Fatigue and HT

User

Posted 19 Mar 2015 at 11:48

Hi!

My husband Pete has just started Casodex for a few weeks before the prostap injection.

The trouble is, he was already feeling tried- it was one of the first things he noticed which was wrong prior to diagnosis. Well now, even though he has only been on Casodex for a week, he is absolutely shattered. He says it feels like he hasn;t had any sleep, and describes his whole body as achingly tired, with his eyes stinging.

Naturally it;s a bit worrying, especially as he hasn't even had the first injection.

Did anyone else experience this extreme fatigue? The Drs keep telling him it's nothing to do with the cancer?!! But before this he was always the first one up, and had loads of energy, It's just not like him and it's upsetting him a bit. Had a full blood count and no anaemia, just low levels of Vit D (he know has a spray).

Could others share their experiences of fatigue and how they dealt with it?

Many thanks!

Ali x

'Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, but faith looks up'

User

Posted 19 Mar 2015 at 18:41

Hi Ali, probably not what you want to hear but extreme fatigue at this stage is unlikely to be down to either the cancer or the casodex. Perhaps more to do with the worry of tests and waiting for results, followed by the shock of diagnosis and emotional impact of accepting he has cancer.

I hope it improves a bit as he comes to terms with the situation.

PS Edited to say, the RP is a major operation and he is probably still recovering from that as well.

Edited by member 20 Mar 2015 at 01:26 | Reason: Not specified

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User

Posted 19 Mar 2015 at 23:15

Hi Ali

I can only say that from my own experience, I noticed a lack of energy slowly getting worse several months prior to diagnosis, but put it down to getting older at 57 and used to joke that I was getting to old to do this anymore. I worked 7 days a week for the last 22 years and for 16 of those holding down a full time job as well as running my own business, but I always counted myself as being pretty fit, it was also one of the reasons I also went to my doctors just like your OH. Whether there is a relationship between Cancer and fatigue I don't know, but i suspect depending on staging there may be some connection due to the symptoms it causes, but that's only my opinion. As for Casodex I suspect your OH is on the 50mg dose to prevent flare which I also had and didn't find it worsened my symptoms, but you may find the injections may have side effects, but we are all different, I am afraid there is no free ride for most of us when taking hormones.

Is your OH getting up in the night to visit the toilet, as this may be why he is tired and lacks energy, so this may ease once the prostate is shrunk by the hormones effect on the Cancer.

All the best

Roy

User

Posted 19 Mar 2015 at 23:34

Hi Ali,

Trevor was much further down the line when he was dx so yes extreme tiredness was evident way before the official diagnosis so I would say the cancer for us certainly made him exhausted. This became more evident once he started the HT but everyone is different . I would say what ever the reason tiredness is our bodies way of saying slow down and rest, sometimes yes it can be just from the stress of being dx and sometimes from the actual disease and also from the various treatments , if the body is saying rest and sleep then that is what he needs to do.

When we sleep we recharge .

BFN

Julie X

NEVER LAUGH AT A LIVE DRAGON

User

Posted 20 Mar 2015 at 10:10

Thanks Julie and Roy for sharing your own experiences. Sorry to hear of the fatigue in both your cases.

It's difficult, My husband had his prostate removed because at the time they thought the Ca was contained, even though his Gleason was 9. At the time of removal they realised it was much more widespread, on bladder neck, seminal vesicles and 1 lymph node. We have since found out there was only one positive margin left, but they have clarified that there are now 2 suspicious lymph nodes outside of pelvis, but still not 100% sure. Which is why they are trying HT before RT apparently.

So the staging isn't absolutely clear, going for a T3c at the moment (and we are praying it stays that way, even though we of course would have preferred stage 2- or nothing at all!!).

Pete also has lypmhodema on left leg, but apparently the blockage extends across his left pelvic region (not cancerous). I had glandular fever as teen and suffered fatigue episodes ever since. SO, glandular fever is a disease of lymph nodes, where they can't get rid of the viruses (simply put!) , so to me, it stands to reason that if lymph nodes are damaged and blocked/ affected by cancer, one symptom would be fatigue? Also surely the body must know something alien is going on and be trying to fight it, which again could cause fatigue?

Just strange to me that more research isn't done on this particular symptom....

Thanks all! x

Edited by member 20 Mar 2015 at 10:12 | Reason: Not specified

'Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, but faith looks up'

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