Come join others currently navigating treatment in our weekly Zoom Meetup! Register here: Tuesdays, 1pm ET.
Fill Out Your Profile to share more about you. Learn more...

DIM

idaho
idaho Member Posts: 53

What is DIM and where do I get it?  How does it work- thanx in advance for your help!  I am trying tamoxifen but not liking it.   Tami

«134567

Comments

  • kdholt
    kdholt Member Posts: 40
    edited June 2009

    Can you use dim with tamox?Does anyone know?

  • fairy49
    fairy49 Member Posts: 536
    edited June 2009

    kdholt, Yes you can, my onc and my naturopathic md both said that DIM and tamox work well together.

  • kdholt
    kdholt Member Posts: 40
    edited June 2009

    Thanks fairy49. I think i will buy some next time I'm at the health food store. Does the dosage matter?

    Debbie

  • fairy49
    fairy49 Member Posts: 536
    edited June 2009

    kdholt, they come in 100mg capsules, I started at 1 per day then I upped to 200mg after about a month or so, I have now leveled off at 400mg per day, but I opted out of tamox, I think if you are taking tamox 200mg would be fine.  Make sure and purchase DIM in an enhanced absorbtion formula, very important!

  • kdholt
    kdholt Member Posts: 40
    edited June 2009

    Thanks fairy49! I want to do all I can to keep this bc away forever. Also was wondering what other supplements you are taking along with dim. I wondering if there is anything I can cut out. I am already taking a multivitamin, fish oil, coq10, and 2000 IUs of D3 Oh and melatonin at night. Wasn't sure if you still needed the multivitamin with the dim.

    Debbie

  • fairy49
    fairy49 Member Posts: 536
    edited June 2009

    Hi Debbie! I do take a multi that has a ton of stuff in it, I use SuperNutrition Multi 50+ (not 50 yet, but I thought it can't hurt!), I also take Tumeric and calcium d glucarate, coQ10, D3, omega 3, metax which is a prescription B12, B6, Folic Acid combo, I think thats it!

    Lorraine

  • sandilee
    sandilee Member Posts: 436
    edited June 2009

    DIm looks like a great supplement.  Fairy, do you think it's possible to get an effective dose by eating lots of raw organic broccoli and cauliflower?  I know it can't hurt, but I was wondering if you could get similar effects with two or three servings of the vegetables a day. What do you think?

  • fairy49
    fairy49 Member Posts: 536
    edited June 2009

    sandilee! it never hurts to add the veggies too, but you would need to eat them raw or very lightly cooked, and you would never be able to eat enough in one day to get the benefits of DIM, I think the dosage equates to 10lbs or something!! I don't think you would have many friends if you ate that many veggies a day LOL!!

  • kdholt
    kdholt Member Posts: 40
    edited June 2009

    Lorraine, For the most part I am excited about DIM and glad to here that it works well with tamox. I tried reading the abstracts but they don't make sense to me to be honest. There is a question I have though. In the last source you have listed from St Francis Breast Health there was this statement,"DIM also has comlex interactions with the hormone estrogen which could lead to either positive or negative effects on cancer risk." How do you interpret that? I did not understand it. Does it mean that DIM may cause some breast cancers? Thoughts? Thanks

    Debbie

  • fairy49
    fairy49 Member Posts: 536
    edited June 2009

    kdholt! I know, its a lot to read, and trust me I am no scientist by any means! I have yet to see or read anything negative about DIM, I think the medical community just don't know.  All of the naturopathic MD's seem to be recommending DIM to their patients, I think in their case they are more open to other things. "DIM also has complex interactions with the hormone estrogen" estrogen isn't a hormone, its a class of hormones comprising of many types, so right there, they are lumping everything together and not going into specifics in anyway. I don't believe DIM causes or will cause breast cancer, not for a second...

  • kdholt
    kdholt Member Posts: 40
    edited June 2009

    Lorraine, do you use the DIM plus by Nature's Way? Just want to make sure I get the right thing.

    Debbie

  • fairy49
    fairy49 Member Posts: 536
    edited June 2009

    Hey Debbie! Yes I use DIM Plus by Nature's Way, I was going to try BioResponse, but that seemed really expensive, so sticking with this one!

  • kdholt
    kdholt Member Posts: 40
    edited June 2009

    Thanks Lorraine!

    Debbie

  • Springtime
    Springtime Member Posts: 3,372
    edited June 2009

    I use DIM (and Tamoxifen, Thanks Lorraine! I just heard on another thread they may not work well together!) Glad to know they do.

    I get my DIM here:  http://www.bioresponse.com/Home.asp

  • saltykm
    saltykm Member Posts: 77
    edited July 2009

    can you take DIM if you take Femara

  • NancyLa
    NancyLa Member Posts: 81
    edited July 2009

    Has anyone experience insomnia after starting DIM? I started and my insomnia has gotten worse.  Thank you for your help.

