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I was given a bone scan which turned out to be clear. My doctor then started me off with Siterone Cyproterone Acetate tablets. I'm to have 2 weeks of tablets then an injection followed by a further 2 weeks of tablets and thereafter just injections. The first week of tablets was 2 50mg per day then 3 weeks of 4 50mg tablets. This is my 5th day and I'm suffering, the worst is tension and aching in my muscles and head, just like the worst flu I've ever had, then theres a lot of fatigue. I'm concerned that when I go up to 4 tabs a day on the 8th day its going to get much worse and I'm not sure I could tolerate that. My urologist says it is very important that I have the tabs before starting the injections.
I am assuming that this problem is side effects of the drug - could I be wrong?
Thanks
Ken from NZ
Aloha Ken,
The reason given to me to take casodex (2 weeks of) before the Lupron Depot shots was to prevent PSA flare. I never knew if was dangerous(?)nor did I get any other explanation even though I did ask questions. I did not have access to this site at the time. As I understood it, the LD shots were to shrink the prostate before EBRT/IMRT.
I don't know why your uro/oncologist is suggesting your path. I would get a second opinion especially from an oncologist.
Also, please try to get the monthly shots. My 3 mth shots were painful because they injected so much stuff in my butt it damaged the surrounding tissue. That pain lasted over a year.
Hang in there, ask questions, get second opinions, get second pathology opinions of your biopsy,
Question, question, question, you are in charge!!!
Joe
Thanks very much for that info Joe, I'm seeing my GP very soon so I'll talk it over with him. I remember now that the specialist did say it was to prevent a flare but I didn't take it in that it was a PSA flare he was talking about. I'll see how things go today.
Ken
Ken,
Flu like symptoms from a medication are usually a reason to see your doctor ASAP. Your doctor should probably give you a liver function test if you are still feeling bad.
Thanks for that info Frank - I'm going to see a doctor tomorrow. Today I started out just fine and problems didn't start until about 2pm and since then I've become more and more ill - something is definitely wrong.
Ken
I sent a message to my Urologist yesterday about the severe side effects I was getting - I got a message back from him this morning to discontinue the drug and he is suggesting another drug called Bicalox - generic name Bicalutamide. I'm seeing my GP this afternoon and will discuss with him.
Ken
Sorry to see you're having a rough time, Ken. Be sure to discuss all the potential problems with bicaltumide, especially as far as potential problems with jaw necrosis are concerned. And make sure your dentist knows if you are on the medication and have any tooth problems.
Thanks Terry. I am concerned that I am likely to suffer from side-effects from any of these drugs because I have a badly stuffed up immune system. I have accepted that I would need to put up with some but what I was getting from this one was totally out of the ball park.
I've had a look at this Bicalox and there is an awful lot of side effects to it. I think the urologist intends to put me on it just for a limited period, like 4 weeks in order to prevent a flare up of PSA levels. Then I will be on Zoladex as far as I know. If these various side effects become so bad that you can't tolerate them what the heck does one do?
Cheers Ken
Given those very difficult circumstances, you might consider having an Orchidectomy procedure. This is the removal of the testicles and was the standard treatment before the development of the so called 'chemical castration' uses drugs to achieve the same result - the signficant reduction of testosterone.
Although cynics might feel that the main reason the procedure is used infrequently these days because there is more money in the drugs, the fact is that men tend to shy away from the thought of castration and would rather have the ADT drugs because that is reversible: orchidectomy is not.
If you go along to the LINKS page and enter Orchidectomy into the site Search Engine you wil find a number of links to the experiences of men who have had this procedure and you might like to ail them.
I considered this option myself, but my oncologist persuaded me that Intermittent ADT was a better option for me. With your immune system issues, it orchidectomy might be a better option for you.
Thanks once again Terry. At my age, almost 78, its an option which can seriously be looked at. I am making some enquiries here to see just what is involved.
Ken
