Grapefruit and hormonal therapy

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pjrpatty71
pjrpatty71 Member Posts: 1
edited August 2016 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

Hi everyone. I'm new to the community though I have been reading these discussion boards throughout my treatmentsof the past year. I have a question about grapefruit and whether it's safe to eat for us breast cancer survivors. I am currently on arimidex, as the chemo put me into menopause.

I have read many conflicting articles; from it has no effect ,to it raises the estrogen blood levels, ive even read one study that said it reduces breast cancer risk. I'm confused for sure. I love grapefruit and would hate to give it up. If anyone has any info from their doctors or research I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

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  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 57,235
    edited February 2013

    Grapefruit interfers with the workings of quite a few medications, so my doctor said to eat it sparingly while on Arimedex. Frown

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  • curveball
    curveball Member Posts: 3,040
    edited February 2013

    @ruthbru--darn! I knew I wasn't supposed to eat grapefruit during my chemotherapy, but didn't know I should avoid during anti-hormonal therapy. Any other foods you know of that should be avoided while taking anastrozole?

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  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 57,235
    edited February 2013

    That's all I know of. Of course, you should double your dark chocolate consumption Wink!

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2013

    I'm taking tamoxifen; I also found the contraindication with grapefruit (as well as citrus oils) and my med, so I called my pharmacist and asked him to look it up.  He did, and sounded surprised, but said yes, it does decrease the effectiveness of tamoxifen.

    Benedryl and Vit E also seem to have the same effect on tamoxifen.

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  • MMSS
    MMSS Member Posts: 103
    edited February 2013

    I would check with your pharmacist because they know a lot more about drugs than doctors do (most doctors will admit this, I'm married to one). I am on aromasin and when I read the detailed information from the drug company there was no mention of any interactions with grapefruit. Think I will call the pharmacist now that you  brought it up. I too am a graprfruit lover. The easy way out for a doctor is to say to avoid something if they don't know but there are so many things that we have to give up to fight this stuff that I am not interested in giving up something else if there is no research to back it up. Most of the forbidden drugs are statins and antidepressants I think and they work very differently from AIs. I second the idea about the chocolate. I have cut my sugar consumption dramatically but I must have some dark chocolate ever day for survival.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2013

    Oh yeah--forgot to mention that the only SSRI that doesn't seem to reduce effectiveness of tamox is Effexor. I take it for hot flashes and although I didn't have them before chemo, I don't think my hot flashes are that bad now that I'm in permanent chemopause, so it must be working.

    I love grapefruit too and ate it every day till I started tamox Tongue Out I miss it.

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  • SelenaWolf
    SelenaWolf Member Posts: 1,724
    edited February 2013

    Watch your OTC antihistamines, as well.  I think Claritan is one of the few that doesn't counteract tamoxifen; the others may to varying degrees.  My MO always tells me to check with my pharmacist before taking anything new.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2013

    To Selena, yep, benedryl...

    Here is a link to some foods and supplements that interact with tamoxifen.  They have a good works cited page at the bottom for credibility.

    http://foodforbreastcancer.com/articles/what-should-breast-cancer-patients-and-survivors-eat-during-tamoxifen-treatment?

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  • curveball
    curveball Member Posts: 3,040
    edited February 2013

    @claireinaz, thanks for that link. For those on AI's it has lists of foods that are recommended or should be avoided for us too. However, the AI foods info does not include grapefruit, and the info about grapefruit does not say it should be avoided by those taking AIs. More research is indicated....

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2013

    You're right, curveball. I'm taking tamox and I know there's a different between AI's and tamox. I wonder sometimes why I'm not taking an AI...I am now menopausal and had ILC--which apparently responds better to AI, I found out. I have questions to ask my doctor.

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  • curveball
    curveball Member Posts: 3,040
    edited February 2013

    @claireinaz, I have a vague memory of reading one of those research announcements here that 2 years tamoxifen followed by 3 years of an AI had better outcomes than either the tamoxifen or the AI done for five years straight. That was my oncologist's original plan for me, and I am post-menopausal too. However, he changed that to 5 years of AI because I may have some tendency to form small blood clots. That's fine with me, I didn't much like the idea of taking tamoxifen anyway due to the increased risk of endometrial cancer.

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  • JaneQPoppy
    JaneQPoppy Member Posts: 141
    edited August 2016

    Resurrecting this thread...

    What I've been reading is not that grapefruit specifically interacts with or blocks arimidex, but that grapefruit increases estrogen in the body, so it's working at cross-purposes to the drug.

    From this site

    "If you have estrogen receptor positive breast cancer, the last thing you'd want to take would be estrogen, and the last thing you'd want would be to take anything that increased the amount of estrogen in your body. With that in mind, and knowing that grapefruit increases the amount of estrogen in the body, it is probably wise for you not to consume grapefruit."

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