Bottle o Tamoxifen
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Hi, I have a quick question. I am on this paraben free makeup foundation kick and really am having difficulty finding ones I like. If I continue to use ones with paraben will that be harmful to me, would the breast cancer return? I just use it on my face, all the other skin products I use are paraben free. Found on WEBMD:
Q: Are parabens harmful?
Scientists are working hard to understand this. Parabens have a chemical structure that's similar to estrogen, and they can mimic this hormone's activity in the body. But they aren't particularly strong. They're about 10,000 to 100,000 times less potent than the natural hormone, according to the CDC.
"I would definitely say when we line up all the chemicals, they don't tend to stand out. They're fairly weak estrogen mimics. They aren't compounds that rise to the top of our concern level," says Robin Dodson, ScD, a research scientist at the Silent Spring Institute.
The new study found that in the presence of growth-promoting substances that are normally in breast tissue, parabens can promote the growth of estrogen-sensitive breast tumors even in tiny amounts -- around 5 to 10 nanograms. A nanogram is a billionth of a gram. "The question is: Would humans have those kinds of concentrations in their tissues or blood?" Rudel says.
Any thoughts? What recommendations do you have for foundations?
Thank you in advance
Lin
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When I first started Tamoxifen 20 mg 7 weeks ago I was waking up at night and staying awake for a couple of hours, so I switched to taking it in the morning. Now I am waking up at night with nausea and staying awake for a couple of hours. Anyone else experiencing insomnia and nausea, should I switch back to taking it in the evenings?
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Thank you for the replies, edj3 and flashlight. My MO was just so adamant about starting it immediately after radiation. It seems like people start at different times.
I'm going to concentrate on switching from Prozac to Lexapro first and then tackle the Tamoxifen after that when I'm ready. I don't want to make too many changes at once. My MO gave me 20mg of the Tamoxifen, but it seems like many on here are going from 10mg to the 20mg. I'm not sure what to do since my MO is pretty strict and not sure she would go for that.
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Peridot, I told my drs that my body needed to heal. I had a lumpectomy, chemo & radiation. I wasn't ready for another substance for my body to deal with. They said as long as I DO start it, they were ok with a few months off (ended up being 8 months!). My thought was, my estrogen was the lowest it had been and chemo & radiation killed anything that may have been lingering. Estrogen doesn't cause cancer, it feeds it. So does sugar, and a weaken immune system, and paragons, and toxins....my point is, it's multifaceted so concentrate on fighting from ALL angles. A clean diet and exercise cuts your chances by 30%, using clean products on your body cuts down too, cutting out plastics does too. Increasing your intake of flaxseed, cruciferous veggies and soy does too. So if you wait a couple months, concentrate on the other things.
Just had my 3 year mammogram last week--all clear. I take 10 mg most days.
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Goldfish, I've suffered from nausea.
I started out taking 10 mg every night on Aug 1st. I took an extra 10 mg in the morning every few days to get the amount in my system up to 10 mg. That went pretty well.
Then I started to take an extra 10 mg every other morning on Aug 13th. When I started that, I got nausea about 24 - 26 hours after taking the extra morning pill. After three times of this, the nausea was bad enough that I actually vomited 3 times within about an hour late one morning (Aug 18th).
I backed down to the 10 mg for a few days, then started taking an extra 5 mg every other day on Aug 22nd and also started taking it with my evening pill in the hopes of sleeping through any nausea. That hasn't gone so well. I still have intermittent nausea many days. This past Friday, it was bad enough that (for the first time) there were specific foods that I didn't think I could eat. Saturday and today have not had nausea (well, might be getting a bit iffy right now)
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Hi Perdot180 - My MO didn't want to give me 10mg x2. I Insisted. I told him I had been splitting the 20mg, and according to the pharmacist, the 20mg were NOT meant to be split. Its My body - My choice. He gave me the 10mg x. 2. When I go back on (once my Severe Hot Flashes get under control) I plan to split the 10mg and start out at 5mg, then 5mg x 2 (Very slow increase) With or Without the blessing of my MO.
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Peridot you need to give your body a little break. I started about 5 weeks after radiation and started with 10mg first.