  • fairy49
    fairy49 Member Posts: 536
    edited July 2009

    saltykm, I do believe you can take DIM with Femera.  NancyLA, interesting question, I hadn't considered it before, but I do suffer a little from insomnia and hadn't connected it to DIM I thought it was the whole premenopause thing!! ummmmm.........

  • idaho
    idaho Member Posts: 53
    edited July 2009

    Just for everyone's information- I took tamoxifen for 3 months and couldn't stand it- made my heart feel like it was skipping a beat- So I quit taking it and started DIM- I have the same symptoms with it as tamoxifen except the heart thing- my mouth is dry and having hot flashes- so that tells me that it is working.......I have insomnia too!   Tami

  • saltykm
    saltykm Member Posts: 77
    edited July 2009

    fairy49 Thanks

  • fairy49
    fairy49 Member Posts: 536
    edited July 2009

    Saltykm :) good luck!!

    Idaho, so sorry you had such a bad time on tamox.........I KNOW DIM is working, my hormone tests are proving it, also just had a follow up pelvic ultrasound on an existing ovarian cyst and it has shrunk to 1/2 its size.  What dosage are you taking?

    L

  • KathyNSW
    KathyNSW Member Posts: 16
    edited July 2009

    Hi Everyone,

    Is DIM  safe to take and is there anything you can't take while taking DIM?

    Thankyou for your replies in advance

  • anondenet
    anondenet Member Posts: 261
    edited July 2009

    Fairy,

    Have you been taking Iodoral along with the DIM?

  • fairy49
    fairy49 Member Posts: 536
    edited July 2009

    Anom, no I haven't been taking Iodoral, the whole iodine thing sounds so complicated and I haven't been in the mind set recently to figure it out.......help!!!

    L

    ox

  • anondenet
    anondenet Member Posts: 261
    edited July 2009

    Fairy,

     The reason I asked if you were taking iodine is because it gets rid of ovarian cysts just as it does breast cysts. It seems to normalize the hormone receptors.

    Also, DIM has a lot of chemicals from the cabbage family called "goitrogens" which can suppress the thyroid if you're even the slightest bit iodine deficient. I wouldn't take DIM without iodine support even if your ovaries were skinny.

    We don't want you gettin flippin hypothyroid on us Kiss 

  • fairy49
    fairy49 Member Posts: 536
    edited July 2009

    oh! got it.........shoot, I didn't know that, anom, can I just take the iodine supplement iodoral (sp?) without doing the loading test?? If not, I think I have to get serious about the iodine thing, make time to do it during this crazy wedding season Surprised I swear I get so overwelmed sometimes, then I panic a bit that I am not doing everything right aaaaaahhhhh too much pressure LOL!! So, can I get the iodine for dummies quick version!!!! Embarassed???? I did have my thyroid done when the doc did all my hormone tests and she said all the numbers were perfect, however I understand that isn't always the big picture......I am just very nervous to mess with my thyroid.... ok enough rambling, advice please!!! bloody hell, I wish I drank!!!

  • NancyLa
    NancyLa Member Posts: 81
    edited July 2009

    I have read that DIM promotes beneficial estrogen metabolism by increasing the 2-hydroxy estrogen metabolites and reducing the 16-hydroxy estrogen metabolites.  My oncologist said that did not matter, as ER+ Breast cancer cells do not care if it is good estrogen or bad estrogen....it just wants estrogen.  Now I know oncologists can only advise on the medically accepted  "standard of care", but this scared me.  Any feedback would be appreciated.  Thank you.

  • anondenet
    anondenet Member Posts: 261
    edited July 2009

    Fairy,

    Either I'm losing my mind or my reply to you didn't post Surprised

    I remember writing it. Did it post to natural girls? I thought I wrote the only reason to take the test was to see if you were a non-absorber. If you are a non absorber, you have to take more and be sure not to skip the ATP cofactors.

    I would love a drink too. I need to find a substitute. Brownies?

  • anondenet
    anondenet Member Posts: 261
    edited July 2009

    Nancy,

    Your onc is pushing the standard of care consensus which is a flippin theory. If it were true, how come the breast cancer patients on HRT don't get any more recurrence than those who abstain?

    Ask to see proof in writing (from more than 2 studies) that estrogen of any kind will make risk of recurrence worse. The evidence doesn't exist but the myth keeps circulating.

  • fairy49
    fairy49 Member Posts: 536
    edited July 2009

    Nancy, thats a little scary that your onc thinks that any type of estrogen "feeds" BC, that is not true, Anom is right ask for proof in writing, I can guarantee he/she won't be able to provide that to you..............the 2:16 ratio is VERY important, and DIM works it has already improved mine, there are "estrogens" in our body that protect from BC, balance is the key, but thats just my humble opinion and based on countless hours of research.

    Anom, I think I posted on the iodine thread about the the ATP cofactors, if you have time, can you check my post because as I am taking soooo many supplements, I want to make sure I am not duplicating, any help in consolidating the supplements would be flippin fabulous!!

    On a side note, got a little bit of a tan on my "foobies" today yikes!! My PS is going to smack me sideways LOL!!

    Peace sisters!!!