Hi.
I would be interested to know if anyone else has suffered debilitating side effects from Apalutamide.
I started Apalutamide at the end of July in addition to my 3-monthly Zoladex injections. Everything was hunky-dory until about 5 weeks in when I started to get joint pain, dizziness and bleeding gums. This got progressively worse. Thankfully, the gum bleeding has now ceased following intervention from my dentist, and the dizziness is intermittent. Muscle and joint pain is a common side effect of the drug, but the pain in my ankles, wrists and especially my hands is getting worse to the point of restricting my day-to-day life. Painkillers do little more than take the edge off.
After week 7 my oncologist stopped the Apalutamide in the hope the joint pain would diminish and then cease. He suggested that the Apalutamide has a half-life of four days and should be out of my system completely after 10, so I should be completely clear of it by now. Following my latest review with no improvement, he stopped it for a further month. The Apalutamide was clearly doing its job, bringing my PSA down from nearly 12 to 1.75 at my last review. My big concern is that the joint pain is permanent and that these side effects are not reversible.
Has anyone else experienced similar?