Hyaluronic Acid? Can we take it?

Lily55

HA has been suggested to me as a moisturizer for my joints as letrozole has dried them out.........but I have a feeling I read somewhere that women with BC should not take hyaluronic acid, is this correct?  I have found this

http://www.denvernaturopathic.com/news/hyaluronicacid.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/446769-what-are-hyaluronic-acids/

Googling just brings up conflicting info......

jacksnana

I'd like to know this also, I've been taking osteo biflex, which contains this, and it definitely helps my knees. I took it before and have continued to take it since my diagnosis. Hopefully someone with more information will come along.

lane4

I'm interested in this, too. I've been taking glucosamine/chondroitin (I've tried three different brands) for about five months, but not sure it's helping much and it does cause me some gastric distress. I'm considering trying just hyaluronic acid, however I'm seeing conflicting information about HA and breast cancer. Has anyone asked their doctor about the safety of oral hyaluronic acid?

texas94

Hi ladies- did any of you ever find an answer to this? I'd like to add Hyaluronic acid to my supplements but am also confused.

leggo

I wouldn't. Way too many articles linking it to proliferation of cancer cells regardless of pathology. Makes sense to me. The acid regenerates cells so it stands to reason it would do the same with cancer cells, since our bodies no longer recognize the difference between the two.

ETA: my personal opinion only. 

Lily55

I have just remembered that about 7 years before diagnosis i took a strong course of this for back problems (prescribed for me) so no I would not take it now............I wonder if it is partly responsible for the development of the cancer I had

leggo

I'm thinking it played a part in mine as well. I was using the face products like there was no tomorrow. Hindsight being 20/20 and all.

SpecialK

I had a cortisone injection in my knee due to pain and swelling from a combo of Arimidex and an injury in May of '13.  The ortho doc also suggested that Synvisc could be injected if the cortisone was not effective enough, but fortunately it solved the acute problem.  Synvisc is injected HA - I did not need it, but after reading about it, I would not do it.  Here is some pertinent info:

http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/66/21/10233.full.html

 

leggo

For sure. Prior to my mets diagnosis, my mets pain was being treated as costochondritis and I had a few cortisone shots. Doctor also suggested Synvisc. Thank gawd I didn't partake. Probably be dead long ago.

SpecialK

leggo - so glad you didn't have the Synvisc!

texas94

Oh geez- I forgot to add this to my "favorite" topics and was wondering why I hadn't seen anyone respond! Sorry.

Thanks for the info ladies. I bought a bottle of HU and started taking it about 4 days ago but will now stop to ask my doctor and research more. Unfortunately it does seem as if it's helping, so it's a bummer it may increase the chance of cancer returning! Any other suggestions for joint pain? I haven't even started Femara yet and already have pretty significant join pain (I'll start taking it in one week). I guess my pain is from chemo pause and then an oophorectomy 6 weeks ago? I don't know why I'm having it already and my doctors haven't been much help. It began around week 3 of rads, but it's all over my body- every single joint- not limited to the rads area at all.

SpecialK

texas - I found a reduction in joint pain (I have some arthritis, disk issues that predate breast cancer and am on Aromatase inhibitors - had a total hyst/ooph 15 years ago) from eating an anti-inflammatory diet - I was surprised how much difference it made.

texas94

Thanks SpecialK! Do you mind expanding a bit on what diet you follow? I know people have different ideas on what anti-inflammatory means. I'm big into eating all organic and trying to make smart choices, so I'd love to try it! I've upped my turmeric and am hoping that helps. In the meantime I've been taking a prescription anti-inflammatory for about a week. It's only slightly helping, and obviously I don't want to continue taking it anyway.

SpecialK

texas - the diet I follow is pretty restrictive - I cut out sugar, gluten, corn, soy, dairy, peanuts, and eggs - although after a couple of months I added free range chicken eggs back in.  I eat pastured, organic, or grass fed protein, I follow the clean 15/dirty dozen rules for produce.  I eat mostly high fiber and low glycemic index fruits and vegetables, and grains consist of quinoa, organic oats, brown rice and brown rice pasta.

texas94

SpecialK- thanks for the info!!

LillyDuff

So, is Hyaluronic Acid safe to use or not? I'm still confused.

I use it topically as a serum on my face only and see it in loads of skin care products. I do not take it as a supplement or injection. It has helped to reduce dry skin and fine wrinkles dramatically in my case, but if it can cause a recurrence, then will discontinue use. Does anyone know the answer here? Would like to know both answers topical skin use and oral supplements. Thanks in advance. Scary stuff as I'm just reading this now and have slathered the stuff on for the past year and a half!

dakrock

I am also taking Letrozole.  I will be one year in on February 24, 2019.   I had a dexa scan and was told I had osteoporosis in my femur bone going into my hip.   Dr. Said I needed to have a zometa IV every six months.  I had my first one and will be due my second one in March.   I am afraid of continually taking this because it is an acid.   Anyone else take Zometa IV?

Marchz

I addressed this concern with my MO and she seemed to think it was fine topically to use. I’m hoping she’s correct since my skin could use the help

MissouriCatLady

bump - any new information on this subject?

trinigirl50

Missouri

I was hoping to hear some news on this as well. I am going to research it and then ask my MO. Will let you know if I find anything definitive or new.

MissouriCatLady

Thank you, Trinigirl! I had no idea, and was trying to read about it, and found it a little confusing. I have CeraVe lotion, but it has this ingredient in it. I also have the generic Aveeno lotion that I used during radiation, and it does not, so I am going to continue with it. Thank you very much, Lisa

trinigirl50

Basically it seems to be safe to use topically, as in a face cream but not safe to be taken orally as in a supplement.

