Arimidex - Coping with the SE's
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Took my last Arimidex pill yesterday morning. Felt wierd not to take one this morning, kept thinking I was forgetting something. LOL
I'll let you know if muscle and joints improve.
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dobie: I use Claritin daily, but when hayfever season ramps up, I use a stronger antihistamine (Tylenol severe allergy formula), and it too alleviates joint/bone pain. My doctor was very excited about the Claritin connection when I told her about my discovery last January, and she now recommends this to her patients taking AIs if they experience joint/bone pain. Glad the medical community is now taking notice and beginning to delve deeper into the mechanisms of this.
For brittle nails: in addition to the vitamins mentioned here, taking biotin and silica are also very helpful. My nails were "chippy" and thin for nearly 2 years PFC, but taking biotin (and keeping to a high-protein diet, with lots of egg whites, quinoa, etc.) has helped immensely. In fact, this summer my nails finally seem normal again.
Anybody get dizzy spells on AIs? I've had a few -- one severe, but mostly short and mild -- and since I'm at the 8 month mark, I'm wondering if this is the first major SE to hit me (so many women have reported their SEs hit at about the 6 month mark). I've reported it to my doctor of course, and have an appt. coming up.
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dobie Im in New Zealand. Thanks for your pointers on the vitamins. If at all possible I like to get my vitamins naturally so I'll look at the best food sources for these. I wonder if we get Claritin here and if so what its name is.What are your recommendations ladies for counteracting bone loss. Im due for a BD Scan.
sebm9 No dizzy spells with me. Thanks for the tips for nails.
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For strong bones: I do weight bearing exercise every day, eat a serving of prunes every day, I eat 3 calcium chews (which also have vitamin D), and I make sure to consume at least 2 serving of milk/yogurt or other calcium rich foods daily. I am almost done with the 5 years and my bones have hung in there, dropped some but have stayed in the normal range.
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HI All: I just found this thread today. I am starting arimidex TODAY as well! Decided to eat breakfast and get going on it. I have had the rx for over a week and have been nervous about taking it, but know I must start sooner than later.
Jsmiley: I finished round 3 of 33 yesterday of rads. My MO gave me the rx before my rads started.
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ruthbu,
What is your Vitamin D level? The reason I ask is when I got my level above 50 for this past year, my bone density went up.
Thanks for the tip on prunes. How many prunes do you take a day? Whole prunes don't seem to cause any gastric upset and I eat 10 a day which is about 100 grams. This is amount that studies indicate help build bone. My doctor and I are both looking forward to my bone scan next year to see if the prunes do cause improvement.
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TheDivineMrs, I have no idea whats in the Biotene toothpaste, its recommended by theMO so I had no idea I would get derm/skin issues with it.
Dunno about the zipline,is that how the girl got the flesh eating bacteria!!??OMG! I like to have fun over and over not once and then its off to have other body parts chopped off. Nope! I saw her going home on TV with no hands?
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re: prunes...my GP laughed when I told him about the study of prunes REVERSING bone loss. He is also interested in seeing after my bone density test next month, if any bone loss is restored. He said he hoped the time spent on the toilet was worth it. So far it has not had that effect on me
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Schatzi: You are too funny. I had to laugh at your post!
Karen
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shatzi14,
I don't believe that whole prunes will cause discomfort the average person. It's prune juice which contains a lot of prunes per glass, that may be giving whole prunes a bad rap.
How long have you been taking prunes? I hope you tell us the results pf your bone scan because I am really interested to know.
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notself...
I have been taking 8 to 10 prunes a day for a few weeks...the thing is I don't get my baseline Bone density test until Aug 20th (the last one was 14 yrs ago) therefore I have nothing to compare it to until the second one next year. Thing is...they can't hurt, unless you have high blood sugar I suppose. I do not. For me, the fiber would be a bonus!
I am really curious as well!
