What is everyone taking once treatment ends?

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waiting-to-exhale
waiting-to-exhale Member Posts: 61
edited August 2015 in Alternative Medicine

i am about to have my final chemo next week. I will start tamoxifen soon too.

I am starting to research supplements and I find it overwhelming. I am hoping others can share their daily regimens. I am trying to keep things simple to start however i am intrigued by vitamin c by iv. Anybody doing this?

My thoughts are to start taking the following:

Multivitamin

Vitamin D

Probiotic

Low dose aspirin

Calcium and magnesium

Melatonin


I would love your input




Comments

  • Italychick
    Italychick Member Posts: 2,343
    edited June 2015

    I will be starting IV vitamin c and turmeric by IV in about a month. Not cheap, about $150 per treatment.

    Alpha lipoic acid

    Benfotiamine

    B6

    Magnesium

    Potassium

    Ubiquinol

    B12

    K2

    Fish oil

    Pantothenic acid

    Vitamin e

    Vitamin a

    Borage oil

    Mushroom extracts, turkey tail and reishi, sold by a company in San Marcos ca that does all organic mushroom powder

    D3 drops

  • pipers_dream
    pipers_dream Member Posts: 618
    edited July 2015

    You'll want to look into DIM, Brevail (flax extract), and iodine since you're ER/PR+.

  • NATSGSG
    NATSGSG Member Posts: 231
    edited August 2015

    Hello:

    This is what I've been taking before, during and after chemo (see pix below) after researching supplements the moment I got news of cancer back in end Feb.

    1) OL Omega-3 Fish Oils (for heart, mind and joint health. also helps with hair growth)

    2) Doctor's Best - Best Agricus Blazei (for Immune System Support made from an edible, medicinal mushroom)

    3) Schiff - Daily Heart Mega D3 (an antioxidant made from Red Wine extract that promotes overall health and wellness)

    4) MRM Grape Seed Extract (another antioxidant for cardiovascular support)

    Lots of salmon, juices, salads (wash very well), green bean soup, natural yogurts etc.

    image

    All the best to you

  • ShetlandPony
    ShetlandPony Member Posts: 4,924
    edited August 2015

    Waiting, I researched this question, too. Here is my opinion. Your list looks good to me, except for two items: I prefer food to the vitamin supplement, because of the idea that food gives you the right amount and combination of things without possibly overdosing and risking unintended consequences. And my oncologist, a post-menopausal lady, says the latest research indicates that at least for post-menopausal women, calcium supplements may cause more heart problems without actually preventing broken bones. She does recommend the vitamin D3 and low-dose aspirin, and is in favor of melatonin as a sleep aid. I get my probiotics from low-fat organic yogurt and kefir. I don't know much about magnesium. Congrats on finishing chemo!

  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited August 2015

    Shetland, yes, my doc is not wild about too much calcium either. We started with 600 mg a day, but that was with osteopenia. Very quickly my blood calcium shot up to the upper limit. So then we cut the calcium to 300mg, but I still had the feeling that it was going to my blood and not to my bones. Now I rarely take it, but do take some vitamin D, at the recommendation of my doc. It is odd with the calcium. Because of my own experience, I have to think that some people simply don't metabolize it well and that the weakness in the bones is due to that, not due to lack of available calcium.

  • abigail48
    abigail48 Member Posts: 1,699
    edited August 2015

    juicing vegetables would give great absorbable calcium I'd expect

  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited August 2015

    Abigail, eating them works too.

  • labelle
    labelle Member Posts: 721
    edited August 2015

    I had a follow-up yesterday at Vanderbilt's Breast center-mammo (looked good-first once since finishing treatment), breast exam w surgeon's PA (seeing the actual surgeon may take an act of God at this point). Anyway, we discussed my supplements at length and she stressed the importance of taking vitamin D and magnesium (they apparently worked together) and exercise (3 + hours per week) as effective ways to lower my incidence of recurrence. The first reg health care professional to really address this specifically.

    My former onc did say eat healthy, cut back on sugar and processed foods and get plenty of exercise-but that seemed mainly to stem from her ideas of a generally healthy diet and lifestyle, not really to address recurrence of BC. She offered my tamoxifen for that (thanks, but no thanks).

  • abigail48
    abigail48 Member Posts: 1,699
    edited August 2015

    yes eating them works but with juicing you phase out the fiber so you are able to injest far more phytochemicals than you could eating pouns &pounds of the produce itself

  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited August 2015

    Labelle, my onc is also into exercise to lower recurrence risk, ditto for D. That is the first time I hear "official" endorsement of magnesium though. Thanks for passing it on.

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