I personally am going to stay away from using it. I was hoping to help my poor face which has aged 10 years because of Letrozole (lines, wrinkles etc etc) but am hesitant to use anything that could stimulate any left over tumour cells. I know that using topical cream is a long way from ingesting it but I am neccesarily paranoid.

My MO didnt think it was a big deal to use topically.

MissouriCatLady

Trinigirl, I relate completely on lines and wrinkles, my friend. The past few days, I have put the Aveeno lotion on my face, can't hurt anything. I have a friend at work who recommended Neutrogena, I have not looked into that. Not sure that moisturizers will take away these wrinkles, my anastrazole is probably part of it, no estrogen. Hope you are doing well. Hugs, Lisa

WellSaid

If you want a hardcore program to fight inflammation, you can check out Rheumatoid Solutions. While the program was designed for people with rheumatoid arthritis, it's also worked for people with other inflammatory conditions like lupus and ankylosing spondylitis. I've been on it for 16 months and have never had to use any RA medications. It's very effective but it's also something you do all or nothing because if you don't do it all the way you'll sabotage your success.

It's mainly a very low fat, whole food vegan diet plus vigorous exercise, stress reduction, sleep hygiene, breathing methods, and supplements. You do have to customize, not by what you feel like doing but by what actually ends up working.
So, even though I said it's all or nothing, if you're going through breast cancer treatment, you definitely can modify in that you might not do the first two days of juice fasting because that might be in conflict with taking meds. You might not be able to do all the exercise, but you probably could do some in most cases. You definitely can learn from it.

I started the program about 13 years after my BC diagnosis and I started it for suspected rheumatoid arthritis. It's very effective. I have added coldwater fish but take it in a very specific way, not randomly. I couldn't tolerate it at first but I was able to heal my gut to a certain level so that I could eat that if I eat it in a specific way. I still cannot eat nightshade vegetables, oils, fatty foods (except tiny bits of things like avocados, nuts, and olives, and not often), or gluten, and I can't eat any animal products except fish. I have had so little fish that was not coldwater fish that I generally only have coldwater fish.

As for nightshade veggies, if my inflammation (judged by symptoms) is very low, I can tolerate a small amount so long as I do it once and then don't have any more for at least a week. For example, I can get half a pound of the Mexican treat that is like fresh salsa with raw fish cured by soaking overnight in lemon juice. That's only a cup. But, I can't have that every day and I have to stop with that amount and then not have any for at least a week.

If you follow the program as designed, you will probably lose weight very slowly, so if that's not a good idea, I suggest eating everything on the program and not going by stages. However, the joint pain relief will not be as dramatic and if you eat a lot of the fatty foods (avocado, nuts, and olives, you might not get the relief you hope for. So, maybe omit those for a week or two and see how you feel and then add very small amounts of one of those every day and see what that does. It helps to eat it with other food and acids like fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar plus foods that have lots of enzymes like fresh raw pineapple or papaya. I understand that some in treatment will not be able to have certain raw foods, so modify as you need to. Also, ask your doc about it. It's not designed for cancer patients undergoing treatment but it does reduce inflammation so could if modified correctly for you help with your program. Check with your doc about that. It's a healthy diet but you have to be really on top of things to get the proper balance. I finally felt I needed some animal protien and found a way to have it. I basically eat coldwater fish in the morning when my digestive acids are most abundant in my stomach and have the juice of a large fresh lemon with it and take a plant enzyme capsule or eat some fresh papaya or pineapple with it for the enzymes. No issues at this point. Eat the smaller coldwater fish to avoid those with more mercury. Sardines, wild caught salmon, Pacific mackerel (NOT king mackerel). I personally tried eating poultry and red meat but had bad reactions to them despite them being fine before the joint issues. I got all kinds of symptoms back, meaning that when I went on this diet I had skin issues, slow wound healing, transcient blood sugar issues, difficult allergies (pollen, mold, etc.), intolerance to heat, and more. When I tried the poultry and red meat, I would get some of those long gone symptoms back. The worst was the beef when I ended up with tons of pain and had a terrible allergy attack days later. So, I am for now sticking with the coldwater fish and if I have joint issues skipping a few days of that. Eggs are hard for me to tolerate but I'll have one every once in a while, just steamed or boiled. I do best without them but they are very nutritious.

I take a lot of supplements but will also go off them for a week every now and then to see how I feel. I mostly take supplements that people with rheumatoid arthritis are deficient in, and I take things that lower inflammation. Either fresh or in supplements, I take ginger, garlic, and turmeric (with black pepper). I know to be careful not to take high doses daily of turmeric as it can lead to anemia. But, a little helps and is good for fighting breast cancer, at least to some degree they think.

Basically, I'd be careful about hyaluronic acid. It can enhance beauty but is associated with proliferation of breast cancer cells. I don't know enough about it right now to say whether it's safe to use topically or how it actually works if taken as a supplement and you're at high risk. Until I know, I'm not going to take it. I came here today because I took one capsule that I bought to add to a homemade face cream mixture and my hands felt great (speaking of joints). So, I wanted to research it and found this thread. I looked at the medical scientific studies. So far, I'm not thinking it's a good idea based on what I've read, and I'm a science geek but not a doctor or scientist specializing in any of this.

For joints, I'd go with diet and the other aspects of the Rheumatoid Solutions program but only with doctor approval if you're in treatment or not fully recovered.

For face, exercise, diet, hydration with chlorine-free water (at least filtered to remove most chlorine), stress reduction, and moisturizing. I use EveryOne lemon and coconut lotion mixed with high percentage aloe vera gel and organic coconut oil. You can add things to this and might consider dissolving ingredients and adding them but be careful how you do it and check out safety first. Be careful about getting anything that is called an acid in your eyes or using too much so it burns your skin. I make my own concoction and it's far cheaper than buying little dabs in the drug store and works much better.