Can we make a list

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Hi everyone...Can we make a list of supplements or foods we should avoid while on Chemo...Herceptin....Tamoxifen...etc...

Also a list of supplements and foods that we should be on?

Comments

  • rubytuesday
    rubytuesday Member Posts: 2,248
    edited September 2007

    Garlic while on Femara comes to mind.

  • JoanofArdmore
    JoanofArdmore Member Posts: 1,012
    edited September 2007

    RUBY!!Your avatar is ADORABLE!!!

  • NativeMainer
    NativeMainer Member Posts: 10,462
    edited September 2007

    While on tamoxifen avoid: 

    prozac, paxil (antidepressants)

    fluconazole (for yeast infections),

    amiodarone ( a heart medication),

    benadryl,

    cimetidine/Tagamet, ranidatine/Zantac,

    dexamethasone (steroid)

    from   http://medicine.iupui.edu/flockhart/table.htm

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited September 2007

    Avoid grapefruit juice with ANY med unless you know how it metabolizes.

    Shirley

  • rrs
    rrs Member Posts: 614
    edited September 2007

    I didn't know about the benadryl - why is that?

    Isn't there something about vit. E ? 

  • rubytuesday
    rubytuesday Member Posts: 2,248
    edited September 2007
    Thanks Joan...I thought he was cute and couldn't find my old one on my computer....Embarassed.  I just didn't want to be 'bare' so I chose 'glitter kitty'!!! LOL
  • Rosemary44
    Rosemary44 Member Posts: 2,660
    edited September 2007

    Other things to avoid on tamoxifen and this is news from 1999, and  I don't know if other studies has negated this info since but:

    http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9806E5D8133CF931A35750C0A96F958260

    And sesame seeds should also be avoided.  I hope you don't like hummus.

    Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 150 College Street, Toronto, ON, Canada.

    Some premenopausal breast cancer patients use phytoestrogen-rich soy and flaxseed to alleviate side effects induced by drugs such as tamoxifen (TAM). Lignan-rich flaxseed protects against breast cancer and increases the effectiveness of TAM. This study determined the interactive effects of lignan-rich sesame seed (SS) and TAM on estrogen-responsive MCF-7 breast tumor growth and bone health in ovariectomized athymic mice under premenopausal-simulated conditions. Ovariectomized mice with an estrogen implant and established MCF-7 tumors were treated for 8 weeks as follows: (i) positive control fed basal diet (BD), (ii) SS group fed BD supplemented with 10% ground SS, (iii) TAM group with TAM implant fed BD, (iv) SS + TAM group with TAM implant fed BD supplemented with 10% SS, and (v) negative control fed BD with no estrogen implant. Palpable tumor data, adjusted for body weight, showed that SS does not inhibit MCF-7 tumor growth and tends to negate the tumor inhibitory effect of TAM by increasing cell proliferation and reducing apoptosis. SS alone and combined with TAM enhanced femur biomechanical strength but caused no differences in bone mineral content or bone mineral density in either the femur or lumbar vertebrae. SS is not protective and interacts adversely with TAM in MCF-7 breast tumors but induces beneficial effects on bone both alone and when combined with TAM.

    PMID: 17526767 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

  • lvtwoqlt
    lvtwoqlt Member Posts: 6,162
    edited September 2007

    St john's wart should not be taken while on Tamox.

    Sheila

  • Urbie
    Urbie Member Posts: 154
    edited September 2007

    I think that I will go crazy trying to figure out what I should or should not injest!  It seems that items that I have used for years contain soy - my coffee creamer of all things!  My BS told me to avoid fidoestrogens... too bad he didn't give me a list of what foods contain this.  And Paxil?  I was told that Paxil was good at counter-acting side effects from Tamoxifen.  It would be nice if we were all given a book with all of the real do's and don'ts...  Is there one?

