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Posted 10/6/2018 11:30 PM (GMT -5)
New to all of this. I'm wife of hubby diagnosed 8/1/18 Prostate Cancer with Gleason score 7. Bone scans clear. Abnormal lymph node findings. Intermediate risk. Recommendations included Radiation or surgery along with Hormone therapy . Hubby elected radiation. Began Lupron shot on 9/30/18. Prior to radiation treatments. So far zero side effects . My question is, if side effects of Lupron shot are going to occur how soon will they show up?

I ask him every day and he says he is "fine." His attitude about this diagnosis is considerably better than mine.

Post Edited (Snoopboop) : 10/6/2018 10:33:59 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/7/2018 12:17 AM (GMT -5)
Snoopboop, sorry to hear about your husbands situation. My most noticeable side effect from Lupron were the hot flashes and if I remember they came up about 2-weeks after getting the shot. I had the 6 month shot. I went through the whole gambit this year from prostate removal to 40 radiation treatments. Usual side effects but nothing permanent.
Posted 10/7/2018 5:36 AM (GMT -5)
My first hot flash was about a month after my first six month Lupron shot. They became my regular companions for 3 long years on it. Not much else until around 3 months into it.

At 3 months, fatigue began to set in noticeably. Also, physical changes became noticeable about the same time, loss of body hair, and well... "shrinkage". I began to lose interest in sex too. This disease affects both of you, it's a couple's disease, just something to keep in mind.

By 6 months libido was gone and fatigue was strong. That relentless fatigue became maybe the most difficult side effect to live with. I was heading to bed by 8:30pm (usually had been 10-11pm). Naps helped. But I couldn't drive for more than 45 minutes or so before needing to rest. Our motorcycle touring came to a halt since I just had no stamina anymore.
Posted 10/7/2018 6:11 AM (GMT -5)
Hi Snoop, I think of it like male menopause which most women have to deal with, but it is a little different for everyone. You need to remember it is transitory. I had my first 3-month injection on May 21, 2018. I am 4.5 months in. At first, I felt a little high. I believe this was because of an initial increase in testosterone known as “flare.” I was prescribed bicalutamide, used to block the flare but the pharmacy didn't get it until a week after I started the Lupron. The whole point of hormone treatment is to lower the testosterone and PSA and it generally works. It did for me. My p5 tumor is gone and my prostate is even smaller. There are a lot of horror stories out there. You can read the side effects which the drug manufacturer is required to list, however, what a majority of men experience are hot flashes and other effects that Redwing explained. Here is what I do, exercise a lot! Resistance training and aerobics are recommended. You can actually build muscle even though you will experience weight gain. I gain 7 pounds around my waist. At night I kick off the covers constantly. During the day I try not to get too hot. I work to stay intimate with my wife, which I believe the hormones have helped. I use Cialis (tadalafil) or Viagra (sildenafil) at least once a week even though I don't want to. I haven't gotten depressed but some men do. Also, some men get emotional cry or laugh easily. I have a friend who has been on Lupron for 5 years. His wife says he never complains. My wife would not say that about me. You guys will be fine if you support each other.

----
68 yrs., marathon runner, 9 of 44 IMRT, 10.5.18. PSA .012, 8.12.18, 1.42 June 18, 2018 (Lupron 5.21.18 & 8.15.18), 12.7 May 2018, 13.7 Jan. 2018, 2.1 May 2012. SpaceOar 9.6.18, testosterone <.7, 8.15.18, Tot Mayo 19 ng .17 testosterone Free 6.18.18, Gleason 3+4=7 involving 15% of the right apex and 15% of the right mid, 3+3=6 prostate cancer involving 5% of the left base. Pathology interpretations by John Hopkins, UNM Cancer, and SF Path 3+4=7 or 4+3=7 MD Anderson Proton Center w/o %. T3 MRI 1.8 lesion left side 5P, Neg. Bone Scan. Prolaris test 3.5 consistent with intermediate and a PTEN test negative. Father PC age 78 RT & ADT now 93 yrs. Neurogenic bladder due to lumbar disk disease and recurrent bladder neck contracture with urinary retention man. 20 years doing catheterizations. TURP & scaring 2003, Finasteride 5 milligrams daily since 2002.
Posted 10/7/2018 6:46 AM (GMT -5)
I gained 16 pounds, lost 20 of that after the Luprolides had worn off. Lost most all of my body hair soon after starting. After 2 & 1/2 years on, it took a bit more than 2 & 1/2 years to recover as much as I have. Lupron killed one of my testicles so my loss of libido is pretty much permanent. Doc said I was lucky to have kept one testicle alive and functional.

I appeared to have aged maybe 15 years or so while I was on the stuff, gained fat lost muscle despite being an over-the-top athlete. Better now. Got very emotional and fatigued, still take afternoon naps.

Some research on what your pituitary gland actually does will fill you in on the details, as Luprolide chemicals shut it down completely and there are many profound ramifications to that. Stuff like your kidneys leave more water in your blood (water weight gain), the quantity and thickness of mucous in all of your body nucousal membranes - lungs included - changes drastically and your thyroid slows down your metabolism so you burn less calories in your base metabolic rate. There are changes in immune function as well - I got the Shingles despite having had the vaccination against that.

If Luprolide chemo works though, the cost is small compared to the alternative. wink
Posted 10/7/2018 9:22 AM (GMT -5)
Welcome to HW. Sorry you need to be here.

He's going to be fine. Guys get the side effects differently and some tolerate them better than others. It could take a month for anything to show up. Also some guys are a bit stoic and would say they're just fine if they'd just be run over by a tractor. He might also be hiding any discomfort because he doesn't want to worry you.

