Dealing with puppy fat, tummy fat, muscle wastage, hot flushes, hair loss, fatigue and other.

Hi,

I was diagnosed back in June 2023, at the age of 61 I became increasingly aware of a need to get up several times per night to have a pee and deciding to get it checked out. I'm Gleason 'high 7' (4&3), T3a N1 M0 (click on my profile for full 'bed time reading' history). This community site has been so useful to me - thanks all, reading the experiences of others to get an idea of what to expect etc. Anyway, I've finally decided that it's time to post my own conversation something that I have been reflecting on over the last week or so. And it's really a question about side effects being experienced to compare with those that other members are experiencing or have experienced and how they deal with them and to which particular med the side effects might be attributed to.

My reflection started with the wife who pointed out to me last week that my  face was puffing up, like with 'puppy fat' - tremendous! Also, I'm getting a flabby belly spread like a beer belly except more 'flabby'. And it's not as if I am stuffing myself with cakes or drinking gallons of beer! Should have mentioned the meds I'm on - doh!!🙄. I commenced on 3 years worth of 3 monthly Prostap injections 11 weeks ago following a few weeks of bicalutimide tablets. And I'm on alendronic acid with the Adcal tablets. And tamsulosin. I've just had chemo cycle 5 out of 6 (Docetaxel with Prednisolone). 

Having done some reading, I reckon that much of the puppy fat could be attributed to the prednisolone and if so might I expect an easing of the 'puppy/belly' fat once I stop taking that after completing chemo? Or is it really the Prostap that is mostly causing this and therefore should I expect 3+ more years of fat expansion? At the moment, I am doing my best to try mitigate this by upping my exercising 🚴‍♀️🐾 but it is not working yet - granted it's early days though.

I'm putting the hot flushes down to the prostap which seem to be increasing in regularity and becoming really 'hot burners' especially at night, having to throw the duvet off several times only to then have to retrieve it when all goes cold again. So is it the best part of 3 more years to expect with that as well then?

The muscle wastage and lack of energy, again must be the postrap and of course the docetaxel. It's getting harder to lift the legs when walking the dogs up hills and definitely harder on the bike. I'm hoping that this will improve once the chemo cycles complete, leaving me to have to fight the prostap effects - so that's the best part of 3 years to expect again for that then?   

The fatigue / extreme tiredness, at the moment must be a direct result of the docetaxel. A regular pattern following each chemo cycle where I get totally wiped out on days 3 and 4 followed by very slow recovery over the remaining week. Luckily for me days 3 and 4 coincide with the weekend, so I can flake out with the footy on the TV. I'm expecting the fatigue effects to ease considerably once the chemo completes. Although, I will then be having radiotherapy which will bring a whole new set of side effects to look forward to! 

I have other side effects which again can probably be attributed to the Prostap, such as my private bits shrivelling up (good job I'm not wanting to audition for the Full Monty and good luck to the nurse who will have to find it to put in a cathetar when I have the brachy knock out).

And of course, there's the hair loss caused by the chemo. I went for the cold cap in an attempt to preserve what little head hair I have. So far so good, it works and I found it tolerable, you just need to get to the 15 minute mark and the body seems to adapt and get used to it, then you can do it. Other, body hair has largely fallen out, and unlike Billy Connelly's observation of his, my willy no longer looks like Stewart Grainger more like Kojak's 😄.  

Not to mention loss of taste, probably caused by the docetaxel. I try to get some taste experience by having the wife's hottest vindaloos, but otherwise food is pretty bland and I hope this improves after the chemo completes 🤞.

Apologies, a bit of rambling post but please reply with your experiences especially if you are further on the treatment trail than me.

Thanks

Spongebob

Yes, thanks for confirming my thoughts. I think I just hit a point last week when I sat down and took stock of all the things that are happening to my body with a sobering realisation of the magnitude of the situation, particularly the 'need to be in it for the long haul' which is really hitting home. There is no quick fix and unfortunately means that my body will continue on a road of radical change in physique, strength and fitness. The fatigue is a massive impact, I really try to keep active to try to mitigate this, not swimming, that was my son's game as he was a competitive swimmer as a kid (my job was taxi driver and spent many, many hours sat in and around swimming pools). Instead, I try get out for long daily walks and try to keep going on the mountain bike but I can tell particularly with the bike how much off the pace I have quickly become - still, I'm persevering, it's not a race after all!

Re-loss of taste, I might have seen the pineapple tip before but unfortunately no, I've forgotten it and not tried it. I've found that the impact on taste has increased with the number of chemo cycles, though actually not that bad to start with but now after chemo no 5, most food that I previously enjoyed is now tasteless and a brew (cup of tea) is pretty disgusting to boot! I have just got one chemo cycle left, under the current plan anyway, so I'll ride it out and hope that my taste is restored at some point.

Hi Olefogey,

Glad to hear that you are well on the way out the 'other side', it is encouraging to hear that at some point we can expect some return towards our previous levels of self. It is the 'long road' nature of the treatment and the associated huge impact on the body that is currently hitting home for me. Not being able to do things anywhere near previous levels or even do them at all is what I am trying deal with. And, you will be pleased about the welcome return of body hair, although I think that possibly the only positive impact of all the side effects is the loss of nasal and ear hair, something to raise a glass to.

You raise a good point about this whole business being something that generally impacts us 'old gits' and being of that age even in normal circumstances it is incredibly difficult to achieve the higher levels fitness. We need to be realistic, I guess with our hopes and expectations. Without using flashy diagrams I do gauge myself against benchmarks as per your good suggestion. For me it might be in terms of how easy I find it walking or biking to a certain point. It's certainly something that I have found myself doing during the chemo, in order to make a mental note of how I am progressing against each cycle. 

Yep, we do need to find our ways of coping with all this, I try not to think about the alternative.