I'm interested in conversations about and I want to talk about
Know exactly what you want?
Show search

Notification

Error

After HRT

User
Posted 12 Jun 2025 at 21:48

Health Update & Question:
I’ve had 3 HRT injections (approximately every 6 months starting in August 2023), alongside 5 weeks of radiotherapy which started 3 months into treatment. I was due for a 4th injection on January 10th this year, but after discussing struggling with ongoing side effects which were getting more intense with my oncologist in November 2024, they agreed the impact on my quality of life was too great and agreed and advised not to continue.

It’s now been just over 4 months since that last scheduled injection, but I’m still experiencing excessive sweats, leg pain, poor sleep, and ongoing urinary leakage (still needing pads daily).

Has anyone else experienced lingering side effects this long after stopping HRT? Would really appreciate hearing from others in a similar situation.

User
Posted 13 Jun 2025 at 05:59

That's a difficult collection of symptoms Nigel. I guess we all vary in the way we recover but at 4 months after finishing ADT you're still very much lacking testosterone and that's the big controlling factor for most of those symptoms. If you were having six monthly injections the effects aren't going to start to wear off until at least six months after your last shot, though I'm not sure if you had the last scheduled injection or stopped at that point. If you were having six monthly shots [that's quite a long interval, three months is more common] they are going to taper off more slowly than the three month interval shots.

My own experience post-HT was gradual but distinct improvement in all of those side effects you mentioned with testosterone returning naturally at about one year. Sweats and leg pain disappeared early, though even now, a couple of years past HT, my sleep is not quite as good as it used to be. I think that's probably a mental thing, rather than something physiological.

The urinary leakage sounds like something related to your earlier prostatectomy and I don't have the experience to offer any thoughts on that one.

Jules

User
Posted 15 Jun 2025 at 15:33

Jules,

My last injection was July 2024 with my last injection due January 2025. I did not have it due to the side effects were to intense to which all parties agreed enough was enough. The hot sweats and leg pain seem to be more intense at the moment, the urinary leakage is due to the 3 stone extra weight I believe.

Thank you for your response

Nigel

User
Posted 20 Jun 2025 at 01:40

I did 22 months on HT. It took 9 months from when the last injection expired to my Testosterone coming back, and when it did, it did it quite suddenly. It's good to get Testosterone tests added to your PSA tests when you finish hormone therapy, so you can see how it's recovering, and because you need to know when it recovers to make sense your your PSA tests.

User
Posted 21 Jun 2025 at 02:40

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member
The hot sweats and leg pain seem to be more intense at the moment, the urinary leakage is due to the 3 stone extra weight

Nigel,

all of those symptoms are very much in line with the loss of testosterone you get with HT. Since it's now nearly a year since you stopped HT [I'm guessing you've had HT as in hormone therapy and not HRT, hormone replacement therapy, which is the term you've used] at your age you might have a return of testosterone soon, which should solve your problems over a fairly short period of time. Since you've had RT and HT to treat recurrence after an earlier prostatectomy you're looking at a bit of a conflict of interest. On the one hand it will be a great relief to have testosterone coursing through your system again, while on the other, staying testosterone free effectively gives you an extension of time for any damaged residual cancer cells to die off.

Once you get out the other side of this you'll find you can improve your muscle strength and fitness and get some satisfaction out of exercise. Weight loss should be possible too, though it seems to be harder after HT to regulate weight in the same way you did it before HT, but that probably varies from person to person.

Press your GP or oncologist for the tests suggested by Andy. psa tests are standard practice but you do have to ask for the testosterone test to be included in your blood tests.

Jules 

 
Forum Jump  
©2025 Prostate Cancer UK