Update Oct 2026:
I signed up here ages ago, and then forgot about it!
My troubles started mid 2024, when, out of the blue, I could not pee. It just wasn't happening, and it was extremely painful!
I had a sorry situation for the next few months, attending A&E, where I had a catheter in, a catheter out... and it wasn't going away.
I ended up with a box for self cathetering, and have used them a handful of times in the last 18 months. Around the middle of 2025 - a year after my troubles started - I was finally diagnosed with PC stage 4, through a PSA test of 66.
At that point, I didn't really understand what that meant. I knew of the prostate but very little about it. It's like the appendix. It's there, but what's it do...?
I started out on some pills (Abiraterone), which didn't agree with me, so I was changed to Prednisolone and Abiraterone.
The initial dose was 2 of each, once a day. I started having fluid retention in my legs, so I was dropped to one Prednisolone. I asked about the 'hammer to crack an egg' approach of two Abiraterone, and that got dropped to one a day.
I have been stable for 2026, and I have some more bloods lined up soon.
The biggest pain, to me, is the lethargy - the tiredness. I don't sleep too well at night, and I need to go and lie down for a half hour 2-3 times each day.
Yes, it's a real pain, but I have great support from my wife, and we are both handling it as well as we can.
Some days are a waste - why did I bother getting out of bed - but generally, I'm OK.
Whatever happens, it's better than the alternative!
Best wishes to all suffering right now. We are all fully paid up members of a club that nobody ever really wants to join!
