Has anyone been told to avoid alcohol while on IBrance for bone metastasis?

[Dragonfly2]

Alcohol inhibits blood cell growth in marrow and contributes to low blood cell counts

[Glas0824]

No... told to keep to special occasions but odd glass is okay .

[Dragonfly2 in reply to Glas0824]

Yes, same here...but when you’re living on borrowed time, it’s always a special occasion. I got a little too special over the holidays and blood counts plummeted. After a couple of dry weeks, I was back to my “normal” counts and was able to return to IBrance. I guess I’ll have to be better at controlling that urge to imbibe. On the other hand, I also want to feel the normalcy of enjoying a drink. Thank you for responding!

[Glas0824 in reply to Dragonfly2]

Haha... But I never think of this as borrowed time, just a different time !In an odd way I’m the healthiest of all my friends as I’m so aware of how I live, eat, drink , exercise affects me. However I do

Feel sluggish when I let these things slip.

My kids tease me I’m the healthiest mum in the world!

[Dragonfly2 in reply to Glas0824]

Good for you! That’s the spirit to enjoy life. I can’t wait to golf again ; I stay active through hobbies and walking my dog. You’re right not to define yourself by this diagnosis...

[8576 in reply to Dragonfly2]

I have never found one drink hurt me in over 10 yrs. of Cancer. I am just an occasional drinker anyhow. I only drink spritzers and if I thought I might want a second glass it would be with food or after drinking a glass of water in between. I do like Gin and tonic but rarely imbibe just because we don't go out much anymore. All of our friends are the same age and don't entertain anymore. We just go out for dinner. (or used to!) Can't even do that anymore.

Cheers, June S.

[Pbsoup]

I was also told that alcohol in general is bad for MBC, especially estrogen + sort as it increases hormones. Even my "diet doesn't matter" first oncologist warned me off of drinking... A glass or two every now and again (=1 or 2 times a month) is probably fine, more than that is risky. Or so I was told.

[Dragonfly2]

Thank you so much, Sandra! Your input does help to put things in perspective ...women are being reminded that one glass a day is the absolute limit...regardless that this time of pandemic has actually encouraged the opposite. I know that I will have that occasional glass of wine in the future but your words about MBC, estrogen, etc, remind me of all those caveats about excessive indulgence. Being older than you (I assume, since I'm 68) means that my bones are already more fragile and bone mets means that tumors can endanger the strength of the skeleton. I'm taking Zometa infusion (an osteoporosis med) once a month to make sure I don't break a bone...You're right, my marrow isn't working at it's best right now, so Im probably doing the right thing to be cautious...but not denying myself some comforts of life.

This group is amazing and caring...love that I found this! Thanks!

[geewisdom]

It was recommended to me to avoid alcohol. Honestly, I would not see anything wrong with my having a drink or 2(max) for special occasions only. I do enjoy wine but I have completely pilled back from my 1 glass a week totally.

[Dragonfly2 in reply to geewisdom]

Thank you!

[AvidBooklover]

I rarely drink alcohol, no reason for this, but no one said anything to me about alcohol when I was prescribed with Ibrance. And I do occasoionally have a drink and never think about it. I will say that I have been drinking a ton of water and herbal tea these last two weeks. I have a 40 oz bottle on my desk and I have been going through more than a bottle every day, and I do feel better doing that. WHY I did not do this sooner, I do not know!

[Dragonfly2 in reply to AvidBooklover]

I agree about the water and herbal tea...toxins need to be flushed out. Since I’ve been avoiding wine, I rely on seltzer to get me through the evening...sometimes we just drink wine out of habit or thirst...which can easily be substituted with a fancy seltzer drink. 🤣😇thank you!

[AvidBooklover in reply to Dragonfly2]

I love TraderJoe's Lemon/Ginger seltzer. And Orange. And Poland Spring has a great line of flavored seltzers. Putting in a bottle at the start of the day helps...since once I am at my desk, I rarely move!!!

[Timtam56]

Maybe.But I might have been under the influence when I was told.

🤣🤪

I drink when I feel like it.

Luckily.... I'm not a huge drinker.... But I love my gin and tonic every evening, or a lovely wine with dinner. I'm not giving up sugar or my few drinks for a few extra months or years. We are all different, but for me it's quality of life. My oncologist keeps telling me I'm doing really well. And keep doing what I'm doing.

2.5 years on same...... Inbrance and letrozole.

When I'm not doing well.... I might feel differently .....but I really don't think so.

Cheers.🥂

[Dragonfly2 in reply to Timtam56]

I know how you feel...it just alarmed me that I couldn’t take my IBrance because my numbers were too low...so I took advantage of the dry January effort to see if my numbers would be stronger. I’ll report back in on how it goes! Thank you! Cheers

[Sunnydrinking]

Hi

I’ve always enjoyed a drink.... g&t, wine, bubbly etc.

MBC hasn’t stopped me but I’ve definitely cut down.

I try to keep on enjoying life as much as possible and drinking is part of my enjoyment - cheers 🥂

Jo xx

[Dragonfly2 in reply to Sunnydrinking]

Good for you! Life goes on...cheers!

[love2golfwell]

My doctor said I could have a glass or 2 of wine a week, but I only have a glass or 2 during my week off of Ibrance. I enjoy it more as it is not something I am doing often.

[Dragonfly2 in reply to love2golfwell]

Sounds like a very realistic approach! Pick and choose when you want to enjoy...as long as it doesn’t interfere with the golf, right! Can’t wait for spring to get back into the swing...it’s the one thing that makes me feel normal. Had to use a cart this past season when I went out occasionally but I’m hoping I’ll. E back to walking, God willing. Cheers!

