Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Same And Yet Not Same

I noticed some changes in my daily routine. Normally I go to bed past 11pm and wake up about 7.30am. But there are times, I just could not wake up, like this morning. It's already 9.30am and I am still feeling sleepy. Then after 2pm, I felt tired again and would take a nap. Waking up at about 4.30pm, but still feeling very tired. Lately I have feeling very tired, especially in the afternoon. I wonder if this is seasonal. At one time, sleeping problems and now over sleeping. I feel so fresh after a good sleep or nap. 

Cimetidine Replacement
My hypnotherapist has advised me to consider changing  the cimetidine drug to omeprazole as replacement as taking cimetidine on long terms basis could lead to dementia. From documentation, omerprazole has better results than cimetidine for traditional treatment of prepyloric gastric ulcers. Here, I am talking about using the drug as a cancer drug. Can a replacement have the same result?

Histamine is the chemical (neuro-transmitter) your body produces when you're having an allergic reaction. Although there is always some histamine in your body, a mosquito bite (for example), causes your body to release more histamine in the area of the bite, making your skin red and itchy. In extreme cases, histamine levels in someone who is allergic to a bee sting or a particular food like strawberries can be elevated so high that it causes anaphylactic shock and possibly death. Adrenaline (Epinephrine) is the only chemical that can quickly eliminate histamine in a person. So called "antihistamines" like Benadryl only work to block some of your body's histamine receptors (relieving some histamine related symptoms), they do not remove histamine. If you do go into anaphylactic shock (where your organs essentially shut down), it is essential that you are injected with adrenaline immediately to counteract the dangerously high histamine level and prevent death.

Cancer cells like histamine. To a cancer cell histamine is food. There are histamine-receptor antagonists other than cimetidine: ranitidine, nizatidine, famotidine. These had not been studied in the same way as cimetidine and in 1996 the University of New South Wales Department of Surgery team conducted an investigation to see if ranitidine, marketed as Zantac and the biggest selling drug of all time, also inhibited tumour growth in laboratory cancer cell lines and in laboratory mice.  They found that where cimetidine did inhibit cell growth, ranitidine had no effect. This was confirmed and enlarged upon by a similar study from the Ajou Institute for Medical Science, Suwon, Korea where the possible anticancer effects of ranitidine and famotidine were studied. In this study rantidine had a slight effect that didn't reach statistical significance, while famotidine had no effect at all.

The point is not all histamine-receptor antagonists are made alike. What more, we are using the drug for treatment of cancer, not the original purpose for which the drug was designed for.

At the moment, I am still looking for evidence that omerprazole is as effective as cimetidine in cancer therapy. A study published by the Gastroenterology Research Group shows that omeprazole has a cytostatic effect on one (NCI-H716) of three colorectal cancer cell lines but the mechanism for this effect of omeprazole and its potential role in treatment awaits elucidation.

5 comments:

  1. Dear CT,

    While you are concentrating on healing your cancer with scientific proven methods and dealing with much pain with conventional and alternative treatments, perhaps, you might wanna consider spiritual healing in the form of meditation?

    I came across this Bodhi meditation (based on Great Compassion in Tibetan Buddhism) by chance (more like affinity). Although, i have not tried it personally, i am putting it at a high priority on my to-do list.

    There are many good testimonies regarding the blissful feeling most participants feel that led to healing of their illnesses. Dun get me wrong, i'm not suggesting that it may heal your cancer, but you will probably feel less pain and more peace helping you to deal with your ordeal.

    They have worldwide centres and one in Msia (PJ). You can just check out the website on the introduction of the meditation. To know more, they have 3-hr introduction to the meditation, 2 days elementary course and 8 days 9.30-6.30pm. All on donation basis.

    While most of the testimonies i read are all by ppl fr US (mainly Chinese population), this particular testimony is by a Msian fr Ipoh who have done it in Vancouver and he highly recommended it as the blissful feeling is beyond words...
    http://forum.ipoh.com.my/showthread.php?t=15115

    Malaysia Bodhi Meditation Center
    Tel:+603-7960-8066
    Email:putimsia@gmail.com
    Website:www.puti.my
    Address:D-37-03 Dataran 3 Two, No.2, Jalan 19/1, 46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Malaysia

    http://www.puti.sg/en/about.php
    http://www.puti.ca/en/HomeEn.html


    Best regards,
    Audrey

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    Replies
    1. Dear Audrey,

      Thank you for your recommendation. Indeed there are many good meditation and retreat centers around the world. My own personal preference is Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary (SBS) in Taiping.

      But because of my cancer, sitting (semi-lotus position) and walking meditation has been difficult for me. So I am doing sleeping meditation and modified sitting meditation at home. But once in a while, when opportunity presents itself, I like to meditate at other places as well.

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    2. Hi CT,

      Great that you have been relieving ur pain with meditations already. Ya, i heard of SBS too. In fact, i too wanna get info on their retreat schedule which i dun find in the website. Perhaps, you can share with me where to get it?

      According to some of the testimonies for this Bodhi Meditation, there were some that were in great pain too and could not do the full prostrations. Yet, the instructors would teach them modified ways but yet still experience healing results and then they could proceed to the do normal regime and obtain the fullest results. Perhaps, u can try out their briefing session?

      Also, i have encountered Laughter Yoga which i have bought the entire series... it seems to work to artificially induce laughter to uplift the mood...

      Cheers,
      Audrey

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    3. Dear Audrey,

      You can find out more information about SBS from this website http://www.sasanarakkha.org/. In my view, this place is of world class standard.

      Thank you for your other suggestions, I will consider it.

      As for laughter, I have been practicing something very simple. Every morning, while brushing my teeth, I see myself in the mirror and I smile. Every time, I see myself in any mirror and or a reflection of me, I smile. When when I feel pain, after acknowledging the pain, I smile because I tell myself how great it's to be alive. In short, every opportunity (such as while talking, eating, walking, sitting, etc), I smile.

      My face now looks so much more jovial and relaxed even in times of pain or sadness. One day, smiling will be second nature to me.

      You can try it too

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    4. Thanks CT,

      Will definitely make SBS retreat one of my to-do list.

      Stay Positive! :)

      Regards,
      Audrey

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