HT and radiotherapy - what a combination!

Hello and thank you for your reassuring response. I will show it to my husband. 

“Flushette”. That made my day Steve…!

Hold on, this "double blow" is really exhausting, and fatigue on the 4th day is a classic reaction of the body. Usually the peak of side effects occurs at 4-6 months, but later the body adapts a little to the hormonal background.As for the loss of libido, it puts a lot of pressure on men psychologically. It helps many couples not to get hung up on illness, but to add a little light romance to the relationship to distract themselves. I just saw reviews about Bellesa Boutique — there are many interesting things to maintain intimacy even in such difficult times: https://bellesa-boutique.pissedconsumer.com/review.html

Hi Lauren,

Nothing to add on the great replies here on fatigue. Balance of exercise and rest..

I'm not sure there's much one can do about libido, it seems to be the price we must pay for low testosterone from HT which is proven to improve our odds of a cure or slow-to-no progression.

I have just posted this a few minutes ago to a question on tadalifil. This is my chosen way to get the erections back and preserve penile health. This may not bring my libido fully back but I am hoping that this might at least encourage more sex and intimacy...

David

My previous post... "Should I take Tadafil (Cialis)

I am on HT since Jan (Orgovyx 3 years and Abiaterone 2 years) and finish my 20 sessions of RT tomorrow. That is a long time to be 'out of action'.

My research suggested that there could be a case of 'use it or lose it' ie to keep the tissues healthy and flexible and avoids fibrosis. I had used cialis (tadalafil 10mg) for a few years with great results (private prescription), so I asked my onco to prescribe a daily 5mg, which he willingly did in February  and is now on free NHS repeat prescription via my GP. He also said 'don't expect miracles' whilst on RT plus a few weeks!

Nevertheless, I added to my cocktail (!) of pills with no bad side effects and immediately saw a reversal in my penis shrinkage, so at least it's a lot easier to 'point Percy at the porcelain' (which I do a lot, thanks to the RT). Libido is low but 'with encouragement' I can get a soft erection on demand. I think that's good to keep the blood pumping there if nothing else, albeit not much good for penetrative sex. Today my penis pump has arrived and I am going to give that a try... 2-3 times per week is recommended (even without sex, (I should be so lucky)) to keep penile health.

Unexpected(?) bonus.... The most common (and dangerous) side effect with Abiraterone is raised blood pressure. Mine has dropped from marginal to acceptable (135/75) levels since adding Tadalafil. I shouldn't have been too surprised as the drug was originally developed for BP lowering purposes - the welcome side effect discovered during the trials has been a game changer for many and made someone a lot of money.

I will probably choose to be on 5mg daily it till my testosterone comes back and then back to 10mg occasional use when needed, hopefully without the pump! Only 2.8 years to go...

Yes, it is a personal choice. This is just my view, hope it helps you decide.

Stay strong!

David