OK, I went into Lone Star Oncology for my 3-month Trelstar shot today.
No big deal. I drop my drawers and the nurse injects it into my bottom and I'm on my way, with only a tiny amount of residual soreness.
I will admit to being a little wistful, though. I had previously been on hormone blockage from last July until this January, when Dr. Shimkus took me off of it because my PSA was so low, down to 1.6. This was a direct result of my combined immune treatment therapy with Dr. Thaller in Germany (OR my custom supplement therapy, OR a combination of the two!)
So being back on the blockage means that things are a bit more serious again.
But it also means another 3 (and probably 6) months without testosterone. And that means no sex. No erections, no nothin', zip, nada. It took me a month to regain my sexual function after going off of the hormone blockage in January…which works out to just a couple of weeks ago. So I get a little bit of tease of what life was like before the hormone blockage therapy, and then back on the wagon.
I have to say, it isn't the sex that I miss so much, though I do. My girlfriend Liz has been fabulously, over-the-top, beyond-the-call-of-duty patient. But even though it's a big part, that is indeed just a part of what I miss.
Strangely (surprisingly!) it's my whole point of view that seems slightly off-kilter. When my testosterone kicked in again last month, I noticed I had a little bit more verve, it was more fun being out and about ("hey, look, half the world is female!")
Oh well, it wasn't like I was a *complete* glump for the last six months -- as drug therapies go, this one feels pretty tame. And the alternatives are definitely deplorable! So here I go again, wish me luck.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Dang!
I just got a call from Dr. Shimkus' office (my oncologist). I have to come in *tomorrow* for another hormone blockage shot (Trelstar) -- my PSA has gone up to 5.8.
Dang, dang, dang!
Last month it was 2.6. Dr. Shimkus said I would need to go back on the Trelstar if my PSA rose above 4.0. This is much higher than that.
Another important measure of prostate cancer is "doubling time" -- that is, how long it takes for your PSA to double. In my case my PSA *more* than doubled in just 1 month -- not a very good sign. The increased PSA is a direct indication that there's increased cancer activity in my prostate. (And especially given my recent widespread bone metastases, it might extend even further than that, although I'm fervently hoping that this isn't the case!)
In the larger scheme of things, a 5.8 PSA is still manageable -- doctors often tell their patients not to worry too much until it gets over 10. And after all, in the first couple of months that I was diagnosed, my PSA was as high as 222.
But still.
Dang.
Dang, dang, dang!
Last month it was 2.6. Dr. Shimkus said I would need to go back on the Trelstar if my PSA rose above 4.0. This is much higher than that.
Another important measure of prostate cancer is "doubling time" -- that is, how long it takes for your PSA to double. In my case my PSA *more* than doubled in just 1 month -- not a very good sign. The increased PSA is a direct indication that there's increased cancer activity in my prostate. (And especially given my recent widespread bone metastases, it might extend even further than that, although I'm fervently hoping that this isn't the case!)
In the larger scheme of things, a 5.8 PSA is still manageable -- doctors often tell their patients not to worry too much until it gets over 10. And after all, in the first couple of months that I was diagnosed, my PSA was as high as 222.
But still.
Dang.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Whew, Wow, Whoa!!
I've been on the enzyme therapy for a month now. (details in the previous post and another post, probably for tomorrow, on the day-to-day specifics.)
It certainly has meant taking a lot more responsibility for my care: instead of going for treatments once every six weeks or so, I spend several hours each day poking and dosing and feeding myself the right thing so that the therapy lopes along.
All of the research reports on the results of this therapy are excellent, and my nutrition coach, Pamela, has been fabulous in supporting me. She and I have spent a lot of time on the phone together, and she patiently answers every one of my questions about dosage and timing and procedure.
(You can feel a "But" coming, can't you??)
But holy cow -- these supplements are intense!!!
Every time I take one of the larger doses, I get completely spaced out and a little bit queasy for the next couple of hours -- I can tell that my body is spending a lot of energy to process what I'm putting into it.
