Didn't hurt at all when they yanked mine, but it did feel really weird....
First it was PCa. Cut it out (RP), Burned it out(RT), starved it out(ADT). Then skin keratosis - no big deal, but a precursor to melanoma. Froze those off with liquid nitrogen. Then an Astrocytoma...
Had ADT back in 2014. The 6 month Eligard did it's job, but after it wore off my T level rallied a little but then fell off and NEVER CAME BACK to this day. Bummer......
Answering Machine: From my PCP "We have made an appointment for you with Dr. (Uro) Be there. I call back "What's this all about?" They say "Your PSA took a jump, talk to the Uro" (surprise!) I do my...
Free Range Chicken.... Samples anything on the ground... including other chicken's and animal's poop!...
A Cautionary Tale: I had one 6-month injection of Eligard (Lupron equivalent) in 2014. My T level, a lackluster 243 to begin with, dropped to a low of 21 in 6 months, rallied to 145 after a year and...
from my endocrinologist: "Get all your testing done first thing in the morning at the lab. That's when your hormones are at their highest. If not that, test every time at the same time of day for...
Wow, I'm so sorry to read this. While you are fortunate to have whipped the PCa, to get hit with this double whammy is indeed very sad. Do you have a prognosis and treatment plan yet?. I hate to say...
I tend to "drift away" as my situation changes. PCa is pretty much behind me, and suddenly has been replaced by another "bolt from the blue", brain cancer. This is a new primary site, an astrocytoma,...
...oh, and the Radiation Oncologist said that he would only consider the treatment a success if just the growth of the tumor was stopped - not shrunk. Brain cells live and die slowly. That leaves me...
Back in 2011 I developed prostate and was treated to a RP and in 2015 SRT after a dollop of Eligard. Psa has been "<" ever since, but T has made only a half-hearted effort at returning and currently...
Yep, I would presume stereotactic radiation will be the mode - just as with my prostate, with the same machine even, aimed higher, with the shutters closed more, programmed by the same radiation...
Thanks, all of you, for your well wishes and sentiments. I will work hard at recovery - after I take a nap....
Things were going along well enough with the hole where the prostate used to be, and then I became unsteady on my feet. My PCP sent me for a CAT scan and Bingo!, found a golf ball-sized tumor on my...
you may find that it is not fatigue, rather a loss of motivation. I can exercise - as long as I am exercising. Getting started is the hard part. Even getting up out of a chair is hard and I am...
A big pill bottle or other cylindrical container or vessel of adequate size, drilled at the closed end for a fitting to a *clear* (important) vinyl hose. Deploy the container and suck on the hose....
Had one 6-month shot of Eligard that knocked my T down to 24 - 25 range. After the shot expired, T came back some for a while and has fallen off somewhat again. I am starting the hot flashes and...
I used to sing baritone in the church choir and once did an impromptu solo of the "Star Spangled Banner" at a company commemorative service before PCa. The surgery and recovery and then the ADT and...
The good news is another "<". In other news, my T level has fallen off to 104. Disappointing, as it was slowly building to peak at 145 after my one and only 6-month Eligard shot was alleged to have...
Good information here for me. It puts my own experience in perspective and even though I don't feel any better about my situation, at least I understand a little more....
Bobby Mac My hematocrit has been hovering around 41- a little better than yours, but it looks like your hemoglobin is coming back nicely while mine seems stuck low. WB...
What are your numbers? I experienced anemia after a 6-month shot of Eligard and 67 Gy of radiation. Hemoglobin dropped from my historically normal 15.1 to the 12.6 to 13 range and has stayed there....
Linzy, Sounds like you are the best thing he has going for him. Some of us have had to define a new normal, and having someone who is supportive and encouraging and accepting of our limitations, and...
Tony, As you guessed, I weighed the benefits and hazards and ultimately decided that the risks were acceptable. I had prior experience with flushing (similar to hot flashes but slightly different)...
When my RP failed, I was scheduled for radiation. While there I was asked to consider participating in a clinical trial. I would still get the basic radiation, but the study would introduce some...
This is bad news for me. My spine is fusing from arthritis (ankylosing spondylitis) and I fear and expect something like this in my future. A few more details about your injury when you can would be...
Sex or procreation? Probably better to wait a while for the latter. Radiation altered sperm may not make the best children....
The actual exercises used in physical therapy amount to ordinary Kegels, but with analysis and feedback from the therapist to show you how to do them correctly....
I found that after surgery, I never fully regained urinary continence, having just very minor but persistent leakage that required 1 pad a day. I experienced deteriorating continence, both urinary...
AS is much like PCa in that everyone presents differently. In my case I didn't know I had it for the longest time, only discovering the symptoms with the advent of the Internet. Before that, I only...
Generally yes, but... People with the HLA B27 gene are particularly susceptible to AS, but it can occur with or without the gene. My rheumatologist ordered the test and discovered that I had the...
Leaks happen, sad to say. Not to scare you, but I had to stay on the cath for 56 days. Had the same discomforts you describe, but not constant. The boredom was more troublesome. Hope you don't take...
Heard from the Doc's office - He wants me to have another complete blood count test, mid-January, then decide what to do after that. In the meantime I have decided to quit taking my daily max OTC...
New developments. Just got my lab results for my recent annual physical, even before I have heard from my doctor. Appears that I am anemic. Explains the fatigue I have been experiencing for the last...
Had a 6 month shot of Eligard exactly 2 years ago then radiation. PSA has stayed <0.1 but T has been slooooooow to recover. (see below) Still have cognitive difficulties, hot flashes, emotions and...
I was ramping down into retirement at the time - working 4 hrs a day, so I scheduled at 11:30AM. That was just enough time to travel from work. Was able to go home afterward and take a nap or...
Nearsighted here. Small price to pay....
Daily exercise didn't help me much... Or, trying to be positive here, maybe delayed the onset of PCa. Ahhh... the memories!...
Consider the possibility of a hernia. I had symptoms such as described, long before the onset of PCa, but in the groin area. The Doc poked and probed and found a hernia about the size of a fingertip....
Similar situation here. PSA zero, but T recovering very slowly. Of all the treatments I have endured in the course of PCa I have to say that HT has been the most difficult to cope with....
As I mentioned, Ankylosing Spondylitis (the other AS) could affect how PCa is treated, specifically with radiation. Seems that back in the '40s and '50s they found that radiation treatments for AS...
vaportrail, Don't jump to the worst-case, maybe explore a possible second worst-case. Like you, I have had the exact symptoms you describe, along with a lot of similar symptoms for a long time. After...
Having recently retired, it seems that everyone is always asking how I am enjoying retirement. The simplest reply is "every day is Saturday."...
When describing ADT to a woman, characterizing it as making me a girl, she replied "come on, it's not that bad", (being a girl)....
When asked how I'm doing, my reply is "Not much worse"....
That which does not kill me merely delays the inevitable....
Surgery ruined me, radiation and Eligard too. I take nitro so Viagra/Cialis is out, the pump only works for seconds, no interest in an implant, and even if I tried the needle, the wife is not...
From Kindergarten Cop: "Stop whining!" and "It's not a tumor." (spoken in a bad Austrian accent)...
It keeps getting better. :-) Still have the < and T is improving. I am encouraged. :turn: 6 months until next test this time. :smilewinkgrin:...
Interesting......who pays for the costs to participate?[/quote] Insurance/medicare pays the cost of treatment. The cost of administrating the trial - comes from elsewhere. My contribution is showing...