P450-Arimidex-Antidepressives-Aromasin

Marilyn,

Here's some reading material for you.  Maybe you'd want to give this a try first, then on to the pharmacy if it doesn't work for you.

http://george-eby-research.com/html/magnesium-for-depression.pdf

Caio, Bella,

I just read in the HT forum that (duh...cognitive difficulties..)... EVISTA has just been approved  as *cancer protection*!

I took Evista in menopause, when I went off my HRT for some months.It was GRRRRRREAT!No SEs at ALL!(well, as opposed to Prempro, it did give me hot flashes/but that was 15 years ago and besides if hot flashes were my only problem now, well you know...)

So  I got all hissy & ready to call my onc.But decided I will wait to see him at my appointment in November.(NOVEMBER!!)

And if he vetoes it, I will most definately take it when my 5 years of femara are up.

(Nagging my onc the whole time)

Evista is a great drug, AND, the opposite of AI, it strengthens bone, like HRT does.

NOW they say it protects against cancer.YESSSSSS!!!

My onc refused Evista for me when I asked him last year, saying it was too much like estrogen.It IS "designer estrogen", but now they have approved it as cancer-protectant!

Do you think you could discuss this with your docs?

Good luck!It would solve everything.(I've found it easy to get my way w/onc if, like a brat I hold my breath til I turn blue.Well, f I say I will just quit AI entirely.)

Something is better than nothing.

Aromasin IS "steriodal", but in my onc's words when asked what this means to me:"nothing.Same-same as all the others."

It(Aromasin) made ME depressed (and I am no way a depressive) is why I quit it.I was waking up thinking "Oooooh.Another dayyyy.WHY do I have to still be alive?" YIKES!!!!!

I forget.Have you tried Femara?It is nice, IMHO.Does give joint pain etc etc.But mood is good, spirit is good.

My other word--I have read in (i cant remember where-maybe "Pill Watch", that Effexor is a bad drug.(Yet prescribed strongly and everywhere.Money at work.)

I'd contact Susie (Saluki), who with her myriad problems has taken and knows mucho about many drugs.I think she likes a very old drug, Elavil.(It appeals to me, too.)It has a scientific name, because I think it is generic now.

But if you could just take Evista, you'd not need antidepressive.

Best of the best to you, Darlin!

love from J

The news report about Evista says at the bottom that it is not for prevention of recurrance in those who have had breast cancer.  It is only approved for women with osteoporosis and those at high risk of getting breast cancer.

So, not sure a dr. will prescribe it for anyone in lieu of arimidex and the other AI's.

Quote 

"Towards the end of the paper, I read this tidbit about taking 2:1 mag over calcium.  It seemed to help that fellow get rid of his joint pain.  I thought that was interesting.  Maybe too much calcium is causing a lot of joint pain.   It's an interesting theory."

Rosemary--I've been using that ratio for over 4 years now hoping that it would help with my RSD.  Maybe the pain would be worse without it. I can't tell.  Would I have the deepest, darkest depression without it?--Don't know that either.

Funny though, with all that magnesium you'd think I'd have the runs--nope.  All the other stuff kept me constipated, which really is the main side effect of tricyclics.

Marilyn--I went with the Nortriptyline over the Elavil because it is not as likely to pack on the pounds.

Marilyn,

I got this translation:

The pidolato magnesium is knows them organic of the magnesium, in which pidolico acid it favors the income of magnesium to the inside of the cell, where more servants. Thanks to this particular characteristic, an oral pidolato magnesium integration quickly restores the physiological quota to intracellular and extracellular level, for one more effective therapy of the magnesium deficit. Studies in the man demonstrate that the increment of the magnesium rate in the blood is maximum after 60-90 minuteren from the oral pidolato magnesium assumption. The pidolato magnesium comes used in the cases of asthenia, irritability and others disturb legacies potentially to light magnesium deficit. Meant improvements to you of these symptoms they can be obtained, in average, after 30 days of treatment with pidolato magnesium

It's not telling me what kind of magnesium it is.  I'll be happy to mail you a bottle of powdered magnesium citrate and you won't have to guess what pidolico acid is.

