What time to take meds?: I have been... - SHARE Metastatic ...

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What time to take meds?

ba5083 profile image
30 Replies

I have been reading/studying all types of non conventional cancer treatments to combo with traditional treatments (suffering from ILC ER+/PR+ HER2-). I was listening to a youtube show this morning when this article was presented that found more breast cancer cells travel through the bloodstream when affect individuals are sleeping - medicalnewstoday.com/articl.... with a link to the study - I'm sure there are a lot of theories as to why.

-Body is more active during the day using energy, glucose, fats and glutamine that cancer feeds on

-half life of medication that might be taken 1 time a day that is taken in the morning

-In a relaxed state such as sleeping is the body more vulnerable? But would think ones immune system would be higher?

I have always taken my AI and Ibrance before bed to limit dealing with side affect Was curious to find out others routines.

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ba5083
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30 Replies
BritSammy profile image
BritSammy

Hi fellow warrior, thank you for sharing an interesting article. I take my medication Ibrance and Fulvestarant in the morning. I like to take my medication with some plant based coconut yoghurt and granola. If I take at night I can eat and worry I will wake up feeling sick. Like to see some more research on timings etc

bikebabe profile image
bikebabe

I read about this too and was asking my pharmacy friend about medication timings but little seems to be known. I was also wondering when it’s best to do lymphoedema drainage - morning or night.

Aquamoron profile image
Aquamoron in reply to bikebabe

just chiming in here re: lymphatic as in my experience morning drainage helps. I went to a workshop for lymphatic self massage and do it in the am shower daily and again when applying moisturizer directly afterwards. It helps keep swelling at bay, and as you go about your daily routine (walking, etc) it helps keep things moving in the right direction.

As for my medication, I take ibrance and metformin with my evening meal. I think as someone said before, it’s building it into your routine so you don’t forget to take it. Also the spacing of the dosage by a good 18-24hrs so you don’t get an overdose.

bikebabe profile image
bikebabe in reply to Aquamoron

thank you aquamoron! I do mine whilst in bed before I get up just after my arm/shoulder exercises. Hard for me to reach across my body with other arm to do it when standing up.

wendle3007 profile image
wendle3007

I take my Ibrance late evening because I find it makes me drowsy. I was told to have it after or with food so I usually have something like a banana or other small snack.

I take my Letrozole in the morning with my breakfast and other supplements.

The only advice I've been given by my medic team on when to take is that the Letrozole has to be taken every day and it's best to choose a time when it means you will remember to take it - just as you would a contraceptive pill. With Ibrance, there is a fear of over-dosage so you have to stick as close as possible to the same time each day and better to leave longer between dosages when your routine is disrupted, rather than taking closer together.

Best521 profile image
Best521

There are theories that cancer cells are more active at night. While more investigation is needed, based on this I have been taking my Ibrance and Letrozole together each evening, same time, before bed. I also practice Intermittent Fasting, twelve to thirteen hours, along with daily walks. There are theories IF causes cancer cell death. If science ultimately proves otherwise I will change,

ba5083 profile image
ba5083 in reply to Best521

Thanks so much for sharing - I have recent read a lot about Intermittent Fasting and Mimic Fasting. How it affects glucose levels and inflammation (lowing inflammation can help the immune system fight cancer). Since glucose is a huge source of energy for cancer it makes sense logically to me that it can have a huge affect on stopping progression and assist with regression. I have also read to get the most bang for your buck with exercising is to exercise about 20-30 minutes after a meal. Most glucose spikes happen about 60-120 minutes after eating. The theory is the exercising allows the muscles to pull a lot of the glucose from the meal limiting the amount available to feed cancer. Being in the exercise/supplement industry that theory lines up with may knowledge. It baffles me to hear Oncologists say "there is no evidence diet and exercise make a difference". Curious how many clinical trials have been done on that?

Best521 profile image
Best521 in reply to ba5083

MSK, Dana Farber and UCSF had or have research and trials looking at diet, exercise, Intermittent Fasting and their rolls in preventing cancer, preventing reoccurrences, and slowing progression. Definitely worth looking at their websites. They have great information.

ba5083 profile image
ba5083 in reply to Best521

Thanks so much for sharing - I will keep an eye on them.

