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Hooray I'm off zoladex, let's hope for good.

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User

Posted 01 Dec 2020 at 17:10

Thanks Eddie, glad to hear your sexual function is recovering. I was a bit disappointed with my low testosterone I guess I will have to wait and see how it gets on.

Dave

User

Posted 01 Dec 2020 at 22:20

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Andy, I just know we are going to get a detailed plot of your recovery as it happens. I'm looking forward to it.

😁

I wasn't really paying attention during puberty Mk I.

I will be paying more attention during puberty Mk II.

User

Posted 25 Dec 2020 at 10:15

On three occasions in the last week I have woke up in the middle of the night with a hard on (well perhaps a semi is a better description). I was going to post on the first occasion, but wanted to be sure it wasn't a one off. So at last the ADT is wearing off. Happy Christmas!

Dave

User

Posted 25 Dec 2020 at 11:44

Congratulations!

My last Zoladex officially ran out 3 days ago, so hoping for the same!

User

Posted 25 Jan 2021 at 11:47

I'm happy to say effects of Zoladex seem to have completely worn off. It's more or less exactly a year since the last implant, so nine months after the implant was fully dissolved. As per previous post November testosterone test was very low, but just in the Christmas week I started getting stirings down there, anyway now if I play with little percy, he springs to attention. I'd say I've lost an inch in length and girth and not very firm (if I had joined this forum earlier I would have known what to do about this, but sadly NHS was not proactive in this area). Orgasm are good, but dry which isn't really a problem. I am quite surprised at how rapid the change was between impotence and functioning, and also how long it took after the end of Zoladex for recovery to occur.

Dave

User

Posted 30 Jan 2021 at 21:19

Over the last three years obviously my life has changed and since being on this forum I have learnt a lot.

One thing which I wish I had learned earlier on in treatment was to keep the penis active during HT. There is talk of pumps and tadafil on this site, none of which were offered or mentioned to me by the medics at the time. Even when I had learnt from this forum the importance of these things I couldn't be bothered doing much about it as with HT your interest is so low your penis doesn't seem very important.

Well over the last month the testosterone has been coming back and once again I have some interest in sex. Today I decided on a simple experiment; find out how much length penile neglect has cost me. You don't need much equipment for this experiment, a "tommy the tank mag" and a 12 inch ruler. You also need to be able to remember the result of the same experiment when you were a teenager.

So what's the result: well when I was a teenager length was 5.25 inches, this morning it was 4.75 (you will note I could have saved 50% on the price of a ruler). So it turns out I have only lost about half an inch, and to be honest I may have lost that anyway just due to age. So if you haven't been doing your exercises things might not be too bad, it may have helped that I was only 53 when this all started and fairly fit. Just in case you're interested the average length of a penis is 5.16 inches, so all my teenage friends who claimed to have 6 inchers were probably lying.

And if your wondering if size matters read this article

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4558040/

If you can't be bothered reading it the short answer is Yes women prefer an above average penis.

If you're seriously worried about my trainspotting; "tommy the tank" is rhyming slang.

Edited by member 30 Jan 2021 at 22:22 | Reason: Not specified

Dave

User

Posted 30 Jan 2021 at 21:36

Thank the lord I was blessed in the early days with over 7 “. And 5 1/2 yrs after RP I was left with 6” and have enjoyed its full recovery to the full for the last 2 yrs. Thicker in fact due to all the pump work. But as your recovery starts and life begins again after HT , my life next week turns around again with the start of HT for the remainder of my life and the re-onset of erectile disfunction. A decision I put off for 2 yrs and doubt I will ever regret at the tender age of 53 !

Best wishes to you

User

Posted 30 Jan 2021 at 21:45

Good luck Chris,

We are all rooting for you!

Dave

User

Posted 01 Feb 2021 at 23:14

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

As per previous post November testosterone test was very low, but just in the Christmas week I started getting stirings down there, anyway now if I play with little percy, he springs to attention.