Hi, Marilyn

I just read thru this thread---sorry, I didn't see it earlier. So much is going on for you right now.

Have you had your vitamin D level checked? 25(OH)D. High blood calcium can be due to too MUCH or too LITTLE vitamin D. It's that  parathyroid issue we talked about months ago. You want to aim for somewhere between 55 - 100 ng/ml of 25 hydroxy D in the blood test. An endocrinologist will understand this issue much better than a family practitioner, so I agree it would be a good thing to bring this up in your visit on the 6th. High blood calcium can affect your heart and cause restlessness. The cause needs to be identified as it could be any number of things.

I'm glad your thyroid meds were adjusted as low thyroid can also contribute to depression, but if you are one of the people who respond positively to an antidepressant, please consider staying with  it. Only about half the people who try them get a benefit. You sound like you're one of the lucky ones.

Susie's suggestion of Elavil sounds good if you want a prescription med (much more data on those). The 5 HTP is an amino acid and I think it would be pretty safe to take just before bed regardless of the other meds. It's purpose is to be converted into serotonin and/or melatonin. To help you sleep and to feel calmer.

Depending on the dose, prednisone can also induce anxiety--in taking it or withdrawing from it. I don't know how much or how long you were able to have it for pain relief, but it may have contributed to your hyper state of being. 

Crataegus is hawthorn berry. It's a supplement well-associated with heart health. The link below will give you more information on it:

http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/HerbsWho/0,3923,4023%7CCrataegus+oxyacantha,00.html

 Crataegus oxyacantha

Scientific Name: Hawthorn
Other Names: Crataegus laevigata, Crataegus monogyna, Hagedorn,

Uses

Mainly, hawthorn is taken orally to relieve chronic heart conditions-primarily congestive heart failure, but also angina and arrhythmias. Chemicals in hawthorn may act directly on the heart muscle to increase the force of heartbeats and on the blood vessels to relax the arteries around the heart. It may also lengthen the time that the heart rests between beats. Hawthorn may also work indirectly by widening blood vessels close to the surface of the skin. As a result, it may also help to lower blood pressure. Due to its multiple effects on the heart, hawthorn should not be taken before its use has been discussed with a doctor.

Chemicals in hawthorn may have other effects, as well. Based on the observation that hawthorn produces a mild soothing effect, it has been used occasionally to treat anxiety and insomnia. No clinical studies have been published to prove or disprove hawthorn's calming effect, however. In animal studies, hawthorn has also appeared to lower cholesterol levels both by reducing the production of cholesterol and by increasing the body's breakdown of cholesterol. One small study conducted in humans seemed to show similar cholesterol-lowering results, but further research is needed to verify these findings.

 ****

Are you pursuing regular exercise? 30 minutes a day in walking, yoga, bicycling or other non-work activity can stimulate endorphins. These handy brain chemicals are also calming and help alleviate pain.

Some people can also produce them in regular meditation. A bit of quiet time scheduled into your day may help reduce that feeling of constant pressure. Often we spend so much time taking care of others that time for ourselves is the first thing we jettison.

Another supplement recommended for stress & tension is theanine. It's one of the compounds in green tea. Green tea seems to have lots of benefits for us. Life Extension has recently published an article citing research on theanine reducing anxiety and improving cognitive function on doses of 200 mg per day. The article was published in their August 2007 issue :

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2007/aug2007_report_stress_anxiety_01.htm

 Theanine vs. Xanax®: Comparison of Effects

One of the most compelling studies on theanine was published in 2004. In a double-blind, head-to-head comparison study, investigators compared theanine with alprazolam (Xanax®), a commonly prescribed anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) drug.27 Each of 16 healthy human volunteers took either 1 mg alprazolam, 200 mg theanine, or a placebo on separate occasions; thus, all participants were tested with all three treatments. Following each dose, the researchers obtained behavioral measures of anxiety in all participants, both before and after an experimentally-created state of anxiety.