Kcap430 profile image
Kcap430

I take my Ibrance and Letrozole before bed for the same reasons as you..I sleep through most of the side effects. So far it’s working out great

Godbeforme profile image
Godbeforme

First of all, let me say I am NOT a medical professional. I take my bp meds at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and my ibrance at 3 p.m. On another note, I take melatonin before bedtime most nights. I can't take the over the counter melatonin as it makes me drowsy, but I buy mine from pure bulk . com (no spaces) and it has ZERO drowsy effect on me until it is DARK and Im ready for sleep. It's in powder form and nasty. I dump it on my tongue and chase is down with lots of water. Melatonin is a cancer fighter, which is the original reason i started taking it, but then 3 or 4 days after starting it I noticed the "fog" lifted off of me and that's a biggie because I wasn't expecting THAT result! I had also gone to my cancer story . rocks (remove spaces) and was taking fenbendazole for over 2 years but recently stopped taking when I ran out because I basically got sick of taking it, but here it is 10 years after diagnosis and NEVER HAD ANOTHER TUMOR so there is that! I didn't want to take it as it sounded horrible, but when I had chest pains from ibrance it was a real blessing to have something else to try. I will probably start that up again here in the future. I had ZERO side effects from it. I have recently been battling incredibly high blood pressure and thought it was from the ibrance I am taking again, so I requested a dose reduction to 100 mg., lo and behold I quit my Letrozole after it fell in the freezer accidentally (a comedy of errors) so I decided I'd take a break from it for 42 days as some studies indicated that possibly "renews" the effect of it but lo and behold my blood pressure is so low now I can't take my bp meds as prescribed (I took only HALF the dose yesterday evening and it was 110/60 so now I will wait until it comes up a bit before taking any more), so now I'm thinking it was the Letrozole that was causing such high blood pressure. It's all so crazy trying to figure this stuff out, but I feel like I am on my own because the onc is not helpful at all. Hope this helps you or someone else. God bless you and heal us all in Jesus name, amen!

ba5083 profile image
ba5083 in reply to Godbeforme

Many studies have confirmed melatonin can be very beneficial to reduce inflammation. Drs I talked to treating COVID were recommending it for their patients to help with inflammation which is when I took a deeper dive into the research. I have read some cancer patients have worked up to 60mg of melatonin a night. Although that seems a bit excessive to me. IMO Fendbendazole/Mebendazole has a lot of benefits as well in this fight. I'm a believer this disease must be attached from multiple angles. I suspect that when treatments no longer work (such as CDK4/6 inhibitors, AIs ect) it is because the cancer has found another pathway to feed and no longer need the channels to survive that the treatments has cut off. Course there is so much that is unknown.

Godbeforme profile image
Godbeforme

This is where/when I found out about melatonin! still very impressed with this video unto this day; some call him a snake oil salesman but he is still a doctor and I believe what he says about melatonin! I've lost count of how many times I've watched it LOL ... youtube.com/watch?v=Roh4lQX...

ba5083 profile image
ba5083 in reply to Godbeforme

Yep I have seen this as well. Some background on my self. I work for a GMP supplement manufacture that has been operating since the early 90's and also have an over the counter medication manufacturing facility. My boss and owner of our company is wickedly smart with it comes to over the counter supplements (and prescriptions for that matter). He was the person that sparked my interest in Melatonin as a far better supplement than just a "sleeping pill" when COVID was at it's peak. In cases that I can't confirm internet news I typically will follow up with PubMed and NIH research to confirm.

Godbeforme profile image
Godbeforme in reply to ba5083

I'm retired from the state of Texas and almost 69 years old. I have only occasional aches and pains. The ibrance actually makes me feel good. I won't take anything that hurts me as I am into quality of life, as is most everyone I know! Seems doctors have forgotten that phrase, "first do no harm".

Godbeforme profile image
Godbeforme

It does cause vivid dreaming; I take about 35 mg. ... a level "smidgeon" as imprinted on one of my tiny measuring spoons I also bought from pure bulk if I remember correctly ... if I take it during the day it doesn't even make me drowsy.

Sharon0122 profile image
Sharon0122

I read that same thing and I also take mine before bed! Hugs!

mariootsi profile image
mariootsi

I take my Ibrance at night to avoid side effects.

