Post RP and SRT journey - oh joy

Grinder said:

2) Inside the brain

There are neurotransmitters in our brain we call happiness chemicals. The most commonly recognized one is dopamine. Dopamine levels can affect mood and general feelings of pleasure and happiness. Here is s description of low dopamine levels...

"Low dopamine levels can lead to a lack of motivation, fatigue, low libido, sleep problems, and memory loss.  Low dopamine plays a role in depression, ADHD, and addictive behavior."

 Well, that doesn't sound good!  Notice it said "addictive behavior". Meth users are especially vulnerable to addictive behavior. The body functions best when dopamine levels are consistently moderate. But certain drugs trigger an inordinate amount of dopamine and other "happiness chemicals" like serotonin and "pleasure centers". Eating a chocolate bar can trigger a couple. Sex can trigger more. Cocaine can trigger more. But Heroine and Meth can trigger an avalanche. The danger though, Meth eventually disables the body's own ability and the addict cannot stimulate these pleasure centers without meth... then you have the classic and sad case where the meth addict is a paranoid delusional nut case hiding inside his house with lights off and curtains drawn, waiting for his next fix of meth so he can feel happy again.

BUT this just illustrates my point about dopamine, etc. I have to wonder how ADT chemicals affect dopamine production or its action. 

My first thought is to increase dopamine levels. EXERCISE is a big one... It increases dopamine, serotonin, endorphins... which is why exercise is always encouraged. Of course we dont feel like exercising... but when we do we are glad we did.

Then there is diet, of course...

"Of the chemicals that make up dopamine, none are more important than tyrosine. In fact, tyrosine is considered the building block of dopamine. Therefore, it is important that you get enough of this protein. There’s a large list of foods that increase Tyrosine, including: Almonds, Avocados, Bananas, Beef, Chicken, Chocolate, Coffee, Eggs, Green Tea, Watermelon, Yogurt." 

 But all this may not help if the chemical used to suppress testosterone production in ADT is also supressing dopamine and serotonin production. Therd are probably naturopathic remedies that can increase  these levels. There is also a lot of snake oil remedies out there that claim to increase them. If you find one that works please let me know.

Maybe one of the other guys knows how Hormone Therapy interacts with dopamine et al production and processing? It is worth a discussion since mood seems to be an issue in ADT.

I don't know if they interact or even if ADT affects dopamine, but when I first read the beginning of your post, "Low dopamine levels can lead to a lack of motivation, fatigue, low libido, sleep problems, and memory loss.  Low dopamine plays a role in depression..." the first thing I thought was "wow, that sounds just like ADT".

Grinder said:

3) Outside of myself

We all know where this is going... Relationships

That includes relationships with other people of course. But as a Christian the focal point is in my relationship with God.

I should probavly speak to that since most people have a distorted view of Christianity.

Quite simply, it is a relationship with God in Christ. Its not about sin, or hell, or especially the Ten Commandments...

Jesus said this...

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.... Matthew 11

This is no illusion on my part. I have discovered this to be true... It is the third wheel on my tricycle, and when I have reached the point where I am at a complete loss to meditate my way out of something, or fail to raise my dopamine levels, I can sense the "Comforter", as Jesus called the Spirit, lift me up and buoy my own spirit through. It doesn't happen all the time, just when it's necessary.

I have a lot more to say about this subject, but the last time we discussed spirituality, the administrators moved the conversation to another forum. So I will just leave at at this...

Also my relationships with family and friends is very important... my wife is an incredible woman, so that helps a lot... BUT it is hard to maintain healthy relationships in this messed up world, so I treat them as a bonus when I am lucky enough to know godly, contented people. 

Hanging out with miserable angry people wont make us feel better, that's for sure.

I don't know if any of this helped, but I do think it's worth a discussion how Hormone Therapy affects dopamine, sertonin, and endorphin production.

I enjoy reading your comments.  The human side and indeed our spiritual side are every bit a part of our journeys with prostate cancer.  I have never been alone in this journey.  I have my family, this site, and the specialists.  I have never let this cancer get me down from PSA; DRE; biopsy (22 samples); blood in your semen; RP; recovery; pathology; incontinence; no more semen.  I think I have said this before; a giant is standing in front of me today, but he is not bigger than the God inside me.  I may lose this battle, but I have to remember I have to live this life, to get to the next one.  Thanks for your comments Grinder.

Yes... I practiced yoga in the past devoid of its religious elements, because it is useful stretching exercise. Similarly, meditation, martial arts, acupuncture, and other Eastern arts are useful when seperated from their traditional "mystic" content 

Eastern meditation includes mantras and mandalas to focus attention and expunge thoughts from the mind that create negative emotions. The most familiar mantra repeated over and over is "Om mani padme hum" simply means  "The Jewel in the Lotus" . But other mantras are actually prayers to Hindu deities Shiva, Ganesh, Krishna, Rama etc. I was startled to learn long ago that a common mantra is actually a prayer asking familiar spirits to enter you. 

That was when I practiced the art of blanking the mind instead of focusing on mantras. de Gama's wife makes an excellent metaphor to describe it. When a thought enters the mind, pop it like a balloon before it creates a negative emotion. Then after a few "balloons" are popped, a homeostasis is achieved of calmness. Its like a reset button. If more trepidation creeps up, hit the reset button again.

After all, once we have decided and arranged for best treatment available, stress brought on by negative thinking is COUNTER PRODUCTIVE. We can do even more damage by giving in to stress, and  not popping the balloons.

If I was confused before, now I am really confused... because another hormone is playing a part in this circus... Prolactin.

"Dopamine and testosterone are intimately linked hormones. When one is high, the other will be high. From everything we have learned so far, high dopamine also correlates to lower levels of prolactin.

This is a clear reason why so many bodybuilders consider it their divine duty to keep prolactin levels low, as this implies that dopamine levels will be high and hence testosterone levels as well.

Prolactin inhibits gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion. This hormone directly stimulates the Leydig cells in the testes to produce testosterone. Higher levels then directly slow formation of new testosterone steroidal hormones.

Testosterone’s relationship with dopamine lies in its ability to stimulate certain areas of the brain that release dopamine. As dopamine directly controls the release of prolactin, we see that high prolactin is almost always connected with low testosterone and low dopamine and vice versa.

This is the bidirectional relationship of regulation that to a great degree, controls levels in men (and to a much lesser extent in women).[11]

"even it it means saying "no" to other people, even those I care about"

Something I dont recall seeing in this forum... stress brought on by the "needy" people in our lives.

We all have them, right? People who just don't have the drive to sustain themselves, emotionally or physically... and have been leaching off family and friends. Sometimes they really are helpless to help themselves... but some times...

If it were me, I would put my condition ahead of needy folks, because if you don't take care of yourself, both emotionally and physically... you won't be any good to them in a pine box.

The ones that love us will understand. The ones that don't, well...

Cushions,

You should realize that you are under the effects of ADT and these may not be noticeable but are there and pinching your feelings constantly. Some are more pronounced on occasions and one needs to be mentally prepared to recognize it as not our own natural, adopting a counter posture. The PSADT index facilitates in grouping cases that should have earlier or later interventions. You are in the "earlier" group so that you did already start the combination salvage therapy. RT will later give the final blow to the bandit.

Just continue plodding.

VG