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Looking for research re: taking AI drugs vs not taking them
Breast Cancer | Last Active: May 15 10:12pm | Replies (170)Comment receiving replies
@prc73 Ooooh so true. (Never heard of the grape seed extract, but I'm sure it's easy enough to do some research to make sure it's legit.)
I had to stop and write back because of your reference to weight. You can't go anywhere and not see how fat builds estrogen levels, the very thing you're taking the AI to kill. And yes, for a lot of women, the AI ironically adds weight.
I was about 40 pounds overweight and have never successfully taken or kept it off (with decades of trying). One thing I did (cuz hey, it's beneficial regardless) is I went on a GLP-1 (the Lilly program for no-insurance pricing for Zepbound, which apparently gets better fat loss than others). BUT, to do it, you need to do a TON of research and understand what you're getting into. It's not a magic shot that drops weight. It suppresses your hunger to help YOU get the weight off. If you want to KEEP it off, you need to change your lifestyle, with healthier eating, movement, etc. Otherwise, same behavior, same result.
After 5 months, I'm down 30 pounds - feels AWESOME. It'll take some work to get to my target, but I know I'll get there. I figure my body without all that excess fat stands a better chance against "the enemy." Hope this is helpful. THANKS for sharing a great post, @prc73 ! < 3
Replies to "@prc73 Ooooh so true. (Never heard of the grape seed extract, but I'm sure it's easy..."
@kcalhoun So glad the weight issue cane up! I do a lots of research as well.
Two issues I can’t find enough definitive research on, is fat/weight, and, actual risk of dcis with a papilloma in the peripheral breast (my type) vs central nipple area. It seems papillomas in the outer areas of the breast tend to come in multiples whereas papillomas near the nipple are usually single. Papillomas are usually benign but often aligned with ADH, which can be a precursor for cancer. The oncologist agrees. But the answer seems to be, just keep getting scanned. I keep hoping new research will come out with better outcome info. But this is one reason I chose to do tamoxifen.
The fat/weight issue - it just seems odd that knowing that estrogen is present in fat that that wouldn’t be a super high risk for hormone positive cancer. And as you said, AIs tend to cause weight gain, with tamoxifen not far behind.
“Lower estrogen directly decreases Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) and total energy expenditure.
Estrogen deficiency causes fat to shift from the hips and thighs to the abdominal region (visceral fat), which is metabolically less active and linked to insulin resistance.”
3 1/2 years into low dose tamoxifen I’ve started gaining weight, partly stress eating over family medical/care issues. And having a terrible time losing it. I believe its becuase my metabolic rate has tanked. If fear of scans is scanxiety then I’m feeling bc pfatxiety! I haven’t put on enough weight yet to consider GLP-1 but I’ve got to stop this progression.
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@kcalhoun OMG congratulations!! That's fantastic that you have lost all that weight . Also using Zepbound! Maybe you have just joined a clinical trial without actually being on one. I have never been this happy for someone I have never met but hey I figure we are all family now and sisters in this race. Thank you for the encouragement and I am definitely going to look into Zepbound. I am aware of 2 ladies whose doctors put them on Ozempic and surprisingly my oncologist also suggested I use one of these meds for help.. so honestly I think there is a lot of truth into the weight loss part. I am ecstatic for you . 30 pounds in 5 months is a huge accomplishment. You have just given me tonnes of motivation. On the diet side I was advised to go plant based ( I can add fish and chicken ) or Mediterranean. I am also learning to make foods from scratch that way I know exactly what goes in . 😊