That's nothing, though, compared to the depression that I've been feeling. Several times a week I am seriously hammered by intense sadness. Several times a week I find myself in tears at inconvenient moments for no particular reason. (or for some normal here's-what-life-throws-us-all reason, but I let it completely get to me and incapacitate me.) I'm a zillion miles behind on just about everything in my life, and in contacting just about everyone I should be getting in touch with. (so to all of my friends out there, hello, I haven't forgotten about you, I still love you!)
It's not the supplements in and of themselves. I've been taking over 120 supplements per day since last August, and the enzyme therapy has me on about the same amount now -- and there's a lot of overlap in the substances that I'm taking.
I've hesitated to write about the depression, because I wasn't quite sure what was happening. My dad died a couple of months ago, so of course I initially thought that I was sad about his passing. And every individual incident seems to have a perfectly reasonable proximate cause that I can pin it on. ("I can't believe that *X* did *Y*!!" etc. etc. etc.)
But what's happening is much more than that, or that, or any other one particular explanation. Something is going on here that is *intensely* depressing me, and I need to figure it out.
My initial suspicion is focused on the humongous dose of pancreatic enzymes that I'm taking every day. I asked Pamela about it and she said the depression is "normal" for patients on enzyme therapy; the body is going through an intense detoxification process, and great gobs of toxins are being thrown into my bloodstream.
OK, I suppose I find that to be a sensible explanation…but I also find it really tough to keep subjecting myself to this level of (perceived) emotional duress. I am going to keep investigating this, and try some tweaks to bring myself back into some kind of equilibrium. Any suggestions are most welcome!
It certainly has meant taking a lot more responsibility for my care: instead of going for treatments once every six weeks or so, I spend several hours each day poking and dosing and feeding myself the right thing so that the therapy lopes along.
All of the research reports on the results of this therapy are excellent, and my nutrition coach, Pamela, has been fabulous in supporting me. She and I have spent a lot of time on the phone together, and she patiently answers every one of my questions about dosage and timing and procedure.
(You can feel a "But" coming, can't you??)
But holy cow -- these supplements are intense!!!
Every time I take one of the larger doses, I get completely spaced out and a little bit queasy for the next couple of hours -- I can tell that my body is spending a lot of energy to process what I'm putting into it.
That's nothing, though, compared to the depression that I've been feeling. Several times a week I am seriously hammered by intense sadness. Several times a week I find myself in tears at inconvenient moments for no particular reason. (or for some normal here's-what-life-throws-us-all reason, but I let it completely get to me and incapacitate me.) I'm a zillion miles behind on just about everything in my life, and in contacting just about everyone I should be getting in touch with. (so to all of my friends out there, hello, I haven't forgotten about you, I still love you!)
It's not the supplements in and of themselves. I've been taking over 120 supplements per day since last August, and the enzyme therapy has me on about the same amount now -- and there's a lot of overlap in the substances that I'm taking.
I've hesitated to write about the depression, because I wasn't quite sure what was happening. My dad died a couple of months ago, so of course I initially thought that I was sad about his passing. And every individual incident seems to have a perfectly reasonable proximate cause that I can pin it on. ("I can't believe that *X* did *Y*!!" etc. etc. etc.)
But what's happening is much more than that, or that, or any other one particular explanation. Something is going on here that is *intensely* depressing me, and I need to figure it out.
My initial suspicion is focused on the humongous dose of pancreatic enzymes that I'm taking every day. I asked Pamela about it and she said the depression is "normal" for patients on enzyme therapy; the body is going through an intense detoxification process, and great gobs of toxins are being thrown into my bloodstream.
OK, I suppose I find that to be a sensible explanation…but I also find it really tough to keep subjecting myself to this level of (perceived) emotional duress. I am going to keep investigating this, and try some tweaks to bring myself back into some kind of equilibrium. Any suggestions are most welcome!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
A Day in the Life -- Part 1
Here's a quick outline of the procedure I go through every morning to keep things rolling for my enzyme treatment.
6:30am -- Turn on near-infrared sauna so it can warm up to 110 degrees.
Meditate for (at least) 20 minutes.
6:50am -- Take 5 chlorella tablets. Enter sauna for 20 minutes. (It's like a rotisserie -- I bake each side for 5 minutes, then rotate 90 degrees!)
7:15am -- take 2 tablespoons of post-sauna electrolytes.
