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Posted 7/15/2019 5:23 PM (GMT -5)
Mattam, that’s what my RO at MSKCC said to me, that there is some question as to the cardio detriment. Are you also mentioned that it is thought that Firmagon has less cardio side effects than Lupron does. Which is a contradiction. Well I do know for sure is that after a few months of 0 T, my triglycerides shot up to 450 and 500

I have no proof of cause-and-effect and I know that the cohort of one is not science. But all that time I was being fairly careful about what I eat and exercising somewhat regularly
Posted 7/16/2019 9:10 PM (GMT -5)
Results are in. Testosterone dropped from 67 to 62. 🤮🔫.
So progression has been
April - 7
May - 48
June -67
July - 62.
June to July was different lab . But still, Not happy
Posted 7/17/2019 8:48 AM (GMT -5)
But...what is your PSA? 😉
Posted 7/17/2019 9:06 AM (GMT -5)
my doc tells me T measurement can be somewhat unreliable. Wait, retest.

don't panic.

again.
Posted 7/17/2019 2:15 PM (GMT -5)

mattam said...
But...what is your PSA? 😉

Didn't test, don't wanna know. I'll test that in November which is my next follow up with the RO. If its rising already, which is doubtful (i think) with such a low level of T, we wouldn't be doing anything about it anyway for a while. So i might as well enjoy my summer.
If my thinking is flawed, feel free to let me know.
Posted 7/17/2019 2:16 PM (GMT -5)

InTheShop said...
my doc tells me T measurement can be somewhat unreliable. Wait, retest.

don't panic.

again.

Thanks Andrew, yeah, i read that somewhere, actually it was here i think. My doc (PCP) said the drop from 67 to2 in 3 weeks is meaningless and can be accounted for by a change in labs.
Posted 7/17/2019 2:32 PM (GMT -5)
"If my thinking is flawed, feel free to let me know."

Lol. No, it is not.🙂
Posted 7/17/2019 5:11 PM (GMT -5)

mattam said...
"If my thinking is flawed, feel free to let me know."

Lol. No, it is not.

I beg to differ......
Posted 7/17/2019 5:44 PM (GMT -5)

Pratoman said...
If my thinking is flawed, feel free to let me know.

Ok, glad to help you out with that.
(Which way did you come in?)
😇
Posted 7/17/2019 6:16 PM (GMT -5)
2 geniuses. You 2 should get a room. 🤭
Posted 7/17/2019 6:16 PM (GMT -5)
2 geniuses. You 2 should get a room. 🤭
Posted 7/17/2019 8:05 PM (GMT -5)
My last Lupron shot should have "worn off" in April of 2014, although I had hot flashes for 2-3 months afterwards. I didn't have my testosterone checked until September and it was 176. And then it went back down to 96 and basically has kicked around anywhere between 93 and 313 since then.

Assuming you also finished in April, July might still be too soon to see much of a climb. But I'd also be frustrated if I were you.
Posted 7/17/2019 8:35 PM (GMT -5)
Michael, nope my last shot was November, so should have “worn off” end February.
Posted 7/17/2019 9:56 PM (GMT -5)
Well, perhaps I was *early* April. That would only give us a six-week differential. But I guess my overall point stands...it's quite possible that it"s still too soon for you to know, although I feel your frustration. (To this day, I wonder if ADT permanently knocked my T out of whack. Then I also wonder if that's a good or a bad thing...)
Posted 7/18/2019 10:37 AM (GMT -5)
Yes I think you are correct too soon. And my fear like you, is that I won’t ever get back to baseline T.
Posted 12/24/2020 9:45 AM (GMT -5)
I realized that I have not updated this thread since July 2019, shortly after I finished ADT + SRT, so figured I should, as there are newbies reading the thread. Although not much to update, thankfully.

