Cox Inhibitors?

[lkc Gumby]

Hi Ladies
Please forgive me for not posting very much. I do come and visit pretty regularly , but rarely post as I always find a wealth of information already here!
Anyway, I was wondering if any of you were advised to go on a Cox inhibitor. I was advised to do so ( by my Fla onc in Jan ) , but I always like to do alot of research before I go on a new med.
In any event I have been researching the heck out of CXCR4, protein on tumor cells which has been linked to mets, and there seems to be a correlation with the inhibition of these baddies w/ Cox inhibitors.
Now my Onc down here is recommeding I go on Celeberx too. I have decided to go it. It is indicated for osteoarthritic pain , which I suffer from ( resids from Taxotere & Herceptin ) so I fiquire it's worth a shot.
Anyone elseknow more about this?

[Barbara2]

After finishing chemo, my onc started me on Arimidex. He said that sometimes people may complain of some bone or muscle pain when taking Arimidex, so he suggested that I take Celebrex. He said that there is some belief that Cox 2 inhibitors such as Celebrex, may provide benefit with fighting Her2+ factors. He thought it could help with any aches and pains, plus it might help fight the Her2+, and therefore be a double benefit.

I took it for about 13 months before going to my onc with foggy brain and big time fatigue and questioning if it could be the Celebrex. He suggested that I stop the Celebrex. I did, and felt better right away.

I had been taking 200 mg. twice daily. One time when seeing my family doctor for some issue, he commented that 400 mg. of daily Celebrex was a pretty high dose. It was sometime later that I began to realize that possibly the Celebrex was the reason for feeling so lousy.

When I questioned Dr. Pegram about taking Celebrex for occasional aches and pains, he said, "If you do it sporadically once in a while, it’s not going to help at all. The standard dose of Celebrex doesn’t work in breast cancer. There’s still some question about the high dose, but these drugs could cause cardio-vascular mortality so if you don’t have metastatic disease I probably wouldn’t recommend it. High dose: 400 bid. If you’re in remission, you should not take Cox 2 inhibitors."

Looking back, I'm hoping that possibly the Celebrex did bring some benefit.

[R.B.]

lkc gumby

You might like to read the Greek Diet thread.

http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=24410&highlight=greek+diet+thread

There is significant evidence fish oil / long chain Omega 3s will assist with the symptoms of arthritis.

Rebalancing your Omega 3s and 6s may also in the longer term assist in turning down and blocking COX2 products.

Long chain Omega 3s have also been shown in trials to reduce the risk of BC.

I know nothing about the specifics of celebrex and cannot give advice, only raise food for thought.

Please talk to your doctor about dietary change. Fish oil can cause blood thinning and other issues for a few.


RB

[Becky]

Besides omega 3/6 balancing which impacts the Cox pathway

Tumeric/curcumin and rosemary are natural cox inhibitors.

Aspirin is a Cox 1 & 2 inhibitor and you would need to take one full strength one per day to get the effect (plus it helps with heart attack and stroke prevention). If you can't take aspirin, ibuprofen also works but does not have the blood thinning effect for the prevention of heart attack or stroke.

I know a woman who has bone mets and takes Celebrex as part of her therapy. My cousin, who doesn't have mets, takes it because Arimidex causes alot of pain and the Celebrex helps alot and gives her (maybe) something extra.

[lkc Gumby]

Thanks all for your kind responses. I am pretty diligent about my supplements, flax, &fish oil, tumeric, calcium & Vit D, B complex, selenium, Vit C , additional fibre and mucho green veggies, etc, etc, etc.
Becky, I wasn't aware of ASA being a COX1 & 2 inhib., thanks for that.
I probably will do abit more research.
Thanks Again!

[StephN]

Here is a COX-2 inhibitor that I got at my local supplements store.

Called NEXRUTINE by Lifetime. It is plant based. Phellodendron Amurense bark extract.

Haven't taken it for a while. I also took Celebrex and have posted about that in the past in more detail.

[R.B.]

lkc Gumby

http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=24410&highlight=Greek+Diet

If you have not seen it you may find this thread interesting.

The Omega 6s are the raw material for the COX2 pathway that is responsible for may of the inflammatory agents that COX blockers seek to block. There is more information in the thread.



RB

[Unregistered]

Hi,
My mom takes Zyflamend (availible at Whole Foods). It has natural Cox-2 inhibitors like Curcumin, and lots of other herbs. She says it really helps her with gen. inflammation. If I remember correctly StephN used to take it also.
Anne