God help me, I am self combusting!
Peri-menopause & menopausal ladies out there...total bloody respectđ„”
Hot flushes, lost libido, growing boobs, weight gain, mood swings, hair growth & lossâŠthey really did not sell it to me! When I weighed these side effects up against the other available option (faster growing cancer cells), I thought to myself âI can handle a few hot flushes and a couple of extra pounds round the bellyâ. How wrong was I!
Before we continue, let me quickly dive in here and say thank you to all of you reading this post and my other ramblings. Talking about these subjects openly make it less of a taboo subject for men (and their partners/family/friends) who quite often will just suffer in silence and not seek the help or support they need to get through some shit health journeys. So please share this post with your network! If just one other man, like myself, gets his ass to the GP because he has some âslightâ concernsâŠour work here is totally worth it đđ».
Back to the hormone therapy! Following my previous post (Scans, full bladders and tattoos...) where I shared Nurse âday of the deadâ injecting the largest needle known to man into my stomach, I walked away from that appointment with a confidence that nothing was really going to change. I never had really suffered from prescription drug side effects before so why would this one be any different?
Well, this prescription drug was going to totally let me know that it was doing its job.
Nothing really happened for a quite a while, and looking back I couldn't even tell you at what point these things kicked inâŠbut let me share with you my âjoysâ of being on hormone therapy.
Loss of Libido: Now in fairness, when a Doctor tells you that you have prostate cancer, performs a biopsy on you, takes away your prostate through your belly button and then tells you that you that the cancer is probably still in you somewhereâŠthe libido will take a bashing. However, there was a real noticeable lack of any sexual desire, it was like there was nothing, zilch, nada. I have always had a relatively good sex drive (donât get me wrong, I am no Rod Stewart) but this treatment really did switch off that desire.
ED (or erectile dysfunction): I thought that this was the natural next side effect to mention after libido loss and also the most sensitive subject that us men do not want to talk about:
âFellow men! Some tough love here. The sooner you address the fact that your penis and itâs functioning is probably not the same as it was pre-prostatectomy, the quicker easier and more fun you can have in getting somewhere near to where you want it to be. Speak to the ED nurse, they can help and my lord do they have some weird props you can share a laugh overâ
So yes, with the reduction of testosterone in your body, getting an erection will probably take a back seat like mine did.
Weight gain: I have always been built pretty much like a bean pole. I can polish off a packet of Jammy Dodgers in one sitting and sink a few pints without it having too much effect on my weight. No longer, not with this hormone flowing through the veins. I first started to notice my belly and spare tyre, it generally just got a lot bigger and wobblier, something that I had never really had before. Then the moobs appeared. I joke you not they got pretty big and could even properly shake them. I pair of nipple tassels, a new account on Only Fans and I could have made my fortune (there is niche for everything apparently on that site).
Hot flushes: And to the finale of side effects! Fuck me, this was the strangest experience that I have ever had. They appeared, stealthily and without pre-warning and they made me glow from the inside out. Take this side effect seriously gents, it is like someone has turned a thermostat up to maximum inside of you and there is no controlling it. Stand outside naked in the snow, no change! Open the freezer door and put as much as your body in as possible, no change! Waft the newspaper around your head, no bloody change! These hot flushes happened at anytime, in any place that they wanted to. There was no planning for these episodes, they lasted about 5 to 10 minutes, and they would make me have to stop whatever I was doing for a bit and ride it out. the worst times was when I was in bed and I would have a hot flush and then Louise (wife and better half) would then have her turn in turning up the body temperatuređ„”.
For me, my treatment plan allowed for me to come off the hormones after three rounds of treatment and it took approximately 12 weeks for things to settle down again and feel a little more in control of my body. But, boy, that was a tough year trying to get to my new normality after surgery and deal with those side effects. Would I have changed the approach, probably not, it was right for me at the time. My advice would be to get ready for these things to happen and then at least you are mentally prepared.
Radiotherapy is next on the journey, so head on over to my next postâŠ
If you need more support then there are some great charities ready to help:
United Kingdom: https://prostatecanceruk.org
United States: https://www.pcf.org