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Blood sugar & cholesterol after RT/HT

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User

Posted 23 Mar 2023 at 19:56

Afraid I only had the consultation (phone) with haematologist yesterday so not got any medication/supplement etc yet, I understand my GP will contact me accordingly when haematology report received.

Peter

User

Posted 23 Jun 2023 at 23:21

Hi, I have been on HT for just over 6 months. On Tuesday my oncologist mentioned that my cholesterol was up. To be fair, some years prior to my Pca diagnosis, I was told that it was a little on the high side, but I just assumed an improvement in diet would sort it. However, that is not the case now as post Pca diagnosis there is not that much more room for improvement in my diet. Anyway, my oncologist mentioned that if my GP suggested going on statins and it was a borderline decision, that it would be worth bearing in mind that there is some evidence that statins can be good for Pca. I have not looked into this subsequent to the conversation, but thought it worth mentioning on this chain.

User

Posted 24 Jun 2023 at 11:45

Hi P822,

That's interesting. 6 months after my HT ended, I'm still undecided as to whether to agree to statins or not. My cholesterol levels have come down a bit, to 5.3 (total cholesterol), and I'm hoping for a further drop. But statins might be useful as a precaution anyway.

User

Posted 24 Jun 2023 at 16:25

You GP can enter your blood pressure, BMI, cholesterol and maybe other things into a formula and it gives you your chances of a cardio or vascular event in the next 10 years. On that basis, they'll recommend a statin (or not).

User

Posted 24 Jun 2023 at 17:17

My GP regularly works out my Qrisk, and the recommendation is always to consider statins if the risk is above 10%.

I've often entered my details into the relevant online calculation form myself, and although my risk is always above 10%, it is usually more or less the same as that of an average healthy person my age. When I play around with the form, I notice that the risk increases with age, and that's the one variable I can't change.

This is of course not to minimise the dangers posed to our health by high cholesterol, and we all need to assess the risk with the help and advice of our GPs.

User

Posted 25 Jun 2023 at 13:03

Two years ago I had chemotherapy and the treatment plan included a daily dose of Prednisilone (a steriod). Shortly have my chemo finished and weaned off the Prednisilone my GP suggested a full bank of blood tests. These reported a borderline high cholesterol level. They suggested statins. Used to doing research in scientific journals I found a paper in the Expert Review of Pharmacology (I believe, if any wants the actual reference I can dig it out) which recorded that an athelete who had taken a steriod, specifically Prednisilone, had elevated chosterol levels. Once they stopped taking the steriod their levels returned to normal.

I am now a week into a following up course of radiotherapy and my GP again ordered a bank of blood tests and contacted me to say that I was borderline diabetic. Although the radiotherapy is not the cause per se but more likely that my exercise regime was curtailed after twisting my knee during a daily walk thtough local woods.

NICE's initial recommendation for both high cholesterol and blood sugar is the same: life-style changes (including exercise) and diet control. Having been advised by the radiography team to forswear spicy food for the duration I looked into other changes that could be made. I had found a couple of online courses discussing the Mediterrean and Okinawan Diets (less red meat, more vegetables, beans, seeds, grains, fruit). Diabetes UK also suggests that a low carb diet can reduce blood sugar levels and for some people cause remission of their diabetes.

A couple of recent articles in the broadsheets alerted me to research into Cancer Related Fatigue and the recommendation of the same lifestyle change of exercise. I am now back to daily walks, too late to affect the blood test results, and booked an appointment with the staff physio at my GP practice to check out my knee to get me back out walking. I'm pacing my return to exercise with a daily one mile walk around my village. I plan to do for the next two months after which I will extend the route to two miles for the following two months only then will I return to my longer walk through those woods eventually to walk my CoVid lockdown five mile route around Spring next year.

All these changes should a) cause my blood sugar to lower, b) reduce my weight which probably exacerabated my knee problem, c) introduce a more varied and supportive diet.

Edited by member 25 Jun 2023 at 13:04 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 25 Jun 2023 at 13:47

Hormone therapy injections push men towards Metabolic Syndrome, which is:

• Raised Blood Glucose

• Raised Cholesterol
(and without Testosterone, both LDL and HDL are bad cholesterols, so it's the total you need to keep an eye on rather than the ratio)

• Raised blood pressure

• Raised visceral fat

These all raise the risk of cardio and vascular issues.

You probably should ask your GP to try correcting these levels. For raised blood glucose, Metformin may be particularly good for prostate cancer patients, as it's also been shown to reduce prostate cancer recurrence, which other anti-diabetic medications don't.

The UK expert in this field thinks all men on hormone therapy injections should automatically be offered a statin and metformin, just to counteract the inevitable effects of being without Testosterone.

Edited by member 25 Jun 2023 at 13:49 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 25 Jun 2023 at 17:29

As posted above, I am one who was found to have raised blood pressure and mildly high cholesterol following HT. And became somewhat tubby around the tummy.

It is now 9 months after the last 3-month Zoladex "ran out" but frustratingly I still seem to have low testosterone. Both subjectively (some but not a lot of libido) and objectively (some regrowth of body hair, but underarms for example still have only a fine fuzz). My doctors haven't ever tested testosterone levels, unlke Andy62's. It is obviously something to raise at the next appointment.

The statin prescribed does seem to have had an effect, on a follow-up blood test total cholesterol had dropped by about a third. Blood pressure remains high despite taking amlodipine. And the tubbiness is still there, though my wife tells me she is beginning to see signs of reduction. I anyway maintain a reasonably high fibre diet and decent exercise regime.

The suggestion of automatically prescribing metformin along with HT is interesting. I don't know whether anyone has done a trial, it would be interesting to know if a statin and metformin stop the HT-related changes occurring in the first place, which would be better than tackling them in retrospect. One reason those drugs are proposed is I am sure the fact they are well telerated by most people with few side effects, and indeed tending to have other beneficial effects (I recently saw a report suggeting people taking metformin recover better from Covid).

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