hormone therapy versus old age

Well I am nearly 76 so know what you are talking about. It is possibly a bit of both. I am having a new knee in just over a months time.  Main thing is to keep going and keep exercising even if it is just a 10 minute walk around the block a few of times a day and work up to go slightly faster and longer.  I find I can't walk when I get out of the car after a long drive - have even fallen down when I get out on times.  If I stand still for too long or sit down for too long I have trouble getting my legs moving again.  That is just old age I am afraid.  What does happen with the hormone treatment is that you can get muscle wastage so you need to keep exercising to stop that because you will not get that muscle back and that is when the aches and pains start as any problems you had with joints were supported by that muscle so when they don't have that support they start to complain.  I managed to do this through my hormone treatment and radiotherapy up until 6 months post radiotherapy when I had a heart problem and didn't have enough breath to do so and that is when the rot set in.  Until then I could live with the pain in my knee and could exercise well with it but  that enforced "rest" from exercising normally has brought me down quite quickly with muscle wastage and my knee has got dramatically worse over the last 2 years.  Thankfully the hospital here does a good heart rehabilitation course at the gym and I went to that so did get back into exercising and am exercising hard now to get my muscles ready for the op.  Some resistance training for your knee would be good - if you don't want to splash out and go to the gym you can buy some light ankle weights, put them on  and just raise and lower your legs one at a time, controlling the movement so you feel the pull on your quads, with them on while sat watching the TV.  Start low and work up - moderation in all things and don't over do it.  You may find that you gain weight around your middle from the hormone treatment which will not help with joints so exercise will be good to try and avoid that - though I did put on a spare tyre I didn't actually put on weight while on hormone treatment so the exercise did work all my flab just went to a different place.  Its all those old gems I am afraid - just like us old timer. Eat, exercise and live well.  Eat well but sensibly - though have a treat now and again - today is Friday so "crunchie day"  and I meant he chocolate bar not the exercise though I will be going to the gym today to do my usual routine too.  Exercise  - anything is better than nothing,  Before you do any exercise see your GP about getting an x ray or scan of your knee to know exactly what the problem is.  At our age it is usually arthritis and although painkillers help this usually progresses until only a partial or total new knee will help but it is best to avoid that for as long as possible so exercise is the only thing to help to support the knee with good quads. 

When I was in work I was known as a BOF for giving out advice like this (Boring old Fart).  Now I am a KOS - think you know what that means!

Sorry, reading this back I notice I said you can stop the muscle wastage I don't think you can but you can lessen it with exercise and the exercise will help you keep hold of the little muscle you have. 

Hi freefaller.  The problem is with knees some advice is resting it and others exercising it !   I was given an adjustable force  pedalling gadget mounted on a floor standing stand   so at least I can revolve it without bearing any weight. I get most of my exercise pottering about the garden doing  things my back will bear. i.e.  Keeping back the encroaching herbage with weed killer.  And walking from the car park and back to whatever of the many  appointments I have for  various problems.  While surfing the net I happened on a site on female Menopause and somebody had the same problem with legs. A reply was to take a Paracetamoll daily which eased the problem.  Just taken one now.

I begin to fear the slightly coloured recycled paper in envelopes which my local hospital and NHS Trust use. I never read them before having my afternoon rest when I hope to have a nap and certainly not before retiring for the night.  

Sat here watching afternoon TV full of adverts for stairs chair lifts and funeral  plans. They know when to show them.

Yes, I know but usually resting just makes it seize up,  Personally, without a diagnosis from the Doc you are talking to I would take their advice with a pinch of salt as to my mind if they do not know what is wrong with you then how can they say what is best?    As you have that pedalling gadget that is good - pedalling whether stationery or actually on a bike - though I certainly couldn't manage a bike now is brilliant exercise.  Glad you found that advice on the menopause website anything is worth a try. 

I also know what you mean about appointments barely a week goes by when I don't have one or two.  Glad my hospital doesn't use beige recycled paper - though if I took the time to read the frank I would know where it was from.  I too usually take a nap after lunch as I don't sleep well at night a mixture of bladder problems, breathlessness from my heart problem and pain is not condusive to sleep.  Though last night I only got up 3 times and slept well but feel exhausted today!

Always love those adverts only used to watch them years ago when looking of things to help my ageing Mum and Dad and now could quite well do with some of the things myself - maybe not quite now but soon!

Do hope the paracetamol works.  I am already on a mix of paracetamol and other strong pain killers and can't take NSAID's because of heart problem so would be no help to me.  Presume it will be morphine all the way for my knee op so should be able to sleep then.

Take care and let me know how the paracetamol a day pans out as I can then pass this advice on to some of my friends at the prostate cancer group at our local Maggies Centre.

Des

Hi  I too have a problem with urinating at night although it has eased from once per hour at diagnosis  to 3/4 times a night with Hormone Therapy and watching my liquid intake in the evening.  To save getting up out of bed  I have some bed bottles upright in a bowl as they leak if they fall over despite a cap. Fortunately I sense I need to go when asleep.

I avoid opiates like the plague as they cause constipation which I hate.

Yes,  Those bottles are not watertight are they?  I have a deep round tray to keep mine in.  I try not to drink anything after 6 (ish) though I do have to drink a small amount of water with tablets at 8.  One of my Docs also told me to put my feet up in the evening as that should make you urinate more during the evening which would hopefully mean you need to go less at night.  Mostly I go quite a bit in the evenings and at night!  Still its not so bad.

This is the thing with pain killers a lot of them give you constipation anything with Co in the name has Codeine which causes constipation as do opiates - though generally have to take less of those as they are stronger.  I can't take NSAID's because of my heart and most of the others cause breathlessness - got that already!  So left with the weaker ones that don't really touch the pain in my neck, back and now my knee which is worse than the other two put together!

This getting old thing is poo!

Keep smiling,

Des

Hi Oldtimer and if this is your first post, welcome to this group.

I see you already have some very helpful information from freefaller who seems to be a real expert on this subject.

In some rrspects, it seems, it doesn't really matter what is due to age and what is due to hormones, there's little you can do about the effects, you can only deal with the consequences.  Freefaller gives excellent advice on this.

As time passes and you find you need mire information or more support, particularly for example you find you're less able to get about then contact or drop into your nearest Macmillan Information and Support Centre. ( MISC).  People there are always for a chat even if nothing else and there may be one in your hospital.

To find out try clicking on this link.

www.macmillan.org.uk/.../choose-location.html

Hi Uroborus,

Thanks for the reply. I have a MacMillan Centre at my local hospital  and went to their welcome meeting after being diagnosed..

Collected loads of leaflets and booklets which have helped me a lot. Must call in again and ask some more  specific questions arising from my treatment.. 

That's great.

Best wishes