Relax, stop asking, he'll be fine. His numbers and treatment selection put him in the range of a cure. You have every expectation to assume that he'll be just fine after treatment and that this is just a bump road - a big bump in the road, but years from now this will be just a bad memory.

Hang in there. We're here to support you - ask all the questions you have, we're here most days.
Andrew
Posted 10/7/2018 9:40 AM (GMT -5)
Hi Snoop....
I just got my Lupron 6 month shot on 8/22....
And I'm taking the same action as your hubby and I'm a G9, I start RT on 10/23 with 2 years of Lupron.
For me, It didn't take long for the Hot flashes to show up, I had fatigue before the shot, But that is getting better....
I'll keep an eye on your hubby's progress....
May God Bless....
Posted 10/7/2018 9:45 AM (GMT -5)
Snoop, welcome to the forum, sorry you had to find us, but stick around there’s a wealth of knowledge and support here for you.

I’m no expert, as I just started Hormone Therapy 7 weeks ago. I’m on Firmagon, which does the same thing as Lupron, but acts in a different way. So far my only side effects are hot flashes. Which, so far are very manageable and short lived. But as I said, it’s early for me, so I’m learning from the others, along with you.
Posted 10/7/2018 10:34 AM (GMT -5)
Like Pratoman I'm on Firmagon, not Lupron, but it's the same net result. Both drugs depress testosterone and that is what causes side effects. I've been on Firmagon for 6 months now with no hot flashes or fatigue even though T became nearly undetectable within a month. I seem to be the odd man out on this forum, since most guys here report side effects. But I guess my experience shows that results can vary quite a bit from one patient to the next.

I'll admit to being one of those guys InTheShop describes who is likely to claim I'm just fine even if run over by a tractor. But I'm not doing that here. I've been waiting for the hot flashes or fatigue to hit since May and it just hasn't happened.
Jim
Posted 10/7/2018 12:56 PM (GMT -5)
about a month
Posted 10/7/2018 3:23 PM (GMT -5)
Everyone is going to react differently. I hit 6 months of Lupron in two weeks. I had (based on what others have reported) mild hot flashes (would last 5 to 10 minutes, not really sweating) about three to four weeks in that would occur primarily in the evening. And covers on and off a couple of times a night. But in the last month or so, the hot flashes have mostly dissipated to the point where they occur only a couple of times a week.

No fatigue for me -- even through 23 IMRT sessions now complete.

I don't really exercise -- though I should. I can tell that I probably have lost some muscle strength. I keep saying I'm going to start some resistance exercise, but then don't follow through.

Overall, I pleased with my level of side affects -- sure I'd like none, but this isn't bad at all.
Posted 10/7/2018 9:34 PM (GMT -5)
Welcome !!....my six month shot kicked in about 5-6 weeks .....hot flashes first...and they continues for 7-9 months after that one and only shot was supposed to be over ......also about a month or so into it I started gaining some weight that I have never been able to do....148 lbs before ....164 during the lupron shot ....I liked the extra weight ....all gone now back to the 148 again.....no fatigue....but absolutely NO desire for sex.....NADA....after about the 5 week mark ....took about 6-8 months for the testosterone and libido to bounce back to maybe 75% of pre Lupron and radiation...that`s where Im at now 20 months after completion of the Radiation ......good luck .....David
Posted 10/8/2018 5:48 AM (GMT -5)
Snoop... as you can see Lupron affect's everyone different in my case I would have to say the last 3 months have been the worse. Taking away a man's testosterone is something the male body doesn't like you know we like to swing around on the vines beating our chests chasing the pretty gals!! Well once on Lupron we dream about swinging on the vines, too tired to beat our chest, and that half naked girl oh well where's the tv remote? LOL I always suggest that PCA brings on new normal and then add in Lupron well that's another new normal not necessarily bad but just different from what your use too. As the guys have said it will be a team effort but that will be ok. Exercise even if it is just walking and some resistance training will be beneficial if you have access to a Planet Fitness or some place like that getting the personal trainer 1 or 2 times a week will help greatly. Wishing you the best and let us know how it is going.

Larry
Posted 10/8/2018 6:23 AM (GMT -5)
Fun factoid: Lupron, Eligard and other chems in that class all produce a testosterone 'flare' - a sudden increase in testosterone production - when they are first administered. Firmagon does not produce a testosterone 'flare' and is thus used when the docs fear there are still living cancer cells that will grow and advance present.

Too bad there isn't a drug that only drops testosterone production and has no side effects.
Posted 10/8/2018 5:59 PM (GMT -5)
Thank you so much for the supportive encouraging responses. I will stop asking how he is! And Ill adjust my attitude a bit to look at this as a bump in the road along the journey. I'm sure I will be checking in again and again.
Posted 10/8/2018 10:28 PM (GMT -5)
I got hot flashes that where lasting about 30 minutes approximately 3 x daily. I was driivng my Urologist crazy trying to find drugs to lessen there problem on me, We tried Veneflaxine Effexlor at 900 mg / day) then when it failed moved onto Gabapentin at 1200mg / day

Gapabentin has been working well for probably close to 1 1/2 yrs now and hopefully for a lot longer as there is no break in a Lupron vacation for me!

Best of luck to you!
Posted 10/10/2018 4:20 PM (GMT -5)
You've had all good responses here from guys stating that it hit them to different extents at different times. Like everything that seems to come with PCa, it seems the answer is always "Everyone's case is a bit different". For me, it took nearly a month to experience the hot flashes then I started to notice things gradually over a period of time. The bottom line seems to be though that if you are on ADT long enough, eventually, you'll know it. One thing that really helped with me was exercise. I really boosted my routine when I started ADT and I swear it helped me to diminish and put off the effects and while it ended up after two years that I couldn't outrun all of the nasty side effects of ADT, I do believe that the strenuous exercise helped to make my two years more tolerable.
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