Dave, any idea what your Testosterone was when this happened?

Since I'm following along behind you and looking forward to return in libido, curious to know.

Amazingly, I never measured my length until I was starting PCa treatment, and read that it might shrink. At that point, I started measuring it regularly. It didn't change by even 1mm during the 11 months between starting ADT and finishing EBRT. My consultant warned me it would shrink as a result of the HDR brachy, usually temporarily, but sometimes permanently. It did immediately shrink by about 10%, but recovered over the following 6 weeks. One noticeable difference was that length varied by 1-2% percent each time, and that's continued ever since. Before the HDR, it was always exactly the same length. About 6 months after the HDR, I was really struggling to pluck up the enthusiasm to have erections at all. Some of this was an unrelated emotional issue, and it might also have been a further decline in the already low libido. I went for 3 or more months with a much lower frequency of erections, and I lost about 6% length during that.

This really does highlight the need to keep using it, however boring it is with lack of libido. I'm still struggling to get back to my previous erection frequency. I'm fortunate to have been able to get them when I put my mind to it on hormone therapy, but just about anything including reading this forum or facebook or email or watching an internet cat video is more interesting.

User

Posted 02 Feb 2021 at 10:13

Chris, best wishes from me too. Very difficult decisions, and I admire your brevity.

User

Posted 02 Feb 2021 at 19:32

Sorry Andy, I don't know what the Testosterone level was. I know November it was 1.3. I'm next due a test in June. I still like the cat videos, even though I have a bit of a libido.

Dave

User

Posted 26 Apr 2021 at 22:25

Time for an update. My next onco appointment is in early June and normally I would try and get the psa results about two weeks before this. However with the pandemic, getting a reliable appointment at the GP surgery is troublesome so I booked early and got an appointment for bloods last Wednesday.

I asked for psa and testosterone, whilst I was there I mentioned to the nurse that I hadn't had my ferritin checked for a while and I do have a problem with hemochromatosis which I want to monitor.

The nice nurse said well we'll do a full blood count whilst we are at it.

So here are the results most important first.

First: Testosterone 17.6 up from 1.3 in November. This is back in the normal range. I probably could have guessed this because everything seems to be functioning pretty well, and I'm interested in sex again.

Second: psa 0.2 up from <0.1, but that is not surprising as I still have a prostate and now I have testosterone back so the prostate is active again for the first time in nearly three years.

I would say this is the most important psa test I have had since treatment, as this is the first one which has not been under the influence of HT. As long as it stays below 2.1 everyone will be happy.

Nearly all my other blood results were in the normal range, LDL cholesterol is just above normal. Serum ferritin is 450 which is way above the normal range of 30 to 300 however I know I have genetic susceptibility to this, and I'm quite happy that without treatment for the last 10 years this has not got any worse.

I will see the onco in June to discuss results I think she will be happy with them. I think she will then suggest a psa test in November.

Edited by member 26 Apr 2021 at 22:26 | Reason: Not specified

Dave

User

Posted 26 Apr 2021 at 23:37

That's great Dave, really pleased for you

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

User

Posted 27 Apr 2021 at 00:03

That's good Dave.

My last Zoladex ran out 4 months ago. I had a load of bloods done 5 days ago. The only one they would give me over the phone was PSA which is still <0.01, which probably means still no testosterone. Testosterone was tested too, but I have to wait for it in the post.

Edited by member 27 Apr 2021 at 08:30 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 27 Apr 2021 at 10:19

Good news all round Dave.

Ido4

User

Posted 27 Apr 2021 at 11:28

Great to hear your good news Dave. Also very encouraging for those who have a way to go with HT and wondering what life could be like following on from their last injection. Keith still has a long way to go but just thinking this could happen for him after treatment, and many like him, is so encouraging.

Ange x

User

Posted 27 Apr 2021 at 16:20

You've looked into it in depth and written a lot on here so if you're happy that's great. I don't know much about routes other than my own.

