Hello

Hi Alex, sorry to hear.

Not an expert on HT but couldn't they offer him  an alternative, probably  need more time for the effects to wear off.

What r the stats, PSa, Gleeson, is the tumour contained within the gland?

Best wishes

Steve

Hi Ales

We all have different thresholds for pain, did the PC spread anywhere ? I’am certain there’s other pain killers out there. Does he have any on going issues eg I have diabetes plus a whole lot of other things, I take either co codormol or tramadol. I hope he is given something to ease his pain.

Stay safe

Joe

Has the consultant replaced the bicalutamide with something else?
Do you know your partner's TNM score (tumour/nodes/metastases)?

Hi all, thanks for taking the time to reply. His psa was 4.84 at the time of diagnosis last December and the Gleason score was 8. Fortunately the tumour is contained within 1 side of his prostate and the bone and CT scan confirmed that. I don’t know about a TNM score? He has been reluctant to take painkillers - he is generally reluctant to take any medication - but said that when he took paracetamol it didn’t really help. I have told him that it is difficult to be sympathetic if he won’t consider trying other pain relief! The consultant didn’t suggest an alternative HT, just said he could stop it if it was that bad. Initially when he started with the pain a few months ago he didn’t link it to the tablets and so saw the GP and had blood tests. He has a Rheumatology appointment in a few weeks which the consultant said to keep, just in case there is something else going on. She thought the pain was likely to be linked to the tablets but the impression I got was that from what men say to her, the pain my partner is getting is more severe. Perhaps, it is just a difference in pain thresholds, I suppose I am just a bit concerned that it is not just the tablets causing it. As far as we know, he doesn’t have any other significant health conditions although he is convinced that he has diabetes! He’s been tested for this twice and the result is always negative.

All looks quite positive really, low Psa, cancer contained, Gleeson midway at 8 though. Perhaps wait and see how he feels when RT has finished, not sure if RT can be the cause of pain during treatment, I certainly had side effects but no actual pain, more like a burning sensation.   Probably more likely to be the HT, I know that he has stopped taking it but give a bit more time for the effects to wear off.

Steve

Hiya - I was on bicalutamide (Casodex) at 150 mg daily from the end if January up to a fortnight ago when I had my RARP.  I was also on tamoxifen 20 mg daily to prevent the bicalutamide triggering breast tissue growth.  The main side effects I noticed were moderate fatigue that wore off at about 2 months, wicked hot flushes (particularly at night), dry skin and occasionally some nasty leg cramps (which I think were more a feature of the tamoxifen) plus constipation.  I ended up calling it kryptonite for how it made me feel some days.  I'm sure I've seen reference to joint pain on other forums but I didn't experience that myself despite the high dose.  It's interesting that your partner isn't on one of the longer lasting injectables like decapeptyl whilst undergoing RT.

Here's hoping the pain subsides soon and best wishes for a good outcome.

Cheers
Upkeep

I wish I could advise further, but I don't know what's going on!

The rheumatology appointment may provide some kind of answer.

The thing about paracetamol is that they only really give serious benefit in long-term conditions if taken regularly (1g ever 6 hours). Then they can really help. I know some people are a bit iffy about medication, but when in constant pain, it's time to rethink!

Good Luck!