The results were nothing short of remarkable. Theanine, but not alprazolam or the placebo, induced relaxing effects that were evident at the initial measurement of whether a person felt tranquil versus troubled. This study is even more impressive when the dose of alprazolam is taken into consideration. One milligram is a substantial dose of this medication-generally, most people use just 0.25 to 0.5 mg of alprazolam as a bedtime sleep aid. Theanine's superior performance to a potentially habit-forming medication is truly stunning good news.

The Trouble with Benzodiazepines

The most widely used class of anxiety-relieving drugs is the benzodiazepines. This class of drugs includes diazepam (Valium®) and alprazolam (Xanax®).

While these drugs are highly effective in calming anxiety, they may also be habit-forming-a factor that dramatically limits their usefulness and possibly their long-term safety.28,29Many of the benzodiazepines also cause significant memory impairment, a highly undesirable effect.4,5

The dramatic effects of theanine have been further explored in several studies published just this year. A group of Japanese researchers studied the effects of theanine on psychological and physiological stress responses in humans.3 The researchers assigned a mental arithmetic task to each of 12 participants on four separate occasions, inducing so-called "math anxiety." On one occasion, the subjects took theanine at the beginning of the test, on another they took the supplement halfway through, on a third they took a placebo that was identical to the supplement, and on a fourth they took nothing at all.

Astonishingly, even this extremely short-term use of theanine had remarkable effects on manifestations of anxiety. Subjects using theanine experienced a reduction in heart rate in response to the math testing, compared with those receiving placebo. Analysis of heart-rate variability suggested that theanine modulated activation of the sympathetic nervous system, the part of the nervous system that produces the "fight-or-flight" response. Because the sympathetic nervous system stimulates the release of adrenalin and triggers the first steps in the stress response that eventually leads to elevated stress hormone levels, keeping this system in check may help avert the deleterious long-term health consequences of stress.3

***

I hope you find relief soon! 

Marilyn,

I found that mixing mag powder with orange juice worked better than water.  Try it both ways and see if you'll see a difference in how it mixes.  Also, a low dose B6 (50 mgs) helps mag absorption.  Take the mag a few hours before taking calcium.  I want you to get the full benefit before hitting the pharmacia.

Susie,

I agree, for the full effect of mag to begin doing its thing, it might take more than 7 days.  I really don't know what type of mag that is either and that could effect absorption as well.  Some absorb better than others. 

About that car ride in Manhattan, I was there doing the same thing recently, and I can tell you I took it all well, but what a blue mouth on me.  Whoa.  I was telling everyone where to go and enjoyed every word of it.

I am hypo thyroid, take Synthroid and Effexor and have not thought about killing MYSELF...perhaps I've thought about killing others. 

However, according to my last bloodwork my Synthroid should be reduced in strength.  He never mentioned lowering it and said all my BW was within normal range.  I may just have to find myself and endocrinologist.

Shirley 

One thing for sure that I have found out in the many times I've looked up calcium or magnesium is that I never see the same advice twice.  They keep adding on ingredients for absorption, saying this is necessary, and then it won't be on the next research paper.

That being said, The Linus Pauling center does not think D3 is necessary for magnesium absorption.  But it might help a little. We all know, it's necessary for calcium absorption though, I think they'll all agree on that.   On the quoted statement that I found before, that Dr. is adding vitamin C to the mix.  Enough, says I

No matter what we do, we'll still only absorb half of what we take anyway.

Marilyn, I'm happy to read your feeling better already.  You might have to fool around with the dose a bit to get to where you are comfortable.

Marilyn,

I'm thrilled for you.  It's so good to feel...just right.  I get the shuffle a bit when I've been sitting, but I do a lot of leg exercises in the pool so it just lasts for a few steps, then I walk normal.  Pool time is coming to an end soon, and I'll have to find something else.  I can actually feel muscles in my legs, and they aren't so mushy looking anymore, so I know the pool is working.  I'll have to look for Marin.  She'll know what we can do for the shuffle.   Congratulations again and I hope your hubby is doing good.