Started Xtandi - here's hoping

Started Xtandi 8-18-21. 160 mg once a day right before bed. My PCa has been manageable using ADT treatments up until now. Here's hoping Xtandi works just as well. I have PSA/testosterone/CBC/Comprehensive metabolic panel blood tests to be done at the end of September.

We'll find out then. Not the complete picture, but hopefully an indication that the Xtandi is doing its job.

My PSA had risen from 6.6 to 8.2 from January to July of this year, despite my being on Lupron, and testosterone went from 93 to 23 over the same time. My urologist (me, too) was very concerned over the PSA continuing to rise despite the testosterone dropping. He immediately requested Xtandi and I received approval for it almost immediately. I got a six-month Lupron depot injection 8-9-21. A few hot flashes from the Lupron hit me over this last weekend, which is why I didn’t start the Xtandi right away.

A nurse from the pharmacy that supplied the Xtandi called me last week to tell about Xtandi side effects. She mentioned hot flashes. I told her I knew all about those from Lupron, Degarelix, etc. We had a good laugh. I mentioned my biggest concern about taking Xtandi was the possibility of having a seizure as a side effect. She said that the only time she’s gotten a report of a seizure due to Xtandi was from a patient who had a history of seizures, so she thought the risk to anyone with no history of seizures (like me) was extremely low. The literature I received with the Xtandi shipment confirmed seizures are a rare side effect.

My urologist often expresses his amazement at how well I’m doing considering my initial diagnosis in 2009: PSA of 89; lymph node involvement, etc.; His telling me surgery was not an option and referring me to a radiation oncologist he hoped might be able to help me.

Onward,

Bill