acai berries and Tamoxifen

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Hi all

Apologies if this has been asked before (I did use search first, honest). Is there any reason not to use acai berries whilst on Tamoxifen? I’ve been told they might help me sleep. I know red clover and gingseng and some other plant based supplements are not advised, and some essential oils (rose etc) aren’t allowed for aromatherapy if you’ve had ER+ cancer.

I haven’t found anything suggesting avoiding acai berries but thought someone on here might know.

Thanks

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Hi Nottsgal

Sorry cannot help with the acai berries - although I have heard of them.
Just read your post and just slightly concerned now as my onc recommended Red Clover for my menopausal symtoms (I’m on Tamox and ER+).
He said anything you can get from a decent respectable health food shop cannot do you any harm ?
Must say I’ve been taking them for a week and not sure if it’s pychological but I’m still having the hot flushes but maybe not as intense.
Does anyone else have anything to add to this please - just slightly concerned now.
Hope someone comes up with a response to your acai berries soon Nottsgal (sorry to hijack your post)
Many thanks

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Can I suggest you give the helpline a ring? They’re usually pretty well informed on this kind of thing.

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Nottsgal - you might be interested in the article from The Times in 2009 about the berries:
timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6086385.ece

If I were going to have them then I would have them as part of a large variety of vegetables and fruit.

Susie - the advice from Oncs seems to vary on the subject of things like red clover. My Onc said I could work my way through the shelves of Holland and Barratt all the time i was on tamoxifen. My BCN (different hospital) said not to have any of those things.

For both your questions, I’d be inclined to ring the helpline. Elinda x

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Thanks for the link Elinda, the article doesn’t say anything about the acai berries being good if you can’t sleep - so maybe they’re not the answer for me anyway. As you say, there are plenty of other nice fruits and veg for vitamin content.

Susieq, if you get an answer on the red clover etc, would you post here please. I was told by my onc that no oestrogen replacements are recommended if you’re on Tamoxifen. But as with so much of this, it appears different professionals give different advice.

Cheers all

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H Elinda & Nottsgal

Sorry for not replying sooner, only just arrived back from a short break.
Thank you for your responses - I’ve just tried to ring the helpline but it’s closed until tomorrow, so I’ll ring back then and post on here their response.
Take care all
Sue x

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Hope you had a good break Sue. Just to say as far as the acai berries are concerned, I’m steering clear. This advice is on the Boots MD website “Don’t take acai without first speaking with your GP if you’re taking cancer drugs, since it could block their effectiveness.” I’ll soon be on herceptin as well as tamoxifen and don’t want to stop them working properly.

Still looking for something I can use to counteract hot flushes and not being able to sleep :0(

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I have been told its fine to take Evening Primrose Oil for hot flushes but not sure if it would help you to sleep x

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Hi everyone
Just had a long discussion with the helpline (what a lovely lady) and basically the research that they have show a conflict in how the natural hormones work together with the Tamox.
There is research to show that yes it does help with menopausal symptoms (hot flushes) but it is still not yet fully understood if this would impact on oestrogen sensitive cancers - rule of thumb would be to advise against taking it, if there was any risk whatsoever.
She advised me to discuss it further with my Onc, which I will do but I’ve decided to stop taking them in the interim - even a small risk is still a risk and if it can be avoided it could make the difference to stop the beasties coming back.
She too suggested evening primrose so might try that. She’s also sending me some more info on help with the menopause.
Hope this goes some way to helping you decide and if I find anything else that helps with the flushes, I’ll certainly let you know.

Take care all
Love Sue xxxx

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Hi All

My onc suggested that I try Evening Primrose Oil to deal with night sweats - my main cause of poor sleep - but I found it didn’t help at all.

I was on a low dose of Amitriptyline (an old fashioned anti-depressant) for a while and that helped, but I didn’t like the numbing effect that it had, including bits I didn’t want numbed!

I’ve since been trying Valerian root extract as a sleep aid and I’m finding that it is generally helping. It’s not a magic cure but on average I’m sleeping better and longer and without the horrible side effects I got from the various anti-depressants that my GP prescribed. I checked everywhere I could and found no contraindications for Valerian with BC treatment (my BC is ER+).

Sarah x