Hormone treatment side-effects

Hello Ally (WhiteShepherdess) 

I understand where you both are with this - my wife called it "The Manopause". 

For fatigue, I just got up off my backside and took the dog for an extra walk. My mood swings, I knew when I was feeling low and apologised and tried to keep out of the way doing something. For the hot flushes - and mine were intense I am on Sage Tablets (Menoforce). They have stopped them but are a tad expensive and don't work for everyone.

All I can say about herbal medication/supplements is give them a go BUT please do check with his team first as you can get a medication clash.

I wish you both well going forward.

Best wishes - Brian.

Thank you, Brian. I shall investigate further! And I shall, of course, check with the nurse first, just in case. 

M, like you, apologises for his mood swings but I do quite understand that the treatment is responsible rather than anything I have or haven't done! 

Hi WhiteShepherdess , I have been on HT for 9 years without a break.  Initially fatigue was the most noticeable thing but I was fit at the start and attempted to keep a level of fitness.  Now at 77 I am unsure what is HT related and what is age related.  I have off days where I can’t seem to wake up, so stay in bed for extra time and get up slowly.  If that doesn’t sort me out I have a lazy day.  On good days we try and do some exercise.  Yesterday we managed a 4 mile walk as the sun was shining.  I have learnt to listen to my body.  Push when you can and rest when you can’t.  I have never knowingly been a worrier but I do now get anxious.  I am not aware of it but my wife has detected this pattern, again it could be age related.  

Hi Ally, sorry to hear that you are both struggling with the side effects of HT. I say’both’ because I think of prostate cancer as a couple’s disease and it really hurt me to see my husband struggle so very much.

I think that what helped my husband with the mood effects was to keep busy - mentally as well as physically. But, I think too that he also struggled big time psychologically with the diagnosis itself - especially as he had watched his father and grandfather die of PC and his mother die of breast cancer. 

All I could really do was encourage him to go through with the treatment, reassure him that I would be there at his side for the whole journey and find out as much information as possible so he could make his own informed choices. As a family we all rallied around him! 

Thinking back,though, I think we should have spoken sooner and louder to the oncologists about how devastating the HT was for him and asked whether there were other brands ( for want of another word!) that he could have tried. 

He reached rock bottom with the HT and other health problems at the 18 month point and well after the RT . The oncologist stopped the HT there and then. so my message really is that your oncology team should be aware of his struggles. HT seems to affect everyone differently. Your husband and mine seem to fall into the group who suffer a lot.

I do really feel for you both! I can see your husband’s partial diagnosis and if he is being treated with the intention to cure, hopefully he won’t be on the HT for so very long! I wish you both well xx

Thank you, David. M has always been extremely fit so it frustrates him that he can't do what he's been used to doing. However, he'll be 80 this year so, as you say, some of the fatigue could be age-related. 

He DOES acknowledge there are days when he just doesn't have the energy to do much apart from rest. 

I hope, now the weather's improving, you'll be able to do more of the walks you enjoy. 

Best wishes, 

Ally

Thank you so much, Worriedwife!  

When we had the first meeting with the oncologist,  he told M he would die of something else before he died as a result of PC, which I suppose is, in a bizarre sort of way, good news!

It's unsurprising, given your husband's family history, that he was completely devastated when he received his diagnosis. So sorry he's dealing with that. 

I will encourage M to be transparent and seek advice with regard to his struggle. 

I really appreciate your taking the time to reply and share your experience.  

All the best and thank you again. Xx

Hello Ally (WhiteShepherdess),

I was luck with the side effects I had whilst on HT and found them more of an inconvenience rather than a major issue, but do have a few thoughts on what may come in useful:

When fatigue kicks in, although it may seem counter intuitive, taking more exercise of some sort can be a big help.  Now that the better weather & longer daylight hours are here, having a daily walk in nature always lifts my spirits.  It's great when we meet someone walking a dog as their sheer enjoyment of life (being fussed actually) is a joy in itself.

Having something pleasurable to look forward to on a daily basis is also a bonus.  It doesn't necessarily have to be much, maybe a coffee in a cafe, lunch out, trip to a garden centre, basically anything that he enjoys.

Thinking of the side effects as giving the cancer a good kicking in to touch may also help put a bit of perspective on things.

Best Wishes

Brian

Thanks, Brian. I'm hoping that, as we progress, the fatigue will become so much of an irritant that the default position will be to opt for either the antidote of walking the dog on the seawall or lunch in the local (which we have rarely done) and all with the idea of cocking a snook at PC. 

All the best,

Ally

Both together seem the ideal choice - a bracing walk then lunch in the pub, with the added bonus of no washing up :)

Hi Ally, as all say side effects/reactions to HT etc  vary enormously between individuals  -  and over time. See my Bio  -  I got off very lightly with >2 years of single HT in 2021-23. And even doublet treatment for the recurrent, non-curative, Stage 4 Advanced ain't too bad. 

The mental bit is I suspect worse when told no attempt at cure, delaying tactics only! I've certainly felt it more difficult simply to ignore the prognosis.

David2017 makes a very valid point: " ...at age 77 I am unsure what is HT related and what is age related."

 Yes, I am losing strength and stamina, but disentangling the effects of the disease, the treatment, my age (also 77) and other ill health stuff (COPD in my case) is I suspect impossible! 

My only practical advice is to go against obvious response and exercise to minimise tiredness/fatigue.

Sun shining, wind dropped, where's my bike......

 Good luck, Dave