questions about HT and its side effects

There are a number of ways to maintain penile health - using any erection that does occur, trying to get an erection even if you don't feel randy, using a vacuum pump on a daily basis, etc. Proper vacuum pumps are available on the NHS but it is a bit of a postcode lottery; in some areas they are only available to men who have had the prostate removed, in other areas they are not funded at all. It is worth asking your onco, specialist nurse and / or GP for a referral to the local ED / andrology clinic (if one exists in your area) and if not, then ask your GP whether s/he can / is willing to prescribe.

Re Prostap / Zoladex - some oncos have a strong preference .. others leave it up to the GP to choose. Some GP practices keep all men on the same HT so that the practice nurse is skilled in delivering the depot (which can be a bit of an art). If given the choice, the differences are:

- Zoladex is given in the stomach every 28 days / 12 weeks and should not be done more than 1 or 2 days early or late

- Prostap is given into the stomach or a large muscle such as the buttock or thigh; it is given every month / 3 months and there can be a little bit more flexibility with 3 or 4 days early or late if necessary (for example, if you are away on holiday)

- some doctors prefer Decapeptyl - this is given in the buttock every three months and is available as a 6 month (actually 24 weeks rather than 26) dose as well as 3 month or one month.

Usually, you get a one month dose the first time and then go to the longer dose; as D says, this is in case of a severe reaction. Worth checking whether you will be getting your injection / depot at the hospital or GP practice. Side effects are very similar for all three drugs.

Unlike strong drink, HT taketh away the desire, but not the ability 😁. I certainly found that although I had absolutely zero desire for sex while on HT, I could still achieve an erection through manual stimulation. I tried to do so at regular intervals to keep things in working order during my HT.

Cheers,

Chris

Hi everyone,

It's been a while since I've posted here.

To recap- husband Ian was diagnosed with prostate cancer end of 2019, had his prostate removed in February 2020, and also had radiation in January 2021, and was on HT for 18 months. Ian had his last Prostap injection in November 2021, and is generally doing well, he does however often still get bouts of extreme fatigue, has still 0% libido. We know it can take a while for the body to get back to "normal" after HT. What are your experiences? On Wednesday, Ian will get his testosterone levels checked by the GP. Ian has also got high cholesterol, and has had tests and it is genetic in his case, so he has been exercising a lot and eating very healthily (with intermittent fasting), and has already lost some weight. I'm wondering if he is doing these things too early, and that's why he's getting very tired again.

On HT he was often quite tired, and got lots of hot flushes, which he still gets. His incontinence is a lot better, but it has taken a long time, with pelvic floor exercises, etc. It's been a rough 2 years, and we are both hoping things will improve steadily, it would be great to have some sort of sex life again!

Ian really had a rough time on HT, very bad flushes (still gets them), feeling very tired at times, and also feeling yukky a lot of the time, still has some incontinence, so he deserves to finally feel better!  On top of that his mother has Alzheimer's, and my son has estranged himself from us a few months ago. Luckily we have a lovely house in Portugal where we can go to and escape from it all!

Hello Les,

That's a terrible thing for her to say, and not supportive or accurate.

You're not far from the Luton and Dunstable Prostate Support Group - do feel free to join us. We are currently meeting up monthly in Dunstable Town Centre, and on Zoom.

Serms a reasonably accurate summary to me. HT does cause the body to "feminise". Why do you think it's inaccurate?

Best wishes,

Chris

Thanks Andy for your support. I'll be in contact 

Thanks for your reply. Here's hoping for a similar outcome to you.

L J