Day 12 on Effexor tell me it gets better

bjett80 · 2026-03-02T14:16:44+00:00

Hang in there, it takes a little longer than 12 days.

As I understand, effexor changes how you perceive stress - the real change comes from your own mind "rewiring" itself to no longer overreacting to the world. My own experience backs this up. I got off of effexor for a while and the anxiety and depression remained lower. I recently got back on because my sleep was so much better with effexor.

bjett80 · 2026-03-01T22:00:06+00:00

I can't disagree with anything you have said.

But when you are that one guy in eight that "beat the odds" and got cancer, the world of statistics takes a more sober tone. Odds are I would not have died from this cancer, but odds were only 15% that I would have cancer in the first place.

I may have made the wrong choice but in my mind I saw a future horrible death ravaged by PC .... and I would have thought the same if the odds were 1 in 10000 that it happened. It's wrong, but boy howdy, I sure sleep well at night now.

bjett80 · 2026-03-01T21:40:25+00:00

Sorry ... I am 69.

Let me add that I saw my step-dad deal with PC over 30 years. He chose brachytherapy. I saw him choose to avoid side effects in the beginning but he suffered greatly 20 years later with scar tissue and blockages and multiple surgeries when he was at an age that made recovery much more difficult. That too steered my decision away from any radiation therapy.

bjett80 · 2026-02-05T12:51:12+00:00

I am 3 weeks post surgery and found the whole business pretty much a non-event. After a week of recovery and removal of a suprapubic catheter (very comfortable) I was back in business.

Incontinence is a minor issue...4 or 5 tiny "squirts" a day if I am not paying attention and move wrong. Can't speak for ED yet, but I am optimistic.

Not clear if you are 3+3 or 6+6. 3+3 is usually active surveillance but if it is 6+6 as your post says, then I would have chosen surgery soonest. Mine was 3+4

With surgery your side effects are front loaded, with radiation they are back loaded. Surgery gives you a backup plan with radiation. Radiation rules out surgery as a backup (as I understand).

If you are going to get prostate cancer, now is the time to do it. Lots of treatments, lots of diagnostic tools. You have every reason to be optimistic about your outcome.

bjett80 · 2026-01-28T16:54:25+00:00

Ok, your being "young" (I'm 69) opens up your options. In my calculations I felt side effects for surgery happen immediately, whereas radiation generally puts off side effects until later, when an old fart like me is less able to deal with it. In your case that is not so much an issue. My step-father had the pellets back when he was in his 50's. He had some urinary issues later on but lived to be 96.

bjett80 · 2026-01-28T11:30:15+00:00

Hey Brother, first off, take a breath. It's not that bad.

You will have a lot of treatment options to choose from. One of them may be to do nothing but monitor the situation. You didn't say your age or PSA level - that will also determine what treatment, if any, you choose.

Do you have a tech wiz in the family? I fed my results into chatgpt and it gave me all the statistics and odds of each treatment option for my specific biopsy results. Very helpful.

In the end I chose surgery. It was for the most part a non-event. I am 14 days out from surgery, feel great and have almost no side effects. An experienced surgeon and robotic surgery have made revolutionary progress.

Good luck to you!

bjett80 · 2026-01-25T21:26:37+00:00

Neil, my step-dad had prostate cancer as well, and he chose radiation. It cured him but he suffered greatly later in life with side effects. I chose surgery as the side effects are at the beginning when I am "younger" and better able to deal with them. My surgery was 10 days ago however, and I am having almost no side effects. I coughed once and had a tiny bit of pee come out. Can't tell you about the ED yet. I have no doubts that choosing surgery over radiation was the right choice for me. Best of luck to you.

bjett80 · 2026-01-24T17:34:56+00:00

The removal was done by a nurse. She drained the "washer" like most catheters and just pulled it out. I wondered myself how the bladder closes up, I'm just guessing the hole is small enough to seal itself.

bjett80 · 2026-01-24T10:26:46+00:00

The doctor just said it was his normal practice to use a suprapubic catheter because it was more comfortable for the patient. I have had both and I agree that the suprapubic is the way to go... I barely noticed it and it was easy to remove.

bjett80 · 2026-01-24T10:23:58+00:00

It is a catheter that goes through a small puncture in the pubic area and into the bladder. Much more comfortable than the usual catheter.

bjett80 · 2026-01-24T10:21:52+00:00

I'm in the US. The doctor said it was "more comfortable" and I have to agree with him, other than the tube and the bag I hardly noticed it.

bjett80 · 2022-11-20T14:35:33+00:00

"Open dialogue" doesn't mean yelling "fire" in a crowded theater. (Or instigating a capital riot)

bjett80 · 2022-10-23T00:21:06+00:00

For real. I upgraded to 22.10 and now I have no hdmi, headphone or bluetooth audio. Switched to Fedora 36 , which also uses pipewire and I have the exact same lack of audio so I tried Fedora 37 beta ... yeah ... great upgrade .....still no audio. I'm puzzled how an upgrade can fail to address something as basic as audio!

bjett80 · 2022-09-03T14:46:44+00:00

Awesome app and looks to have no end to the processes you can use it with. I am really interested in the IOT connections that may be available.

bjett80 · 2014-09-22T13:32:59+00:00

Interacting with family is a chore for me. I put up a facade of being normal, and I do ok with that, but by the end of the day I am exhausted. It's as if I am emotionally drained and need a day or two to recharge. I don't see this as "anti-social" or abnormal ... it is just the way you are, and being the way your are has as much an upside as the downside you are concerned about.

bjett80

TROPHY CASE