PeabodyTerrace profile image
PeabodyTerrace

I take my Ibrance (125 mg) and Letrozole (2.5 mg) in the morning and have really had no side effects. I asked my oncologist if it would be better to take it at night, and she said there was no evidence that taking them at night was any different from taking them in the morning. For those of you who are having side effects, I would continue taking them on the schedule that works best for you.

ba5083 profile image
ba5083 in reply to PeabodyTerrace

Looks like the study was conducted in June of 2022

love2golfwell profile image
love2golfwell

I always take my Ibrance and Letrozole together right around dinner time. I found when I took it later in the evening, I might have some stomach issues. I also had read about the breast cancer cells traveling when people are sleeping but sleep is so important for a healthy immune system so we need to sleep. Confusing information for sure.

ba5083 profile image
ba5083 in reply to love2golfwell

I have always taken mine at night as well. I was recently switched from Letorzole to Exemestane (no real big side effects with Letrozole but was not as effective as expected). The 3 prior nights I have woke up with acid reflux. Last night I took it earlier. Still got acid reflux but was able to calm it down before bed time. I'm going to try mine just after dinner and see if that helps with the reflux. If in fact CTC (circulating tumor cells) are more active during sleep a time released AI and or CDK4/6 inhibitor might help with that.

Shafight profile image
Shafight

I drink wine with dinner so I take meds in am and not pm. Can I just buy otc melatonin. Sounds so good. Does anyone take aspirin ?

ba5083 profile image
ba5083 in reply to Shafight

Here is the melatonin I take...But I work for the company and get a discount. I take 2 a night. Recommendation is 20mg minimum for inflammation but you might have to work up to a dosage over 10mg over a couple weeks. Many take more than 80mg and have seen some take as much as 180mg at night with lower doses during the day. If this particular melatonin is of interest PM me. hitechpharma.com/products/m...

I also take 1 low dose 81mg aspirin a day. I take it in the morning with a dose of curcumin or turmeric. The 2 together helps the absorption of the turmeric.

I encourage you to do your one research on dosages. I'm working off info I have read but I'm not a medical professional

Shafight profile image
Shafight in reply to ba5083

thanks so much. I’m going to try melatonin. Btw I took aspirin faithfully after my mastectomy because I read that it was an aromatose inhibitor. I also took letrozole. 3 yrs later I had extensive Mets in my bones. So I’d love to know if I should take aspirin again??

ba5083 profile image
ba5083 in reply to Shafight

From what I have read my understanding is a low dose aspirin thins the blood a bit to help curb metastases along with a lot of water. I think the theory - If the blood is flowing well it is more difficult for the stem or tumor cell to cling onto a new surface. It makes sense but don't know if there is any research to back it up. For a natural AI supplement DIM (diindolylmethane) is an alternative to look into.

Shafight profile image
Shafight in reply to ba5083

thank you

bikebabe profile image
bikebabe

I take most stuff in the morning - thyroxine, and liothyronine, leave an hour then breakfast with ibrance and Letrozole. More liothyronine at 3pm, chondroitin/glucosamine with tea, then calcium at night. You can’t mix some meds. But if it’s better to take ibrabce and Letrozole at night, I would reverse the routine except trying to leave 2 hrs in evening without food is hard!

Dragonfly2 profile image
Dragonfly2

wow such a popular post! I also believe that timing of meds makes a difference…I take anastrozole in the morning with other vitamins and supplements ; I then used to take IBrance in the evening after supper. I suddenly developed awful indigestion that kept me up at night and I was miserable. So now I take it midafternoon…around 3 pm. It worked …no more indigestion ! I’m at about 30 months on this stuff so we will see how much longer the meds will work before a new one must be taken 🙏🤷🏼‍♀️❤️‍🩹

kellylinkane profile image
kellylinkane

I am not sure about the night time more circulation cancer cell, but i am sure if I not sleep well next day my tumor marker usually higher, and i noticed if I sleep well next day my lab is usually better, including tumor marker. I have now take 4 of 10mg time release melatonin to sleep from natrol, make me sleep well, and the study show melatonin will connect the vitamD receptor and make breast cancer cell apotosis.

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