taking daily Tagamet

Options
Kerry S
Kerry S Member Posts: 606 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I forgot to tell you guys that I talked to my surgeon about taking daily Tagamet.

He just smiled and said “that’s why I had you on the stomach acid pills for two weeks after surgery”. It’s the cimetidine that does it. He sure feels that it works!! He is fine with me taking it daily along with my daily aspirin. Due to chemo brain, I forgot who posted about this and got me on it. Please post it again. I think it is worth it for the newbie’s. We get mine at Walmart with their brand name.

Kerry

Comments

  • Nana b
    Nana b Member Posts: 3,030 Member
    #2
    Options
    Yep
    I take a prilosec each day and it's prescribed because it's a higher dose then over the counter.
  • herdizziness
    herdizziness Member Posts: 3,624 Member
    #3
    Options
    Bumping
    Bumping up.
  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    #4
    Options
    taking Tagamet too- careful w/ Prilosec
    Hi Kerry,

    I'm also taking 800 mg/day of Tagamet (cimetidine) daily- this is the amount recommended in the study. I take 2 pills in a.m. & 2 in p.m. A word of caution to Raquel or anyone taking Prilosec daily or taking any kind of antacid daily for the purpose of reducing stomach acid reflux... the cimetidine actually doesn't work as as well as some of the newer antacids for that purpose BUT its purpose in cancer patients taking it really ISN'T for the stomach acid problem- it's to help prevent metastasis or further spreading of the cancer, based on a study of patients taking it after their resection surgeries- a far lower % of recurrences with those taking the cimetidine in addition to the Xeloda vs. patients just taking the Xeloda alone. If your problem is too much stomach acid, well maybe the Tagamet will help, but maybe you need an additional something to help the acid.
    If you're looking to reduce your chance of metastasis or further spreading of cancer, I don't know that there's any study or evidence to show that prilosec or other antacids will give any benefit in that area. The only study I know of an antacid helping prevent metastasis is specifically with cimetidine only- also known and sold as Tagamet.

    Just a word of caution on the Prilosec... My sister in law was taking Prilosec for a few years (not cancer related- just for excessive stomach acid) & discovered that because it reduced the amount of stomach acid, that she didn't digest and absorb food and nutrients as well & that she wasn't absorbing several of her vitamin supplements & her dr. blamed it on the prilosec. It helped with the acid reflux problem she was having, but apparently taking it for too long of time periods without a break from it can be problematic.

    But, yes- my onc agrees w/ me taking Tagamet/cimetidine daily- says it's pretty harmless and if it can possibly help- why not take it?!

    Lisa
  • Nana b
    Nana b Member Posts: 3,030 Member
    #5
    Options
    lisa42 said:

    taking Tagamet too- careful w/ Prilosec
    Hi Kerry,

    I'm also taking 800 mg/day of Tagamet (cimetidine) daily- this is the amount recommended in the study. I take 2 pills in a.m. & 2 in p.m. A word of caution to Raquel or anyone taking Prilosec daily or taking any kind of antacid daily for the purpose of reducing stomach acid reflux... the cimetidine actually doesn't work as as well as some of the newer antacids for that purpose BUT its purpose in cancer patients taking it really ISN'T for the stomach acid problem- it's to help prevent metastasis or further spreading of the cancer, based on a study of patients taking it after their resection surgeries- a far lower % of recurrences with those taking the cimetidine in addition to the Xeloda vs. patients just taking the Xeloda alone. If your problem is too much stomach acid, well maybe the Tagamet will help, but maybe you need an additional something to help the acid.
    If you're looking to reduce your chance of metastasis or further spreading of cancer, I don't know that there's any study or evidence to show that prilosec or other antacids will give any benefit in that area. The only study I know of an antacid helping prevent metastasis is specifically with cimetidine only- also known and sold as Tagamet.

    Just a word of caution on the Prilosec... My sister in law was taking Prilosec for a few years (not cancer related- just for excessive stomach acid) & discovered that because it reduced the amount of stomach acid, that she didn't digest and absorb food and nutrients as well & that she wasn't absorbing several of her vitamin supplements & her dr. blamed it on the prilosec. It helped with the acid reflux problem she was having, but apparently taking it for too long of time periods without a break from it can be problematic.

    But, yes- my onc agrees w/ me taking Tagamet/cimetidine daily- says it's pretty harmless and if it can possibly help- why not take it?!

    Lisa

    Thanks!
    I will definitely will change that! I will talk to my onc too since he put me on it!
  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
    #6
    Options
    cimetidine hazards
    cimetidine hazards

    Hazards and benefits of cimetidine therapy

    Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal Dysfunction in Men Using Cimetidine

    Cimetidine is a known testicular toxicant

    Enjoy!

    John
  • gfpiv
    gfpiv Member Posts: 59 Member
    #7
    Options
    Nana b said:

    Thanks!
    I will definitely will change that! I will talk to my onc too since he put me on it!

    Prilosec
    I agree 100% with everything Lisa has said above about Tagamet vs. Prilosec. But FYI I did see one study on the potential effectiveness of Prilosec (aka Omeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor) vs. cancer:

    "Blockage of intracellular proton extrusion with proton pump inhibitor induces apoptosis in
    gastric cancer":
    http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1349-7006.2007.00642.x/pdf

    Draw your own conclusions as to the validity of the study, and it's some pretty technical reading, but the synopsis stated at the end is "In conclusion, our present findings show that the gastric proton pump inhibitor has the ability to reduce gastric cancer cell viability via induction of mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, and provide novel mechanistic insights into the anticancer target of the gastric proton pump."
  • Lori-S
    Lori-S Member Posts: 1,277 Member
    #8
    Options
    Bump
    Bump

Discussion Boards