Topic: Bottle 'o Tamoxifen

Allie,

Thanks for the advice on the book.  I will certainly look into getting it.

Susie

We have had minor invasions of them in past years.  The ladybug ones like my daughter's room, I think because it is the west facing side of the house and they like the warmth.  They get caught and escorted outside.

We haven't seen nearly as many this year... I think it is because the one year old dog likes to catch, play with and eat bugs. 

Well.......back from the Breast Surgeon. He says Tamoxifen is really the way to go. And that since I'm quite healthy and pre-menopausal, the scarier symptoms of gynecological, liver and eye issues are very unlikely. I'm not thrilled but I trust him. And I'll make certain to monitor all more closely than before. All in all, the visit went well and I'm lots more comfortable about the next step. Of course, although I eat super healthy (primarily vegetarian with some fish and dairy; hardly any meat or chicken), I was chastised for having too many cocktails each week. ~sigh~ I really like martinis and cosmos, not to mention the 3 bottles of champagne (with others, not just me) in as many days to celebrate the end of rads.

Next step is looking into the different manufacturers. You ladies have already helped a bit and I found a list of the inactive ingredients that each manufacuter uses on http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?startswith=tamoxifen&x=0&y=0  so I'll check into the fillers and see if any have more SE than others.

Looking into prices as well. I know Walmart is ultra cheap but there are none nearby and besides they're always crazy crowded Any other suggestions of pharmacies that have great prices - In NYC, North Jersey or the Internet?  Even DC since I'm frequently down there ?

Rose...

I've been staying away also...   it's been two years since I started Tamoxifen.  I have been trying not to think about bc 24/7, but it still creeps in.  I had been hanging out on Facebook for awhile, but since alot of my bc friends have found me, I am having more 'moments' when I think about bc so it's on my mind alot lately...

I guess I just want to let you all know that Rose is right...  there will be a time when you don't have se's all the time, and you can feel pretty normal...

I may be switching to an AI soon...   I'm doing the Tamoxifen countdown... 

57 Tamoxifen pills to go... 

Hugs

Harley 

WOW Harley, you are almost done with tamox! We will have to have a big celebration for you!  I look forward to that day.  Let's see..it is only 4 years and 362 days away.  lol 

I hope that one day we all can forget about bc and just put it in the back of our minds.  But, it just takes time.  Most of us are still in treatment and it just won't happen yet, or, I don't think so for me anyway.

Susie

Greetings all! Allie, I agree with you about the Anti-Cancer book. I enjoyed reading it and learning about some ways I had not yet considered that might help me to reduce risk and to improve my well-being overall. Rose, thanks for the update; it was thoughtful and helpful. Rachel, I was so tired when I last read and posted that I may not remember this correctly, but didn't you post about a study that compared efficacy of Tamox (excluding the low metabolizers) with the AI's that found no significant difference? I find that very interesting, and when I have more time (and perhaps more energy) I will look into that more. I had quite a bad experience with Arimidex--won't go into that whole story again--and I am very hopeful about the possible benefits of Tamox.

MTG, I posted a while back about my response to alcohol since being on Tamox. I am not a big drinker but I l-o-v-e a good chocolate martini (just a more relaxed way to enjoy more chocolate...), and I am just about blasted when I drink just one now. I maintain a good activity/exercise level again (kind of slumped and slid off the wagon during the TC chemo ride), eat well, try to do what I can to nurture my body, so I am not going to feel guilty about an occasional cocktail. Heck, .5mg Ativan knocks me more for a loop than alcohol! And it seems that I sleep best with .25mg Ativan, which I still use on occasion when I feel edgy and just can't rest. I cannot tolerate Ambien. Susie, with regard to headaches, I had some splitting headaches after 1month+ on Tamox--very irregular for me--and they went away after a couple of weeks. I also found that I had a powerful headache each time I took my old stand-by antihistamine (new for me), which I used when my sinuses "acted up." By the way, I have found that a number of side effects--especially the yucky vaginal "secretions"--have stopped or reduced in intensity along the way (about 3 months since beginning Tamox). My eyes are less dry, but I still use Similisan to help. kmmd, do I remember correctly about your eye problems? Have they resolved? Fatigue continues to be my number one problem, but as many of you know I am still recovering (slowly) from chemo, so that may dissipate over time. I remain hopeful. Fortunately I have not had the extreme bitchiness that some have experienced, which slightly worried me when I started, since I was quite irritable and testy with Arimidex. Of course, I am not totally filled with goodness and light, in spite of those expectations of others that I am supposed to be a grateful, saint-like creature now that I have survived breast ca three times!

Hi !!!!

 It turned cold here and those daggone beetles seem to have gone once again.  I only have a

few .....   3 or 4   ....... still in here.  Gosh Susie ~~  sounds like they LOVE it at your

house.  You definitely must get a bug eating dog of your very own.  :o)    I "thought"  I read

somewhere not to sweep them up but it's vague in my brain.  LOL

 About the headaches... either is possible... your allergic reaction or the Big T.  Since they are

continuing though it does make me wonder. 

 Take Care All

It took me a while to stare at the little white bottle and finally open it, but when I did I didn't have one side effect.  I fully expected the worst, but now, 4 months in, nothing!  I hope the same is true for you!  Not sure about weight gain... I can blame the Tamoxofin, but I think the extra pounds are my own fault for loving Mallomars!

