Casodex: Taken at Morning or Night?

Regulator · June 2018

Greetings,

I just started Casodex for the first time yesterday (at 4:00 pm) and I'm curious about the preferred timeframe chosen by others for taking this particular medication?

Unlike many other meds, the side effects of a single 50mg daily Casodex tablet seem to persist for me well into the next day, such that they haven't even dissipated before the next daily dosage is scheduled. That was a surprise to me. And although the drug and its side effects are still relatively new to me (only one day of experience), some of those effects are proving to be fairly hefty, particularly headaches, dizziness or light-headedness, and a rapid heart rate.

So, I thought I'd ask others here that have experience with Casodex whether or not they have a preferred time of day to actually take the drug (morning or night)?

Thanks to all!

Bill91101 · June 2018

Daily Casodex Ritual
Hi Regulator,
This might not be of much help in your situation, since I have been doing well with Casodex (relative to what some of the other guys have written about) and it sounds like your daily dose could have a greater impact on you than what I have experienced. The first week I took Casodex (if I remember correctly) I was 'out of it', but no dizziness or rapid heartbeat. Since then, I've only had minor fatigue and depression during the day, nothing extreme.
I take Casodex daily, normally between 9 and 10 am as part of my morning ‘ritual’ (coffee, oatmeal, etc.) I haven’t tried taking it later in the day – mainly because I think I might forget.
This is my second round of HT as I was on Degarelix and then Vantas back in 2009 to 2012 - so, maybe I am 'acclimated'.
I started up with daily Casodex, then 90 day injections of Zoladex in middle of 2016. Went off Casodex after two months (continued Zoladex). My PSA went up, so I went back on the Casodex in the middle of 2017.
I had a hellacious hot flash a couple of weeks ago, shortly after the latest Zoladex injection, but not since (no complaints).
Hope the above helps
Bill

Regulator · June 2018

Bill91101 said:
Daily Casodex Ritual
Hi Regulator,
This might not be of much help in your situation, since I have been doing well with Casodex (relative to what some of the other guys have written about) and it sounds like your daily dose could have a greater impact on you than what I have experienced. The first week I took Casodex (if I remember correctly) I was 'out of it', but no dizziness or rapid heartbeat. Since then, I've only had minor fatigue and depression during the day, nothing extreme.
I take Casodex daily, normally between 9 and 10 am as part of my morning ‘ritual’ (coffee, oatmeal, etc.) I haven’t tried taking it later in the day – mainly because I think I might forget.
This is my second round of HT as I was on Degarelix and then Vantas back in 2009 to 2012 - so, maybe I am 'acclimated'.
I started up with daily Casodex, then 90 day injections of Zoladex in middle of 2016. Went off Casodex after two months (continued Zoladex). My PSA went up, so I went back on the Casodex in the middle of 2017.
I had a hellacious hot flash a couple of weeks ago, shortly after the latest Zoladex injection, but not since (no complaints).
Hope the above helps
Bill

Many thanks, Bill! I

Many thanks, Bill! I appreciate the feedback. Sounds like you've done pretty well on Casodex without too many side effects, and I hope my experience with it will mellow with time as well. Don't really know how long I'm expected to take it, but I suspect at least 2-3 weeks (which I can easily handle), but at that point, who knows? To be honest, I'm kinda confused for now, because I've been advised by a surgical oncologist not to take Lupron prior to surgery (should future surgery actually occur). I suspect that a decision one way or the other (on surgery vs. RT) will have been made by then, so I suppose I'll eventually be referred to (or assigned) a medical oncologist who will make those decisions.

Clevelandguy · June 2018

Hi Regualtor,

Hi Regualtor,

Might want to discuss the dosage and side effects with your doctor. Each person will have different reactions to medications and your doctor should be the one that can raise or lower your dose or advise on the frequency of take your meds.

I take several crunchy M&M's daily to sooth the savage beast inside me, LOL.

Dave 3+4

hopeful and optimistic · June 2018

Medical Oncologist

This person needs to be the leader of your Medical Team....you want to research and find the very very best that you can afford. There are some that specialize in prostate cancer only.

Old Salt · June 2018

Patient info

I kept the patient info that came with the Casodex that I was prescribed (50 mg/day). Did you get it? It's quite informative and states that one should speak to the prescribing doctor (or pharmacist) if there's an (apparent) problem.

Among others, my leaflet states that one can take Casodex with or without food, preferably at the same time each day. For you, that would be 4 PM.

The leaflet also describes the most common side effects. Dizziness is common, but there are more serious side effects as well.

tonybuxton · June 2018

Regulator said:
Many thanks, Bill! I
Many thanks, Bill! I appreciate the feedback. Sounds like you've done pretty well on Casodex without too many side effects, and I hope my experience with it will mellow with time as well. Don't really know how long I'm expected to take it, but I suspect at least 2-3 weeks (which I can easily handle), but at that point, who knows? To be honest, I'm kinda confused for now, because I've been advised by a surgical oncologist not to take Lupron prior to surgery (should future surgery actually occur). I suspect that a decision one way or the other (on surgery vs. RT) will have been made by then, so I suppose I'll eventually be referred to (or assigned) a medical oncologist who will make those decisions.

casodex

if you're taking Casodex with Lupron, the side-effects are from the Lupron. Casodex has virtually no side effects other than breast enlargement, which affects some people.

I have been on Casodex monotherapy 50 mg for nearly 4 years, it is highly effective and I've had no side effects.

Regulator · June 2018

tonybuxton said:
casodex
if you're taking Casodex with Lupron, the side-effects are from the Lupron. Casodex has virtually no side effects other than breast enlargement, which affects some people.

I have been on Casodex monotherapy 50 mg for nearly 4 years, it is highly effective and I've had no side effects.

Tony,

I appreciate your comments and I certainly respect your opinion, but I'm afraid I cannot agree that Casodex has no inherent side effects on its own. I just began taking it for the first time this week (at 50mg dosage), and it lloks like I won't be having my first dose of Lupron for another 2-4 weeks yet, but I can assure you that the side effects of light-headedness, dizziness, rise in heart rate, mild headache and mild fatigue are absolutely real!

However, there are notable reports out there on-line that the drug has widely different side effects on different people, so its entirely possible that you and I are simply different in that respect.

Thanks again.

Regulator · July 2018

For the potential benefit of

For the potential benefit of others in the future, I'm going to post one final comment here on this topic and then close-out the thread.

I've been on Casodex now for about 4-weeks, with my first Lupron scheduled for 7/15, but I found the best overall time to take the Casodex was immediately upon waking in the morning. That way, the more troubling side effects (including some insomnia), had wore-off by bedtime.

Thanks again to everyone for your comments and best wishes to all.

Casodex: Taken at Morning or Night?

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