Take AM supplements (20 tablets total, plus tinctures):
• aloe vera extract
• blue-green algae
• Cytozyme-THY (thymus gland extract)
• Immune System Activator (beta-glucan)
• Coriolus PSP
• 5 Mushroom Extract tincture
• Bach Flower remedy (Gentian, Rescue Remedy, Chestnut Bud, Scleranthus)
• Caprobiotics (probiotics)
• PanAlone (pancreatic enzymes)
• ProstaSol (herbal hormones -- see http://www.clearfeed.com/pfeifer/prostate-cancer.html )
• Prostabel (pao pereira + rauwolfia vomitoria extracts -- see http://www.beljanski.com/eng/beljanski.html)
7:25am -- start coffee enema (prepared the night before)
8:35am -- eat 14-grain raw cereal + fruit (prepared the night before)
9:15am -- take post-breakfast supplements (29 tablets total)
• Perque2 Life Guard (multivitamin + mineral)
• Perque Bone Guard (calcium + other minerals for bone supplementation)
• Strontium (for bones)
• gingko biloba
• Vitamin D3
• Vitamin C
• alpha lipoic acid
• Master Amino Acid Pattern
• Omega-3
• Montiff Liver Protec (silymarin + d-alpha tocopheryl succinate + quercitin)
• PanAlone (pancreatic enzymes)
…and that's it for the morning! I'm ready to head off to work for a few hours.
(procedure to be continued!)
6:30am -- Turn on near-infrared sauna so it can warm up to 110 degrees.
Meditate for (at least) 20 minutes.
6:50am -- Take 5 chlorella tablets. Enter sauna for 20 minutes. (It's like a rotisserie -- I bake each side for 5 minutes, then rotate 90 degrees!)
7:15am -- take 2 tablespoons of post-sauna electrolytes.
Take AM supplements (20 tablets total, plus tinctures):
• aloe vera extract
• blue-green algae
• Cytozyme-THY (thymus gland extract)
• Immune System Activator (beta-glucan)
• Coriolus PSP
• 5 Mushroom Extract tincture
• Bach Flower remedy (Gentian, Rescue Remedy, Chestnut Bud, Scleranthus)
• Caprobiotics (probiotics)
• PanAlone (pancreatic enzymes)
• ProstaSol (herbal hormones -- see http://www.clearfeed.com/pfeifer/prostate-cancer.html )
• Prostabel (pao pereira + rauwolfia vomitoria extracts -- see http://www.beljanski.com/eng/beljanski.html)
7:25am -- start coffee enema (prepared the night before)
8:35am -- eat 14-grain raw cereal + fruit (prepared the night before)
9:15am -- take post-breakfast supplements (29 tablets total)
• Perque2 Life Guard (multivitamin + mineral)
• Perque Bone Guard (calcium + other minerals for bone supplementation)
• Strontium (for bones)
• gingko biloba
• Vitamin D3
• Vitamin C
• alpha lipoic acid
• Master Amino Acid Pattern
• Omega-3
• Montiff Liver Protec (silymarin + d-alpha tocopheryl succinate + quercitin)
• PanAlone (pancreatic enzymes)
…and that's it for the morning! I'm ready to head off to work for a few hours.
(procedure to be continued!)
Treatment Update
Hi everyone -- I'm still here! Things are going well -- I'm starting the second month of my pancreatic enzyme treatment, my last PSA reading was below 3, and I feel great most days.
This has been a *very* wild month -- the pancreatic enzyme treatment is turning out to be much more difficult than I thought. Parts of it are easy and parts are definitely not. In the next post I'll give a sketch of what the treatment looks like on a daily basis. (As my nutrition coach, Pamela, says: "it's a full-time job!")
I just wanted to check in and wish all of you a happy Texas Independence Day (March 2nd) Enjoy!
This has been a *very* wild month -- the pancreatic enzyme treatment is turning out to be much more difficult than I thought. Parts of it are easy and parts are definitely not. In the next post I'll give a sketch of what the treatment looks like on a daily basis. (As my nutrition coach, Pamela, says: "it's a full-time job!")
I just wanted to check in and wish all of you a happy Texas Independence Day (March 2nd) Enjoy!
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