Hi wd52,

Thank you for your suggestion.  The effect of chloroquine sounds good, but casodex and goserelin have similar side effects.  I rarely sleep more than 2 continuous hours and the hot flushes make nights excruciating, hence the intention of not having further implants.  Also, I feel, that the demasculation that goes with hormone treatment is not an acceptable longterm solution for a fit and active male.

I have been investigating Olaparin and HIFU 

www.dailymail.co.uk/.../Why-wont-doctors-tell-prostate-cancer-cure-spare-mans-sex-life.html

Kind regards,

David

About 2 months ago, I ended zoladex after 4 years.

Early on, as the drug took hold, I got terrible insomnia, and have been on 7.5mg per night Zopiclone since about month 5 of the zoladex.

About a year ago, the effect of the zopiclone began to lessen, and I was put on 25mg per night Nortriptyline to boost the effect, which has worked, although I can feel mood shifts from that. I hope to come off both as the effects of the long term zoladex fade.

Luckily, I was able to tolerate the hot flashes (about 2-4 minutes each), and not often at night. I felt I was running at about 1/2 normal energy levels during the 4 years of Zoladex, and I had whole-body aches perhaps once or twice per week from it.

Good luck to you and all.

William

Hi,

I was in contact with wd52 about Zoladex, seems that somewhere in the login process the thread was lost?

I have been on Goserelin/Zoladex since December 2018, PSA down from 2670 to 38 in August 2019 after 8 sessions of Docetaxel and Prednisolone.

PSA was 69 in September and almost 152 on 20th October 2019. 

I do not wish to continue with Goserelin as it is not working and I find the side effects unacceptable.

I shall be most grateful for suggestions from anyone who has (or had) similar symptoms.

Kind regards,

David

I think we were talking about Casodex with chloroquine

Androgen deprivation and androgen receptor competition by bicalutamide induce autophagy of hormone-resistant prostate cancer cells and confer resistance to apoptosis.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/.../23532738

Conclusion: Taken together, our data suggest that autophagy is a protective mechanism against androgen deprivation in HRPCa cells and that chloroquine could restore hormone dependence. This set of data could lead to the development of new therapeutic strategy against HRPCa.

I suffer from Lynch syndrome which gives me low threshold for colon cancer. For this I have annual screening: colonoscopy, abdoment MRI and blood tests.  During screening my PSA was noted to be high at 13 -   Scans demonstrated malignancy involving the whole gland. Gleason Score 4+3 and tumour staging T3d. The 'team' decided that the best option was radicle prostectomy.  Three months after surgery PSA started to rise again. The 'team' decided that hormone therapy plus targeted radiotherapy was the way forward. Had one month of Bicalutamide following by the dreaded Zoladex implant - this will continue to 3 years. After the first week the side effects were absolutely nightmare. I was experiencing hot flushes but  night time was  terrible. After one hour I would wake up sweating and that would be my nights sleep, max 2h. I started taking 4 capsules of rosemary oil, body massage and acupuncture plus daily exercise in gym. This helped me in more than one way.  I would be very tired and fall sleep, my muscles remain same and I felt full of energy. During the radiation I had very little side effects, only towards the end had inflammed bowel which was not that troublesome. Hot flushes have not gone away - I go out in T-shirt when all others are in their winter jackets. Unfortunately, this is the price we have to pay to get better. My advice is - do NOT give up, persevere and keep as much active as you can. Good luck

I have been on Zoladex for nearly 10 years. When diagnosed PSA was 78 with cancer contained in prostate. After 3 months PSA 0.07. Started to rise 2 years ago and when 2.8 last year was given 20 radio therapy sessions. PSA has been 0.16 now for last 6 months. Only side effects were breast enlargement and weight gain so controlled weight easily with diet and exercise. No hot flushes or pain at all. I have always been very active and I am now 73 and still building and renovating houses. I think being very physically active has been my salvation.

I, too, have had one month on Bicalutamide with no side effects at all but within days of having my Zoladex Implant, I had a very loose stomach which eventually dissipated. Far more distressing was having night sweats and horrific nightmares every night. I was in our holiday home in Greece at the time and obviously it was very hot in spite of air conditioning at night. The discomfort was so great that I immediately flew back to the U.K. where it was substantially cooler but the night sweats and nightmares have continued. Taking an anti-anxiety pill has not helped at all so I will meet with my team next week to see what can be done.

Has anybody else suffered from nightmares?

this is a very belated reply to your original post. I have just become a member of this forum and was staggered that my exact problems should be here in  print. I have been suffering with intense leg pains since heart surgery in April 2024. I was diagnosed with prostate cancer 3 years ago and was on watchful waiting or something like that. After 12 months it was decided that my best way forward was hormone therapy followed by radio therapy. I had the first Zoladex implant and two weeks later had my first heart attack ( a serious reaction to Zoladex) I had a double bypass op and was eventually discharged with a long list of medications. Over the last 7 months I have been suffering the most excruciating leg pains and quite often fall over in agony, screaming with pain. GP sent me for physio, physio wouldn't touch me because the pain was in both legs and my back and they were concerned I might have cauda equina syndrome which physiotherapy would exacerbate. I waited a few months and received an appointment to see a neurologist who suggested that I put my trust in the physio team since a recent MRI scan showed no sign of cauda equina syndrome. Neurologist said he will see me again in two months.

I spend 20 minutes a day looking for answers to this painful problem and today Googled "Zoladex, prostate Ca patient, excruciating leg pain"....BINGO. ....and here I am.

Within an hour i followed link after link and discovered that my heart attack is likely to have been caused by the Zoladex implant ( three weeks after having it). Then I went through my extensive list of medications prescribed after the heart surgery and found  " calcium channel blocker,cranberry juice,Pregabalin,and Atorvastatin" a prescription cocktail capable of causing death. The Pregabalin I discontinued after 4 weeks because it made my legs feel like I had broken several bones rather than helping to eliminate pain.

I spoke to my GP and told him what I had read and that I was stopping the Atorvastatin for 2 weeks. I only had two Zoladex jabs at three month intervals . My GP was very understanding and agreed that I should cease the statin..." you're on the maximum doseage , 80 mm, and if you were likely to have a severe reaction such as  leg cramps and possible muscle damage it would be  caused by the maximum doseage."

I don't know where to go now with this information if it proves to be right and the omission of Atorvastatin rectifies my pain problems but somebody in authority needs to bring this to the attention of those who freely write prescriptions so that it doesn't happen to anyone else . I have  fingers crossed but pretty sure that I will be able to walk normally again in the near future. Thanks for reading this and may I wish a Happy and Healthier New Year to all here.