[love2golfwell in reply to Dragonfly2]

It works for me, but sometimes I would like to have one glass while I am taking the Ibrance. We are in Florida and it would be nice to sit on the lanai and have a glass not just on my week off but I am leery of doing that. Golf definitely helps me feel more normal, it is so good for my mental and physical health. Hope spring will come early for you so you can get out and play!

[Beryl71]

I think it's the sugar content which cancer thrives on. I was told to have a little bit of what I fancy. Someone said red wine was better than white!

[Dragonfly2 in reply to Beryl71]

Sugar...yes, I’ve read that...always something to cut in on the fun. Dry January for now but I know it won’t be forever ...thank you!

[Sarciejane]

My oncologist told me there was no harm in having a glass of wine a night if I wanted. I don’t but he said it wouldn’t do any harm.

[Dragonfly2 in reply to Sarciejane]

Thank you ...life is a series of trade offs...hope you continue to feel well. Thank you!

[MaryCos]

My oncology pharmacist first told me to limit alcohol (as I started Ibrance/Letrozole).... later he said to avoid it (when I asked about what I might be able to do to boost my immune system and help my blood counts). Frankly, I am still drinking my wine. Given how frequently they were doing blood draws during the first few months, there was no difference in my blood counts and other values when I had wine and when I was staying away. (I have had low blood counts twice that caused me to delay the restart of Ibrance an extra week... but I chalk this up to the medication itself.) And my first CT/bone scans came back with no evidence of progression.

[Dragonfly2 in reply to MaryCos]

Wonderful...glad to hear.

[MaryCos in reply to Dragonfly2]

I am not saying that, medically speaking, we shouldn't be avoiding alcohol or only drink sparingly. I am just saying that, for me... and what my life looks/feels like... I am allowing myself this guilty pleasure that is not, cancer or not, necessarily good for me.

[SusieIM]

I have been told to avoid alcohol all along, with most of the treatments. I guess it interferes with the effective of treatment. I have a glass of wine, keep it for a once in while thing, a low carb wine.

[Dragonfly2 in reply to SusieIM]

Yes, some meds don’t mix well...

[Southside25]

I did ask my onc. about that. My idea of drinking alcohol is 1 or 2 glasses of wine a week, or a very rare drink like gin and tonic. She said that was fine. I play bridge online with my regular bridge group a couple of times a week. It's now my new pleasure to have a glass of wine while playing my favorite game with my favorite people.

[Dragonfly2 in reply to Southside25]

This definitely sound reasonable! Good for you!

[love2golfwell]

I did not think the Ibrance is in your system on your week off. I thought that is why you have a week off, so your body can recover from the effects of the Ibrance. Anyway, I just feel better if I don't drink while I am taking it and only have a couple of glasses of wine on my week off. I drink red wine which I also heard was better than white.

[bloomingdalechic76]

If even has seen any research on Ibrance and alcohol, I'd love to see it! Thanks!

[Dragonfly2 in reply to bloomingdalechic76]

This is where I connected the dots about alcohol and blood cell production. It’s about healing of broken bones, but I went on from there webmd.com/osteoporosis/oste... I read this: vertavahealth.com/alcohol/b...

Please understand that healthy individuals can tolerate more alcohol than those whose marrow is already compromised by chemo ...hence the caution to be careful with bone metastasis. So, drinking is mostly ok...unless your numbers are low. 😬

[bloomingdalechic76 in reply to Dragonfly2]

Thanks! I've had MBC for 6 years and I'm now on my second line treatment (Ibrance). I'm a bit of the integrative / holistic poster child (vegan yogi acupuncture etc) and I'm barely a drinker (not because of cancer but in general) but I do like a glass of wine every now and then. I had always that was fine because of resveratrol benefits. But I'll look into the interactions with Ibrance. Thanks for raising this issue and sending some research links; I'll look into it.

[Dragonfly2 in reply to bloomingdalechic76]

I’m so glad to hear you are doing well after 6 years! Medicine keeps advancing and I hope we’re there to benefit from it! I just wanted to afpdd that it’s not so much that alcohol interacts negatively wit IBrance...it’s that both impact the production of blood cells...and in the case of bone metastasis, these two elements can have a significant impact on blood counts. The situation may be very different for organ metastasis...??

[Dragonfly2]

Just to update my own question about alcohol...three+ dry weeks have had a big effect on my WBC count...even though I was tested during the second week of IBrance my results were higher than after a week off at Christmas...so in my conversation with the oncologist today she admitted that avoiding alcohol is good for the blood counts and attributed my improved numbers to being dry. So will I have the occasional drink again? Of course! I stopped because I was drinking too much and it caused me to delay treatment...but I will treat myself most likely during the beginning of the cycle when my blood counts are at their highest. But always, follow what’s best for you, physically, mentally...

[8576 in reply to Dragonfly2]

I don't understand why you would get your blood to the highest level, ideally and then take something that has shown to be unbeneficial. Albeit you have said you were a little over imbibing, which we all have who like acholic beverages. I do understand we all pick our battles and make decisions that work for us personally. I just have learned with age that a lot of the things I thought were so important, really aren't!

Old age does that for you.

Cheers, June S.

[Dragonfly2]

It takes 48 hours for it to clear out ...one of the rules surrounding intimacy and the toxic nature of IBrance for people without cancer...😏

[Dragonfly2]

Wow...so that’s the small print! I guess it’s good to know that the week off still provides some therapy against the cancer...but I guess not so toxic that it’s harmful to a spouse/partner. Thank you for the nitty gritty...sigh and this all started with a small question about alcohol use with IBrance! Thank you again for all the feedback!

[Hidden]

My Oncolgist said it’s ok to have the odd glass of wine. He didn’t mention spirits though and I love a Southern Comfort and Elderflower. I, on the very odd occasion have the later.Different opinions but guess it’s down to common sense. Take care.