Hi,

I am planning on having the surgery with Dr Kimmel June 1st. I am have heard that many go thru depression soon after the surgery. Just wanted to see how many experienced this. Also I have been on androcur for the last 6 months. Did anyone still go depression after surgery even though they were on androcur . If you expect to be on HRT do you still go thru the depression?

Sarah

The quick answer is YMWV ("Your mileage WILL vary"). Not everyone will experience depression, but enough do that it should be a serious concern. Even after the Androcur, your body will be undergoing a rapid change of biochemistry. That alone can trigger depression, no matter what your mental attitude.

Certainly not every woman undergoing the biochemical changes that occur during menopause goes through depression, but enough do that doctors are regularly on the look out for it. You will need a support group watching you and ready to intervene if necessary.

The odds are that you won't go through depression, but can be lethal if it does occur. The best answer is to be prepared for the worst, knowing that the actuality is likely to be much less.

The other caution is that if you have experienced depression in the past, or are currently suffering from it, you are many times more likely to suffer from it after depression. The chances are also greater of it being more severe, and longer lasting.

As to if using androcur before castration will reduce your chances of a post-castration depression, and if HRT post-castration will treat it, I would definitely have to agree with Jesus in that it is definitely 100% YMWV.

Moreso than any of the other side effects of castration, I would say that depression should be the number one concern. It is far more dangerous and subtle than most people would believe, and has farther-reaching effects. Of all the side effects castration can offer, depression is the most likely to be fatal. It also carries the most stigma.

Tell people you suffer from osteoporosis, have gained 30 pounds, or your cholesterol is high, and people will sympathize with you, wish you well, perhaps even offer support. Tell people you suffer from depression, or any other mental illness, and you can usually see it in their eyes, as their perceptions of you change.

It is vitally important you have a support network in place prior to castration. We all hope that you will never have to use it, but if you do, you will be glad it is there.

In my opinion the changes in biochemistry will be much less pronounced on Androcur vs nothing at all. Chemical castration reduces your t just as much, sometimes even greater than surgical castration, because it may also halt the rest from the adrenal glands. This will be very much the same as if a post-menopausal woman recieves ovariectomy or a someone with Kallmann's get castrated. In the long term, it won't change much, if anything. If you are ok on a 6 months testosterone deprivation you'll be ok after castration too.

However, post-surgical depression as per se is common among many patients, regardless type of surgery. It's a well-recognized medical phenomenon, and there may be many causes, such as an adverse reaction to anaesthezia or a post-surgical stress syndrome. I suggest you read more about it here:

http://www.chinaugmentation.com/depression.htm

The most important thing you should know is that under a depression rational thinking is severely impaired. If happens, it's important to get the depression under control and/or not attempt anything hasty. Post-surgical depression is often only temporary so there's no reason to panic if it happens. Perhaps we all got a bad tooth ache sometime but it goes away, eventually. Just give it some time.

Best of luck!

For what its worth,

I took Androcur for a year before seeing Dr Kimmel. My regular doctor wanted me to start depression drugs which I did, and had a bad reaction to the drug.

Then I got sick, and again, and again, and still and by that time Depression had taken over.

I would recomend a depression drug, best to test it befor you see Kimmel.

You may want your nuts removed just as bad as I did, but your body may not like the idea, the body really dosent like having parts of it cut off. Its not like having a galblader removed, its more like a leg, the result of this is = Depression.

My surgery was 2.5 years ago, was it worth it, You bet.

Riverwind (imported) wrote: Fri May 13, 2005 7:05 am For what its worth,

I took Androcur for a year before seeing Dr Kimmel. My regular doctor wanted me to start depression drugs which I did, and had a bad reaction to the drug.

Then I got sick, and again, and again, and still and by that time Depression had taken over.

I would recomend a depression drug, best to test it befor you see Kimmel.

You may want your nuts removed just as bad as I did, but your body may not like the idea, the body really dosent like having parts of it cut off. Its not like having a galblader removed, its more like a leg, the result of this is = Depression.

My surgery was 2.5 years ago, was it worth it, You bet.

But River, is there any chance at all that your general health condition was a major contributing factor for the depression? It appear you had quite a few issues to deal with.

