Hormone Therapy - Prostate

Wild1

New Member
All - wondering if anyone has experience or a loved one who has gone through hormone therapy (to reduce the effects of testosterone, such as Lupron or Casodrex or similar anti-androgen meds) for prostate . If so, how did your body handle it? Were the side effects bad, or not too bad?

My grandpa is 95 and has PCa. It was diagnosed probably 20 yrs ago, at which time he had radioactive seeds implanted (aka brachytherapy). Well, I don't think they expected him to live this long.

Recently , he had a Prostate exam due to increasing urinary symptoms (frequent urination, incomplete voiding) and it caused him to be unable to void at all, the next day so he had to be catheterized. Unfortunately, he is not a candidate for any of the surgical/non hormonal treatments due to his age and the fact that he has had radiation therapy, making the tissue difficult to operate on safely/heal.

Grandpa is 95 but lives independently and an excellent quality of life. He loves life and we love him. They said though he will not have a chance at natural urination unless hormone therapy is started. Doc recommended Lupron 6 month but I was scared to put him on it without knowing how his body would react. Plus loss of muscle strength and bone loss was a concern (he is healthy for age, and active for his age, but has always been a smaller guy, never over 140# in his prime). I am worried any loss of strength could quickly make what he does independently impossible (unlike someone who is a lot younger and has more muscle/bone strength to begin with.).

We decided on the T-blocker Casodex, as it is an oral med that can be stopped if he has a bad reaction. Wondering if we should have just done the Lupron as it would work faster.

I am really worried what it will be like for him. Or when to expect side effects to start (if it's going to be right away I think it would be best we stay with him to see how he reacts).

These were questions his Doc couldn't answer. Hoping someone may have some insight or experience to share, I also understand this is kind of a "personal" question so feel free to Private Message me if you don't feel comfortably responding publicly. Thanks all for reading.
 


Back
Top