Mood swings 1 year after HT ends.

I’m sorry I’ve not posted on hear for a while but TBH my heads not really been in the right place to be able to offer support to others.  Whilst the physical scars of 2 years of Hormone treatment continue to improve, the mental scars are very much still present…in fact I feel worse now than I did when on Prostap. Although the debiltating physical side effects did cause me some distress at times, generally I felt quite good, positive and happy….and most importantly did not suffer mood swings that some people do, although perhaps some of that is down to Sertraline. At my last PSA test I felt alive, I felt my manhood was on the way back and I was enjoying it. This last couple of months I have suffered awful mood swings. not so much depressed but just angry and short tempered (even more so than normal!). I seem to spend a lot of time in a BAD mood😩
it’s now almost exactly 1 year since this poison(Prostap) was out my system but I’m finding the least bit thing sets me into a bad mood, which can last for days. My poor wife bears the brunt of my moods and I find I am constantly snappping at her over trivial things. There are some family issues ATM(elderly relatives which need significant care). I managed to have a good conversation with my wife on Thursday and have been feeling better for it, which is why I feel able to post this today.

i went to Maggies on Friday, and the moderator of the group, who was a head urology nurse previously and knows her stuff, suggested it could just be a hormonal thing and I’m just going through a moody teenager phase.

I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced these side effects when their testosterone returns.

I get my next PSA test on Monday, but I’m not stressed about it this time fortunately😊 I should get the results by Friday but am quite positive that they will be ok.

Hi mate,

I've missed you, but assumed that you were on a longer than usual Fuerteventura holiday. 

I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling a little. I fully understand the affect of looking after elderly relatives, when you're also having to deal with PCa.

I looked after mum 93 year old mum for over 7 years, and for many of them I was trying to look after myself. It's exhausting.

I also get bad tempered and occasionally still feel angry and hard done by. It's just part of dealing with this disease.

I'm glad you're back mate, and hope you gradually feel a bit better.

Edited by member 06 Jul 2025 at 16:55  | Reason: Typo

Derek, as you've probably heard already, recovery for getting back to normal post HT apparently takes about the same amount of time as you were on the drug.

My suspicion is, that the mental side of recovering from a couple of years of chemical castration is quite a separate issue to the physiological side of things and it can be disregarded by specialists who are totally focused on the cancer.

For comparison, I'm now about 3 years past the end of my RT and 2 years into good levels of testosterone. Most aspects of life are back to near normal for me but after a initial impression of rapid improvement, some things have been slower to come back. My sleep, for example, is sometimes poor and keeping my weight down has required calculated effort where previously it looked after itself at a healthy level.

If I ever need treatment for recurrence I'll be trying hard to avoid HT.

How is your testosterone level? Low testosterone is associated with grumpiness and while I remember you've had signs that it might be recovering, the actual figures could be informative.

Jules

Thanks for your responses guys, as always you are so supportive. i should have posted a while ago.🤦‍♂️

I have nothing to feel angry about, I’m away on a River cruise on Saturday and hopefully I will have my positive PSA result back by then. My surgery is now refusing to give me a Testosterone Test and its costs a fortune in the UK to get it done privately(unless someone knows of somewhere at a reasonable price?), so I’ll wait until I’m out in Fuerteventura where I can get it done cheaply at 25€.

The problem is my wife never brings me to task when I am like this, she is just so tolerable of people(even me!) but I know it upsets her when she just goes quiet. So I’ve told her to just say to me ‘Please don’t speak to me like that!’ Firmly…and keep doing it until I behave, and since we had that conversation she’s not had to do it once. I’ve actually had a much better weekend…maybe it’s because I’m back on here? Oh, and some Retail Therapy at the Next Sale getting ready for the cruise😊

I do have issues with my mother-in-law, who is 97 and still in her own home, but only because of the care provided by my wife and her sister. This requires 2 or 3 days a week of travelling 45 minutes to be with her mum for most of the day. Sometimes I feel like we’re  being robbed of our retirement- we’ve been looking after elderly relatives for the last 20 years.  I know I’m being  selfish but I think since I was diagnosed with PCa I just want us to enjoy every minute of our time together without always having the burden of having to think about others before we do anything. Maybe faced with our own mortality makes you feel as though you want to look after Number 1.

Anyway I’ve babbled on for long enough😊 - I’ll post my PSA result on Friday and make an effort to be more involved in this fantastic Community again.

take care everyone,

Derek