It's strange that your doc was so pushy about the drugs. It doesn't reflect careful health care practice. These drugs worked bad for you, that's because anti-depressants aren't without side effects. They can inflict damage to the neurotransmitters, making you suicidal at withdrawal. There are talk therapies available as well as correct nutrition & natural supplements.

Did you try these?

Hi,

sarahthompson99 (imported) wrote: Thu May 12, 2005 1:28 am I am planning on having the surgery with Dr Kimmel June 1st. I am have heard that many go thru depression soon after the surgery. Just wanted to see how many experienced this. Also I have been on androcur for the last 6 months. Did anyone still go depression after surgery even though they were on androcur . If you expect to be on HRT do you still go thru the depression?

Sarah

I will say that everyone has offered good advice here. The fact that you are on Androcur now will most likely lessen the severity of any depression. You may have already had some of the effects of depression after you took the Androcur. Depending on if you have taken enough Androcur now, to get yourself at castration levels, may determine if you will feel effects after surgery.

I believe that everyone will experience some form of depression with the change in hormone levels. According to all my blood tests I was chemically castrated 3 1/2 years prior to my surgery with a hormone level equal to that of a normal female, and yet still felt a minor change afterwards. These were hardly noticiable at all, but still worth mentioning nontheless. Personally, I would reccomend to anyone thinking of this surgery to go ahead and try chemical castration for about a year.

I like Christina was on depo provera for two years befor my surgery and Christina warned me that their may be a change and about three monthes after my surgery i to felt a slight change .I went on 1.25 premiran and i have been ok since.I realey feel we need some hormones in our bodies or we just wont feel as good as we would like

Eunuchist (imported) wrote: Fri May 13, 2005 8:24 am But River, is there any chance at all that your general health condition was a major contributing factor for the depression? It appear you had quite a few issues to deal with.

It's strange that your doc was so pushy about the drugs. It doesn't reflect careful health care practice. These drugs worked bad for you, that's because anti-depressants aren't without side effects. They can inflict damage to the neurotransmitters, making you suicidal at withdrawal. There are talk therapies available as well as correct nutrition & natural supplements.

Did you try these?

ok first, my regular doctor wanted me on a depression drug to prevent going into a deep depression. My health at the time of castration was actually good for being in my mid to late 50's. Two weeks after surgery I got an infection (my fault), I was in the hospital 4 days, got out felt fine. The drug Kimmel perscribed and the one the hospital said to use were the same drug. The reason I was not taking it is because I misplaced the bottle. I have acid reflex problems, this drug ripped me up, (nobodys fault) Two weeks later I thought I was having a heart attack, 4 more days in the hospital. After a battery of test including a heart stress test (chemically induced) that was my low point, however I was not done yet, My doctor ordered a shot to relieve my pain, I took a nap and that evening I was ready to tango. Then the nausia, cold sweats, runs kicked in. (had to ring for the nurse while sitting on the throne). This continued all evening to well into the night when my doctor was called at home and another drug was given to stop the first one. However the runs continued for two weeks, my doctor said eat some yourgt, YUCK, but it had no effect so he perscribed two more drugs to stop the runs. In the middle of all of this my work dropped the ball and I was not getting my disibility check.

From start to finish was just over 4 weeks, thats when I lost it, called doctor, they called 911, back to the hospital, put a fork in me I was done.

You can only take so much before you come appart, the problem is with depression its not back up and running in a week. If I had been asked befor all of this started if I was depressed I would have said no. After 2+years of seeing the head doc, I realize that I have been depressed for 40 or more years. No one saw this or knew about it, including me.

Today my theripy is winding down, there taking me off the drugs or at least some of them. I fell better then I have felt for most If my life.

So is my doctor at fault? NO, me NO, just luck of the draw and going from one thing to the next and no time to recover from the first one.

River

Depression is a sneaky thing, Like River I had no idea I had been depressed for most of my life, when I figured out that I was depressed I was loading my pistol. Fortunately I realized what I was thinking about doing and got help. I have Bubba to thank for getting me the help I needed. The important thing is to have someone to keep an eye on you that really cares about your well being and can smack you arround to get your attention.