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Congrats Deborye!! You did it. Ruth B, you are almost there too. Congrats to you too and thanks for all your thoughtful comments. I am over a year and a half in - lots of arthritis, but hanging in. Best to all, Beau
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deborye,
I am so happy for you!!!! Congratualations! Well done!
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After being on arimidex for two years, my bone density was ok, still osteopenic, but not the bone loss that I had feared, and I was pleased and grateful for that. My vitamin D level is good (67) and I've been avoiding carbonated drinks, caffiene, and eating prunes (okay, not ten a day but 3-5). Now I've read that dried fruits like dates, apricots and prunes are high in phytoestrogens, and that's what we are supposed to avoid (like soy) if we're estrogen-positive. I pretty much go with the everything in moderation theory, and I know we can't totally avoid everything that is estrogenic, but still I'm uneasy about eating them now. Am I going overboard worrying about this?
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Jacksnana: No you are NOT going overboard worrying about this. I was just thinking I would go out and buy prunes and then I read your post about these dried fruits being estrogenic. We are damned if we do and damned if we don't.
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PubMed says this about prunes. One may want to show this abstract to her doctor before taking prunes just to be certain that it does in fact say that dried prunes and dried peaches have a inhibiting affect on breast cancer cells. I am taking prunes to increase my bone density after getting an OK from my doctor.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19530711
Our objective was to evaluate the cancer suppression activity of extracts from a commercial variety of yellow-fleshed peach 'Rich Lady' (RL) and a red-fleshed plum 'Black Splendor' (BS) and identify the phenolic fractions that may possess potential as chemopreventive and/or chemotherapeutic natural compounds. The peach RL extract effectively inhibited the proliferation of the estrogen-independent MDA-MB-435 breast cancer cell line. The concentration to inhibit 50% of cell proliferation (IC(50)) was approximately 42 mg/L for this cell line compared to an IC(50) of approximately 130 and approximately 515 mg/L for the noncancerous breast cell line MCF-10A and the estrogen-dependent breast cancer cell line MCF-7, respectively. Similarly, BS extracts showed greater effects on MDA-MB-435 cells as compared to the other breast cancer or the normal breast cell lines. In general, BS extracts were less effective than RL extracts. Within all RL and BS fractions, fraction 3 (F3, flavonoids) and fraction 4 (F4, procyanidins) were more potent than fraction 1 (F1, phenolic acids) and fraction 2 (F2, anthocyanins) against the three cell lines. The order of potency of RL fractions against MDA-MB-435 was F(3) approximately F(4) > F(1) > F(2). The antiproliferative activity of pure compounds identified in F(3) and F(1) confirmed that quercetin 3beta-glucoside is the bioactive compound in F(3), with the same level of toxicity on the estrogen-independent MDA-MB-435 breast cancer and breast epithelial MCF-10A cells (IC(50) = 1.9 +/- 0.2 and 1.8 +/- 0.3, respectively). However, we confirmed that phenolic acids present in F(1): chlorogenic and neo-chlorogenic acids have potential as chemopreventive dietary compounds because of the relatively high growth inhibition exerted on the estrogen-independent MDA-MB-435 breast cancer cell line and low toxicity exerted in the normal MCF-10A cells.
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Musical- a Kiwi! What a beautiful country. As Sebm9 mentioned Claritin is the brand name for loratadine and other antihistamines may work as well.
Honestly gals, of all the things our poor bodies are exposed to in our food, air and general environment, I put the risk of dried fruit near the bottom of threats.0 -
Just an aside really, but since we are talking about bone bldg., the internet has many sites suggesting pineapple as it is high in manganese. I am wondering though about the acidity level. Does anyone here subscribe to taking it on a daily basis for bone health ? It wuld be great in a smoothie with almond milk and a few slices of banana!0
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This looks good notself.
One of the few thing I could imagine doing without consulting my DR. What might be the harm?
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purple32
The links below are all from PubMed. Your doctor should be able to pull down the complete studies by following these links. Bromelain is a derivative of pineapple. Do not dose yourself. Bromelain can cause internal bleeding and you should be monitored if you are going to take it on a daily basis. I use bromelain but only occasionally when I am particularly achy. Do not take it at all if you bleed easily or are on any blood thinners.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22191568
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20848558
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19700238
I could find no evidence that bromelain works for bone health.
