Coincidence or something else, it seems to help.
 

I have had mg for over 6 years, on 10mg of prednisone daily, can't seem to lower the dose without effects. So here's an odd question for all of you. I started taking cimetidine ( generic Tagamet) because the prednisone has really done a number on my stomach, and I seem to improve. Normally by the end of the day, my eyelid would drop, and my facial muscles were noticeable. So I started doing some reasearch, and I came up with nothing except for a site for vets, vetmeds, that suggested prescribing it to dogs with mg. So is there anyone who could think of a reason why this may help, or willing to try it, to see, if it's something as simple as taking 200mg of cimetidine a day, to reduce symptoms. Maybe it's a fluke, but if there's something to it, more research needs to be done.

It is possible. Cimetidine has recently been found to have anti-cancer actions. It is also an H2 blocker, meaning it blocks histamine 2 receptors.

Cimetidine also has dramatic effects on the metabolism of drugs in the liver. It can cause other drugs to be metabolized more slowly when cimetidine is present.

https://livertox.nih.gov/Cimetidine.htm

If you go to drugs.com and use their drug checker you can put in all the drugs and supplements you use to see if cimetidine interacts metabolically with them.

Dogs share some biological traits with humans, but they are not 100% like us. Some things may work for them, and not us.

I would not try cimetidine without medical supervision because of your medical situation. It is available in 200 mg doses OTC in stores. On RX the doses are stronger, up to 800mg each.

Cimetidine as an H2 blocker is used in treating some allergic states, and also to prevent allergic reactions to imaging dyes during tests like MRIs, etc. It is used with prednisone and Benadryl for this purpose.

Hi, Skgroom. Yeah, it's pretty hard to get off of Pred. Have they tried reducing the dose in very small increments?

Are you on Mestinon? If so, Cimetidine may keep Mestinon in the neuromuscular junction longer.

The reason Pred messes with the stomach is that the drug is an antiprostaglandin. It reduces the gel coating of the stomach. To improve that situation, you can have good omega 3's daily, such as olive oil, flax oil, or walnuts. You could eat fish. Reducing stomach acid may initially help, but it doesn't solve the gel coating issue.

What Cimetidine has been found to do is to reduce acetylcholinesterase, the enzyme that mops up acetylcholine. In other words, it has the same effect of Mestinon, to an unknown degree.

Cholinergic effects of histamine-H2 receptor antagonists partly through inhibition of acetylcholinesterase. - PubMed - NCBI

I agree with Mrs. D. Don't play around with meds that have not been directly tested on MG AND may have adverse effects on other systems in the body. H2-receptor antagonists can lead to deficiencies such as B12, iron, calcium, and protein/albumin.

You have good instincts. Just don't become a medical mistake by using a med not specific to MG. Cimetidine certainly isn't a substitute for Pred, nor will it help withdraw from it! ;)

Please talk to your neuro about your options.

Annie

Thanks
 

yes it is important not to play with your meds, I informed my specialist that I was taking cimetidine 200mg, first thing in the morning, and than my prednisone 10mg, about an hour later with food, she felt this was fine. We have tried to slowly ween off the prednisone, with no luck, once I get down to about 5mg, my symptoms come back, so I have just come to the conclusion I will be on prednisone for life. Occasionally I have more of a flair up, but since I have been taking cimetidine, that hasn't happen. I guess my thought is, if it's helped me, maybe it can help someone else, of course they need to consult their doctor first. I have struggle with this for so long, trying to find something that would work, or at least make me feel, a little normal, and l'm just wondering if it's a fluke, or could there be some merit, I wish more research could be done.

I just did the research for you. :cool:

The body has checks and balances. Acetylcholine (ACh, or what I call muscle gas), goes to work to give you more muscle strength. When it is done with its job, Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) mops up what ACh is left.

Mestinon fends of AChE so that we can use ACh for a longer period of time. There are other things that do that, too, such as caffeine and Cimetidine. Combining too many of those things, however, can lead to a cholinergic crisis, where you get too much ACh.

A MG crisis and a cholinergic crisis may have similar symptoms, which can be dangerous. A patient may think they need more Acetylcholine, when they may have too much.

Many doctors are not aware of all of the drugs that have similar effects as Mestinon. They know of the drugs such as Atropine that do the opposite of Mestinon. They may not know that substances such as quinine in tonic water are similar to Atropine.

Taking Cimetidine for a long period of time will not be helpful. And it has other effects (like the potential deficiencies I mentioned) that will be bad for you.

Please, discuss the above with your neuro.

Annie