My father’s supplements : Hello, again... - Advanced Prostate...

Advanced Prostate Cancer

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My father’s supplements

TheTopBanana profile image
29 Replies

Hello, again! Thank you very much for the replies on my latest post, I am very grateful.

So anyway, I asked my father to write down what kinds of supplements he takes and he wrote the following:

Curcumin

Magnesium

Aspirin

Broccoli sprouts

Iodine

Vitamin D

K+

5 lox inhibitor boswellia

Ebastine

Are any of these dangerous for him? He is also on Firmagon. His doctor said nothing but I’m starting to see this forum as my valuable second opinion (If anything is dangerous, please send a link to a study I can show him). Should add: I know my father’s motto is “as long as it doesn’t do any harm” (which I think is just fine!! since I want him to have hope) I just worry that anything might be actively dangerous.

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TheTopBanana
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29 Replies
Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen

Curcumin is not dangerous but may affect his PSA assay:

prostatecancer.news/2019/04...

Too much Vitamin D can pull calcium out of bones, weakening them. In Sweden, supplementation may be needed, but don't go overboard.

Justfor_ profile image
Justfor_

Curcumin is not advisable in cases of gall bladder stones. It provokes gall bladder movements and hence the risk of setting the stones in motion.

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll in reply to Justfor_

I see ...Billions of people eat turmeric in India, China and other Asian nations every single day...No wonder all of them now have their gall stones moving continuously ...causing earthquakes in California.. (LOL) Turmeric causes global warming, pandemic and wild fires too...I just heard it on breaking news on fake news media...OMG. .poor little turmeric !

Magnus1964 profile image
Magnus1964

Does his doctor know what he is talking? I think that is very important.

Kaliber profile image
Kaliber in reply to Magnus1964

Yes yes ...

Everyone should let your medical team or GP check your supplements related to your diagnosis and current medications. Absolutely always. You trust these guys with your life, have enough respect for them to keep them in your treatment loop.

Just say’in 💪💪💪💪✌️✌️✌️

depotdoug profile image
depotdoug in reply to Kaliber

Trust my medfolks with my life,

God 1st. Medicine advances 2nd .

My thoughts

Kaliber profile image
Kaliber in reply to depotdoug

Ryte on bruddah .... ryte on 😂😂😂😂 ✌️✌️✌️✌️🌸🦋🌈🌼🌻❤️❤️❤️

Pleroma profile image
Pleroma in reply to depotdoug

I second that.

in reply to depotdoug

God First🙏Amen

dhccpa profile image
dhccpa in reply to Kaliber

Most docs know very little about supplements one way or the other. Same with diet and nutrition. Many docs are quite overweight.

in reply to Kaliber

This “ might “ be so? My Mo and Ro said no mega dose nutrients while in imrt . I went all out full bore doing 50 mgs vitamin c ivs throughout imrt . And i went into remission . They also said I’d be dead by now . I have zero confidence in western doctors nutritional advice . They don’t know squat .

Kaliber profile image
Kaliber in reply to

Your holistic oncologist is working miracles for you buddy along with that tak-700 ....... I want some of that. You are probably slipping around at night, sipping some of that magic cactus juice when no one is looking Yayahahahaya Yayahahahaya. I want some of that too .... yayahahahaya .

in reply to Kaliber

I haven’t seen the guy in along time ..I’m still on his nutrient plan .. five years later . Half my ssdi go’s for this . That’s not great?

Kaliber profile image
Kaliber in reply to

Worth every penny tho doncha think. You couldn’t hardly ask for better results plus you are robust enough to go out and work in the yard and take walks .... sounds pretty good buddy. 💪💪💪👍👍👍🌵🌵🌵❤️❤️❤️

in reply to Kaliber

I am grateful for each day ...

TheTopBanana profile image
TheTopBanana in reply to Magnus1964

Yes of course, but as I wrote ”his doctor said nothing”. I also think that is important :)

in reply to TheTopBanana

Saying nothin is common ...