PSA as of last month remains undetectable at <.05. I’ve thought at times, about testing at Labcorp with a lower threshold for undetectable, but I keep coming back to the same conclusion, I’m not going to do anything at low levels anyway, and if it shows something unexpected, it will only aggravate me. And even if I have no data points below .05, using that threshold will give me plenty of time to see doubling time before I need to make decisions.but hopefully, I’ll never have to deal with that possibility.

Testosterone has recovered somewhat at 268, but not quite back to my already low baseline of 322. But the side effects are all gone, aside from stubbornly high triglycerides, but I’m not attributing that to Lupron, I’ve always struggled with it.

So two years after SRT, and 2 years since my last 3 month Lupron shot, and life is good. No side effects, no detriment to quality of life, and aside from Covid restrictions, I’m enjoying every day.

Hope this gives encouragement to some newbies just starting out on their road to treatment and recovery.
Happy Holidays to All.
Posted 12/24/2020 9:50 AM (GMT -5)
All in all, plenty to be grateful for. Continued success ahead, Prato!
Posted 12/24/2020 2:54 PM (GMT -5)
Thanks Mattam. Yup, I’m grateful the way things are going,
Posted 12/24/2020 3:57 PM (GMT -5)
Congrats, Pman! Noting wrong keeping your current PSA test. It's whatever floats your boat. Assuming all is good now, it might be helpful to do a one-time Labcorp uPSA so -- just in case your PSA ever rises to 0.05 or a bit higher -- you'll know how much of an increase that actually represents, and over what timespan as well. Or, continuing to follow with a uPSA would give you info about your trends. For example, a rise from, say, 0.015 to 0.025 might be followed by a long or very long plateau before any further rise -- or no rise at all. But, as you know, it's a question of balancing curiosity and anxiety for high risk men.

Djin, who has a 6-month uPSA next week.
Posted 12/24/2020 6:53 PM (GMT -5)
Djin, thank you. Yes, i will take the anxiety off the table by sticking to the .05 threshold. If its good enough for MSKCC its good enough for me. Normally, i'm a data guy and i want as much data as i can get. But in this case sleeping well is more important to me than data.

Good luck on your uPSA test next month!
Posted 12/24/2020 7:05 PM (GMT -5)
PRATO
More that good enough. You are doing x-cellente!~
Best wishes my main man!
WINGMAN
Posted 12/24/2020 10:39 PM (GMT -5)

Tremendous news, Pratoman --- "UNDETECTABLE" --- a wonderful gift, this holiday season --- one that requires no gift wrapping, gift tag, or bow ---- and you are already the grateful recipient --- and the sense of sincere gratitude you expressed in this great news.

Thankful for this tremendous news ----- and what a wonderful way to welcome the NEW YEAR ahead!

UNDETECTABLE --- best gift of your holiday season, Pratoman!

Here's to a bright NEW YEAR ahead ~~~
C-Y-C-L-O-N-E ~~~ # Iowa State University
Posted 12/25/2020 9:20 AM (GMT -5)
Thanks guys,

Cyclone, thank you. The PSA news is sort of old news as I posted about it a month ago
My reason for updating this thread, for which there is a link in my signature, is that newbies have mentioned that they’ve read my story, and for their sake I wanted an up to date record hopefully to give them some encouragement.
Posted 5/12/2021 2:43 PM (GMT -5)
I'm posting this for the newbies, as i know many have read this thread in the past, so i just want to keep it complete and up to date.
First update in a year and a half. As i posted in another thread, i just got another undetectable PSA. This marks 2 years and 3 months since ADT ran its course, and almost 3 years since i finished SRT, so i aTo all m grateful.
Thankfully not much more to report since the last time, except maybe to say, that i guess my biggest problem is no longer prostate cancer, its getting old, having turned 70 in November. But it beats the alternative. PCa is again on the back burner for another 6 months.
To all the newbies, no matter what, there is life and its mostly good, after PCa.
Posted 5/31/2021 1:45 PM (GMT -5)
So glad to hear you are doing well, Pratoman. And thank you for your generosity in sharing in so much detail for all of us to benefit. Wishing you all the best.
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