  • CaliforniaKate
    CaliforniaKate Member Posts: 258
    edited September 2007

    fluconazole (for yeast infections)  I had one I couldn't get rid of this summer for weeks. Wish my doctor would have know this.    Kate

  • NativeMainer
    NativeMainer Member Posts: 10,462
    edited September 2007

    Benadryl inhibits the CYP 2D6 enzyme the same way prozac and paxil do, but not quite as strongly. 

  • acgw
    acgw Member Posts: 286
    edited September 2007

    Is Benadryl the only antihistamine we should avoid?

    Can we use others?

    Urbie,

    Effexor is the wonder drug against hot flashes if you can tolerate the other SEs.

  • NativeMainer
    NativeMainer Member Posts: 10,462
    edited September 2007

    I didn't see any other antihistamines on the chart, so others may be safe to take.  Probably worth checking them out before taking. The chart indicates benadryl is a weak inhibitor of CYP 2D6, so it may be safe to take occasionally.  Best idea is to check with the dr first. 

  • rrs
    rrs Member Posts: 614
    edited September 2007

    What about Benedryl after tamoxifen treatment is over? 

    Soy is in so many things it is hard to avoid. 

    I've not heard of CYP 2D6 enzyme. 

  • Harley44
    Harley44 Member Posts: 5,446
    edited September 2007

    Urbie,

    You should not take any SSRIs while taking Tamoxifen, because it affects your body's metabolism of Tamoxifen, and it won't work as well...

    I know, it is just TOO much to have to know!

    Harley

  • Harley44
    Harley44 Member Posts: 5,446
    edited September 2007

    I am wondering... I am now getting chemo txs, and I started Effexor about 2 months ago... will it still help with hot flashes when I start taking Tamoxifen??  I sure hope so, because I just HATE HOT FLASHES!!!  My dr. thought I was crazy when I told him "I DON'T WANT HOT FLASHES!"   Why should we have to endure all this... 

    HARLEY

  • NativeMainer
    NativeMainer Member Posts: 10,462
    edited September 2007

    I don't know if taking benadryl or SSRI antidepressants is safe after tamoxifen therapy is over.  I can't find any information about that aspect, just about taking them at the same time.  I'm wondering if Effexor and such help with the hot flashes BECAUSE they interfere with tamoxifen? 

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited September 2007

    I believe Effexor is supposed to be good for hot flashes while on AIs as well.

    Shirley

  • Nan72
    Nan72 Member Posts: 1,572
    edited September 2007

    Hi rrs,

    I have found a few items on the grocery shelf without soy, Campbells tomato soup, also their dry onion soup(good for making gravy or cooking a roast)  Walmart brand-canned chicken broth  Kashi, snack crackers. Bertolli organic olive oil and garlic spaghetti sauce to name a few. I know what you mean , soy is in so many things. 

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/soy/NS_patient-soy

  • rrs
    rrs Member Posts: 614
    edited September 2007

    Thanks, Nan.  I'm always looking at ingredients.  Thinking about non-organic chicken broth from chickens given growth hormones - is that better or wose than the organic broth which might contain soy....?  If it ain't one think its another. 

  • Rosemary44
    Rosemary44 Member Posts: 2,660
    edited September 2007

    Urbie,

    I think your Dr. might need to see the list of phytoestrogens before he tells you to give them up. 

    http://www.dietaryfiberfood.com/phytoestrogen.php

  • lvtwoqlt
    lvtwoqlt Member Posts: 6,162
    edited September 2007

    I know that I had a hard time finding foods without soy after my son was found to be allergic to soy when he was in 5th grade. If he ate anything with soy in it he got headaches and blood shot eyes. They even put soy in 'chicken of the Sea tuna' in the form of vegetable protein.

    Sheila

  • rrs
    rrs Member Posts: 614
    edited October 2007

    Looks like there are many foods that are otherwise good for you that have phytoestrogens -- I cannot give up onions, garlic, olive oil, etc.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited October 2007

    Seems to be a bunch of foods with phytoestrogens.  I'm not giving up all my foods that I like.  Besides, I do know what these numbers stand for (how much in each food).

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