All the very best, Peter

User

Posted 02 Dec 2021 at 23:43

An update nothing new to report yet but will have a PSA result in a few days.

I went down for the PSA test today, so results in the next few days. I had my third COVID jab two days ago and I deliberately timed it like this to test the hypothesis that the jab increases PSA, so if it goes through the roof I won't panic I will just get another PSA test in a few weeks to see if it goes down again.

A few people have reported high PSA after a covid jab, so this little experiment is in order that I can give advice based on practical experience, should anyone in the future have a PSA test near a booster jab.

All my tests whilst on HT were <0.1 after a year of not being on HT it had gone to 0.2 as I still have a prostate and testosterone it should return to a normal level at some point, just picking a figure out of the air perhaps 1.0 would be the new normal. If it got above 2.1 it would be classed as biochemical recurrance, but my onco said he wouldn't start treatment unless it got above 5.0 .

I know lots of people have PSA anxiety, but I'm not that bothered, I think that is because I know it has yet to settle down at a new normal level so any rise to a number below 2.1 would be OK. Though the speed PSA rises is very important, so actually I would really like to see it rising no more than 0.1 every six months, but then we have to factor in the COVID Jab so if it comes back at 0.5 or less I would be very happy. If it comes back at less than 1.5 I would be happy but would probably be pretty anxious for the next result. If it came back at above 1.5 I would start working through the bucket list just in case.

I did think about starting a thread where we could run a sweepstake on my PSA results. I think PSA Tests would be far more fun if a bit of money was at stake (as well as our lives😯).

I also asked for a testosterone test, believe me I'm no longer worried this is low, quite the opposite. Apparently in Victorian times they covered the table legs as they were too sexy.

(This article refutes the claim, but we all know not to believe the rubbish we read on the internet) https://knowledgenuts.com/victorians-didnt-cover-their-table-legs/

Anyway my testosterone is so high I tried organising a threesome with a Chaise Lounge and a Welsh Dresser . I'm not complaining I am just curious as to how high the testosterone is.

Sadly my physical performance does not quite match my libido, I would probably give that a four out of ten. I might start experimenting to improve this.

I will update further when I get the results, onco meeting is in January, but once again because of COVID and Christmas holidays and bad weather I decided to book the PSA early.

Edited by member 02 Dec 2021 at 23:54 | Reason: Not specified

Dave

User

Posted 03 Dec 2021 at 19:36

Well I would have lost a bet on the direction for PSA. I'm delighted to say it has gone down. Reading has just came in at 0.1 ug/L no less than sign and the app has shown a < before, so I think we can take it as =0.1 .

So just to summarise diagnosed early 2018, HT started straightaway. HDR brachy August 2018, EBRT September 2018. HT stopped April 2020. Allowing for time for HT to clear the system. So it is 3.5 years since diagnosis and about one year since end of all treatment.

All PSA s during treatment were <0.1 first PSA post treatment was 0.2 and now back down to 0.1 . As I said in the previous post I would be very happy with anything under 0.5. so I am very very happy.

Interesting the COVID jab probably made no significant difference. I assume onco will ask for another test in six months. I'm expecting PSA to bob up and down a bit when it reaches its new level, it has clearly not gone on an exponential climb so I think I shall celebrate.

I haven't had the testosterone results back yet. I shall make another post when they come back. As mentioned in my previous post, I only want to know this figure to work out why my sex drive is the same as a teenagers.

Dave

User

Posted 03 Dec 2021 at 22:29

Excellent PSA Dave! Really pleased. Bloody hell, sex drive like teenagers, testosterone must be crazy high! I admire the way you take things in your stride. I remember how calm you were when i first joined here last year, i was in a right state and this site made all the difference to me and my family. I wish i could have no PSA anxiety. It was easier initially as i knew it had to be low but now its a year since dads last HT shot, so every PSA causes a bit of worry.. i do think of what you said.. worrying doesn't change anything. I do try and practice it! Keep smiling.

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