I ... read that some antidepressants reduce the effectiveness of chemo As a cynic from way back I've always read the CMI sheets that come with all medicines I've had prescribed over the years and I've made it my business to read up on the (very rare) ones I've just bought over the counter; at heart I'm not into chemotherapy unless a properly informed medico can convince me otherwise. Now that I'm into chemo not unlike Michelle's I am issued with (what the NSW Cancer Council calls) "The Red Book" which tracks everything and anything to do with my medical treatment, including stuff from my ophthalmologist. Just as well, because one of the drops for my glaucoma (which, I gather, has depressant side-effects; not afflicting me, so far) got the chemo nurses asking whether I still had glaucoma; the predictable answer ("Yes") meant that one of the chemicals used in my changed chemo regime was contraindicated and thus not administered. It only treated expected side-effects of other, required, parts of the chemo regime so it was no great loss. The local Cancer Support Group (which lost one of our founding members last week; Vale Mary Maclean, a very strong woman indeed) has regular talks by various professionals (dieticians, pharmacists, masseurs, psychologists, nurses, social workers, alternative/complementary medical treatments, etc) and a regular theme is that all your professionals who administer chemical treatments should be informed of all your medical intakes from all your sources, as many things can have synergistic (and often unwanted) effects. I'm not really posting this for Michelle's benefit but in case there are others (posters or lurkers) who might find it useful info. Great news, Michelle! Cheers, Rowan
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