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Hi Dobie, have you been here? Yes NZ is a beautiful place, but it doesnt have the 'clean green' image 'they' purport it to have. Just like everywhere, theres toxic pollution. Id looove to see the Grand Canyon and places like that. One thing about NZ though, is in a very short space you get heaps of diversity.
jacksnana I dont believe you are going overboard at all. You cant be too careful I think especially when it comes to soy. I give it a VERY wide birth if at all possible. I saw somewhere, for us here, almost all the soy we import is genetically modified. If that isnt bad enough then soy itself never was fit for animals to eat let alone people. If I punch into google a search term such as "exposing soy nz" I came up with a plethora of sites speaking out against it. Oh yes it is touted as a wonder food. Yeah wonderful for lining greedy pockets such as EVIL monsanto. Anywayz I knew of a kiwi site which was excellent and now Icant find it. I wonder why. It was called soyonlineservice. It sure blew the lid off the whole soy story.
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Musical- Don't disillusion me and trouble me with the truth, lol. I would love to think some place on this earth is pure. About 25 years ago my parents commissioned a sail boat to be built in NZ. They have tons of pictures. They lived in Melbourne, Australia for awhile and we visited them while they were there. But didn't get over to NZ. Maybe someday.
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I have been eating prunes for a few weeks now and just read another study that says they reverse bone loss in about 3 to 4 months BUT it also says it is not wise for cancer patients with tumours!!
Like someone just said...damned if we do, damned if we don't. Given the choice between osteoporosis and another breast tumour...I will forego the prunes for now.
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schatzi
Thx for that info. I wont even question your source , because my " new life' has just become a series of frustrations over discovering something good for cancer, but bad for my bones or good for cancer, but bad for my thyroid goiter and on and on and on.
Living in a world of CATCH 22's . I hate it !
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shatzi,
If you can provide a link, I would love to read the article.
I have 6 months left on Aromasin so I feel pretty confident that any estrogenic compounds in prunes would be very lonely in my body. If prunes can get me out of osteoporosis in 6 months then I think I may have a win win situation. But I want to be sure.
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If you google "Reverse Osteoporosis With Prunes" ....the best years in life....there is quite an interesting article. Sorry I tried to cut and paste and it wouldn't work.
I am sure that for every study against prunes, there will be several advising taking them!! I guess you weigh the pros and the cons!
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schatzi14.
Thanks for your quick response. Here is the quote and the link. http://www.tbyil.com/Reverse_Osteoporosis_with_Prunes.htm
Dried
plums benefit the body in other ways, too. The anti-inflammatory effect of the
polyphenols in prunes inhibit osteoclasts, and also yields benefits for heart
health and cholesterol balance. The insoluble fiber found in dried plums helps
maintain a healthy colon.Few risks
are involved in consuming prunes, although the effect of raising levels of
insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) may not be beneficial in those with cancer.
IGF-I encourages tissue growth, which is good for weak bone, but undesired for
tumors. This is debated, however, as some authors believe their
anti-inflammatory properties help prevent cancer.The article has excelent links to PubMed. One of those links stated that Prunes (100 mg per day) increase insulin-like growth factor by 17%. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19274852
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So now what???? Do you think it is worth the small risk?
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schatzi14,
I think I need to talk to my doctor again. Right now, since I don't have any detectable tumors, I think it may be worth the risk.
I watched as osteoporosis ruined the last 7 years of my mother's life. She was in constant pain, was worn out by the effort to move. One day she opened a drawer and the effort cause her to break a rib. I guess we have to pick our way through a lot of information and do the best we can.
Here's the link on bone formation and prunes. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19274852
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My Doctor had never heard of the prune theory....he was no help at all! He just laughed at me. Hopefully none of us have any tumours!
Thanks for the link
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