term discomfort of the side effects than the painful, debilitating, drawn out death that cancer can bring. My side effects have been annoying, but no worse.
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