Zytiga

djmulloy

Diagnosed in 2014 Gleason score 9. PSA off the chart. 44 radiation treatments and Lupron. PSA went down. Fast forward late 2021. PSA 24. Super scan PC spread to lymph glands above and below waist. Started Zytiga in 1/22 with 6 month Lupron. 4x250mg once a day. Reduced to 2x250mg this year. PSA .04 since 2/22. Each month feel worse. Can barely get out of a chair, can't walk a mile, need to rest going up a flight of stairs. I've been taking zytiga for about 30 months. What if I stop? PSA and testosterone goes up and PC returns? I was diagnosed and treated for bladder cancer this year.

djmulloy

Clevelandguy

Hi,

If it was me I would look into a different ADT drug with less side effects. A lot of men have strong side effects with Lupron. I have included a list of ADT drugs you can discuss with your doctor. The ADT drugs will suppress but not cure your cancer. Did you treat the lmyp nodes with some form of radiation? Proton beam can be used to kill the cancer if you cannot have more radiation.

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/prostate-cancer/treating/hormone-therapy.html

Dave 3+4

Old Salt

A complete 'physical' seems prudent to see what else might be going on.

Do continue to exercise, please.

Josephg

You are getting good advice above.

FIRST, get a complete physical, including all blood and related metabolic work, to determine your current non-PCa related health. You may very well have something else going on here. Are you taking Prednisone daily, as well? To my knowledge, it is required to be taken along with Zytiga, to stop Zytiga from doing negative things to your body.

I know that everybody's ADT experiences are different in all ways, so one's experience cannot automatically be compared to another one's experience. However, I was on Zytiga, Lupron, and Prednisone for 2+ years, and I did not experience any month-to-month declining energy or health-related issues over this period of time. Yes, I did experience many ADT effects, including reduced energy for a few months into the treatment, but it stabilized to a constant reduced energy effect for the remainder or the ADT period. I also had a previous 6 month ADT treatment of Lupron only earlier in my PCa journey, and I don't believe that for me the ADT effects impact from the Zytiga/Lupron/Prednisone cocktail were any more pronounced.

If you are diagnosed to be in decent health apart from PCa, then a discussion of alternate ADT treatments, or even an ADT vacation, should take place. Hopefully, you are under the care and management of a Medical Oncologist specializing in PCa. If you aren't for some reason, in my non-medical professional opinion, you should make that move, sooner than later. They are the experts in ADT treatment options and deliveries.

I wish you the best of outcomes on your PCa journey.