Kaliber profile image
Kaliber in reply to TheTopBanana

My oncologists a man of few words, monthly he messages me “ your psa is good “ after the lab posts my monthly blood tests.( which I already know ) In fact in over a year and a half, my PCa team ... all of them included have said nothing at all to me. Not “ how you doing “ ,not “ how’s your pain management “ , not anything ... haven’t seen a one of them. After I declined hospice and decided to try adt ... I think they considered hospice “ it “ and kinda wondered off elsewhere. Feels like I’m kinda on my own there at Kaiser ... I am in remission I guess , but adt has crippled me and destroyed my life ...

I asked him , Kaiser mail, if fruit pectin is ok to take as a supplement, he said a whopping “ yes “ yayahahahaya.

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/270...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Turmeric needs black pepper to increase its bioavailability.

There is no point asking about benefits of dietary supplements here on this forum. There are some people who are rabidly against anything other than SOC. Pubmed has hundreds of research articles about curcumin and prostate cancer. Read them and decide. Look at this sample above.

in reply to LearnAll

True. Listen to LA.

in reply to LearnAll

That’s a fact Jack!😎

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll

Topbanana...Tell your father to not take K+ supplement. It can cause excessive K+ in blood (hyperkalemia) with heart rhythm irregularities.

He needs to eat bananas, dates, guavas, veggies...and they can provide more than enough K+ without much risk of hyperkalemia.

Can add Grape seed powder (resveratrol) in place of K+ ( Just my opinion)

EdBar profile image
EdBar

Most supplements like curcumin are poorly absorbed and end up in the toilet, I used to be a big supplements guy but after some research i don’t take many any more, waste of money.

Magnesium Citrate is more easily absorbed than straight up magnesium, it’s a good supplement for BP and helps relax blood vessels. Vitamin D is good for bone health and supposed to be good in the era of Covid as is zinc and I’ve learned that many doctors who treat Covid patients take these. It’s good to test Vitamin D levels so your not getting too much, simple blood test when he gets other labs done.

IMO it’s best to just eat a healthy, well balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, there’s a couple of supplements that make sense but most are a waste of money.

Ed

RonnyBaby profile image
RonnyBaby

One key to supplementation is the 'bio-availability' of it - in other words - is it being absorbed / used efficiently in the body. The second key - do some research / reading

on drug inter-actions to determine IF there could be adverse Side Effects (SEs).

Third - many supplements may be suspect, in terms of quality, quantity and content.

You can't always believe the label - also you need to compare ONE supplement to ANOTHER similar type - example magnesium isn't JUST magnesium - there are several subtypes /broken out -sub-units from different sources.

I take some supplements and have refined my choices over time - based on what I've read and learned within these forums. Suplements should NOT become the only means of dealing with PCa - you should / need to follow some of the Standards Of Care (SOCs) because they are proven to help manage some stages of the disease and progression.

SOCs are not perfect and there are potential pitfalls with many of them - BUT the alternative is usually worse (not doing anything comes to mind).

What did strike me from your list would suggest that there are some heaslth issues that might NOT be diretly related to PCa -> iodine, Ebastine and Aspirin stand out for me ....

Wishing you well on your journey.

Pleroma profile image
Pleroma

You can get magnesium and potassium from the right amount of food with those elements.

I use celtic sea salt instead of table salt. It has every known mineral and trace mineral in it.

If you have the financial means, you could get your blood checked for the mineral levels and then make decisions about supplements based on that. For me, the right diet (healthy) is more important than supplements.

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n

Don't forget the apple danish with coffee.....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Sunday 10/25/2020 11:38 AM DST

Currumpaw profile image
Currumpaw

Hey TheTopBanana!

A complete blood count, a CBC, is important for monitoring a vitamin D level and other things.

As Kaliber mentioned, his doctors should be aware of his supplements and the treatments and meds he receives from each of them .

Maybe some Turkey Tail as well as other mushrooms? Black seed oil? Cell Food?

Currumpaw

He might add zinc also ..

Dear TheTopBanana,

If your father is interested in supplements then perhaps you might like to click on my avatar and read my bio. If you scroll down past my bio you should see some posts that I started about complementary treatments.

I’ve been taking Essiac, which is a popular old herbal remedy that's been around for almost a hundred years.

I'm the first to admit that there's no scientific evidence showing Essiac to be effective, but I've been taking it for well over 3 years and am happy with my results so far.

Best wishes

Dave

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