Best of luck to you.  Be well!

Good evening ladies!  It is really nice here tonight, almost warm out and a beautiful Harvest moon.  I do love those!  And, the beetles/ladybugs go to sleep...shhhhhhhhhhhhhh  LOL

Brenda:  Thanks for letting me know how your headaches went away within a few weeks.  I hope that is the case for me.  I don't normally get headaches and never days in a row.  I thought it might have been from the allergic reaction to the CAT scan and everything, but, I don't know.  I think it might be more the tamox.  Dang it..........

CatbirdC:  YES, these darn bugs do LOVE my house.  But, it isn't just mine.  Everyone has them, even the town people.  I think it is just worse here because we live in the country and are surrounded by bean fields.  They started harvesting some today, so, maybe they will leave if the beans are out of the fields soon.  I hope so!    And, I could use a bug-eating dog!  LOL  Know of one?

Mary:  I just started tamox myself, and so far, I just have a headache daily.  I want to wish you good luck!  Keep us updated on how you are doing.  Ok?

PattiB:  They only stink if you sweep them up or squeeze them.  lol  I stopped squeezing them and just sweep them now.  I did put out a little bowl of soap and water and I have been picking them up and throwing them in there....drowning them.  lol  OMG, I am so evil.  

Susie

Susie, yes, I have had a prescription for Ambien since diagnosis - I could not sleep (gee, wonder why???) and my bs gladly gave me the scrip.  I was on it every night until I finished rads, then started weaning myself off and when I could finally fall asleep by myself, it was great, until I started the tamox, and have the occasional insomnia nights.  Now I take it if it looks like I am not falling asleep by 11-ish so I am not up all night.  Insomnia is also a by-product of menopause, which I've been in (surgical) since 1997, and I would take benadryl.  Since chemo, benadryl doesn't do anything for me, so it's Ambien all the way! 

We have plenty of lizards in south florida that I would be happy to ship up to you, Catbird!  Most of them are on my screened in porch.

Morning people!  Hope everyone is good today!

Bonnie:  Yes, it has been funny talking about the beetle bugs, but, I really, really hate the lil buggers.  I have been on sweeping them up duty already this morning.  My poor sweeper.  lol  And, that is a great idea..the lizard!  Now, where can I find one at?  lol

Chelev:  That benadryl they gave me on Monday, after my CAT scan reaction, really knocked me out and once I finally woke up from it, I felt great.  Too bad that we can't have that stuff more often.  But, someone wrote that it wasn't good to take it with tamox.  I do have trouble sleeping as I am sure a lot do.  I seem to have a lot of nightmares ever since I got diagnosed with bc.  But, I just figured it goes hand in hand with it until we can feel some sense of security again. 

Susie

Hi Everyone,

Chelev~~  I could have used one or two of your porch lizards earlier....LOL.

Pack up 3 or 4 and send them to Susie.  Poor thing is busy sweeping them up.  :o)

Hi Susie,  Hope you don't mind me ordering you a few lizards.  :o)

Have any of you ever heard of getting dry eyes from Tamoxifen?  I have that.  The doctor said

it's sort of rare, nothing serious, but honestly some days I look like I've been "tippin a few"

with these red eye balls of mine.  I'm using two different drops and my eye doctor told me

to get fish oil caps and take them.  That's my mission today.

 Hope you all are doing well today.

CatbirdC Bonnie

Kap, good luck with the Tamox break. From what I've read sometimes a brief hiatus can help. 

I've always been on the thin side resulting from a good metabolism, somewhat healthy (mainly vegetarian) diet and exercise (yoga/pilates/weights 4x a week). I gained some weight with rads, so when it was over I bought a spin bike (so now there's no excuse), increased my cardio to 5x a week and largely replaced simple carbs with healthier stuff . I lost what I gained, but I really had to work at it (which was never the case) and now I'm just barely maintaining. Pehaps I'm also experiencing a metabolic slowdown.   

When I was first diagnosed (last spring) at my doctor's suggestion I briefly poked around the Young Survivors Coalition board and most of the posters were in their twenties and thirties and a lot of them had very aggressive cancers. I quickly checked out. This disease knows no boundaries.   

MTG, welcome to the wonderful world of Tamox! I am taking Teva (manf) Tamox and other than an early period and pms type cramps (and perhaps a slower metabolism), I haven't experienced any other SEs. Like you I am concerned about the known and unknown SEs, but as with anything else, I am balancing the risks with the benefits. And I am getting my Tamox directly from my insurance company, which has a mail service pharmacy - 3 month supply for $15. I think most insurance companies have a similar program.    

And right on, Rachel. Support has always been in abundance on this thread and you have always been one of our greatest cheerleaders. Negatvity and personal attacks are very uncommon and when it does happen just about everyone vigorously responds to it. That's not "starting" negativity - that's how we stop it.  

Sorry, I posted the same thing twice and deleted the second.

Kmmd:  It took me awhile to really like green tea.  I still don't like it as well as just regular hot tea, but, I know it has a lot of good benefits for us, so, I drink it instead anymore.  Maybe, if you add some lemon or honey or something to it?  That might make it taste better.  I have always loved hot tea.  Hope you can learn to drink it and like it better!

Susie