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I was having an awful time at 20mg so I took a break and started again at 5mg. I was consistently taking 10mg for a couple of weeks and doing okay and then the nausea started. Nausea and vomiting are triggers for my PTSD so I don’t play around with that. Been off for about 10 days—and man! I feel great. I have been sleeping and happier and more focused. So very much dreading starting back up. But I want to give this my best effort because this is it. AI’s were a disaster, and this is my last ditch effort. (I am on Paxil which is no-go with Tamoxand my insurance gave my primary doctor trouble—but like I said, I don’t play around with my mental health.)
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Hi Musosgo girl: So excited to hear you are feeling so much better. My story is very similar to yours. Tried all 3 aromatase inhibitors with terrible legs pains, all over muscle pain so started Tamoxifen 7 weeks ago as my last ditch effort. I thought I was doing OK on it the first month but then I started waking up every night with all the hot flashes and really bad nausea that lasted pretty much all day and night. I just decided yesterday I was done with all the meds, I want my old life back, so I stopped the Tamoxifen. I am 71 years old and feel like I gave it my best shot but I am done with all the side effects. I was wondering how long it takes for this nausea and insomnia to go away, so happy you are feeling so much better pretty quickly, hope I get the same results.
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Thank you everyone for the advice. I'm going to discuss this with my MO in a couple of weeks when I see her next. She probably won't be thrilled that I didn't start the Tamoxifen yet, but it is my body and my choice when I start it. I have to do this one step at a time. This is just all too much for me to deal with right now.
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My MO is one of those who can't think outside the box, she doesn't even let me talk ... "20 mg is the dosis" She don't even let me divide the dose at 10mg twice a day.
She didn't want me starting with a smaller dosis for a few days. I wonder if she has ever wondered why the 20 mg tablets are slotted
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Peridot 180- you got lots of replies- woot!
I’ll pipe in cos strangely, while your
MO was pushing to start asap-
mine was law -dee- daw- no
rush- start may 1 - no rush-
thus my 2 month wait time ( so
i could get my anti drug anxiety
in control)-
Been 3 mos on 20 mg a day-
and no side effects yet-
Your MO may be pushing cos
of your path report ( i will go
back and look at that, actually)
I am post menopausal
( stage 1 grade 1)0 -
Cassiecanada: I think that it could depend our path report, my MO had me wait a month after finishing rads before starting on 20mg.
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Yeah, path report, MammoPrint (which is what I had) or Oncotype--all sorts of factors. I know one point I used w/ my MO is that if diet/exercise gives a 40% reduction, then why do I need tamoxifen? I'm lean and fit so I've got that going for me. I think that's partly why he's not screeching about me ramping up super slowly and also waiting as long as I am.
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Yndorian1 - my MO wanted me to do 20 mg once a day to start also. He did relent and prescribe the 10 mg pills to be taken 2 pills per day. As much trouble as I had getting him to give me the 10 mg pills, I wasn't about to ask about starting slow. I just did it, against his advice.
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Hmm that is interesting. My MO was very strong in her determination for me to start my Tamox no later than four weeks after my BMx. It translated as a sense of urgency for me but who the heck even knows?
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Wonder if it's our ages? Given that you had an mx, I suspect you're younger than I am.
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I'm only 36, so that's probably why my MO wants me to start so early. It's probably pathology, too. I had to wait for surgery, which got cancelled since they couldn't find the remaining tumor, then had to wait for an MRI, then had to wait again for another surgery date. I hated waiting then and just wanted to move on with everything, but my MO wasn't concerned about that and said it was fine. Now that I would like to wait a bit to start the Tamoxifen, she's really pushy about me starting it immediately. I just can't win.
I'm going to start it when I'm good and ready.
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I had to request an app't with the MO assigned otherwise it would have been another month or two. Anyways, she was easy going and prescribed the Tamoxifen and I told her I was waiting to start until after my vacation. She was ok with that. So I started 2 months after radiation. I needed the time to recover and get my energy back. I wonder how fast can a tumor form anyways while being off a hormone blocker? In a week or month or what?
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Veeder I was always told that the cancer was slow growing and had likely been there for quite some time. So a few weeks just can't make a difference in my mind.
Edj3 - I was 54 when diagnosed, but not menopausal yet - trying to be ha! Maybe starting the T quickly is just my particular MO's thing. I do think if I had pushed back strongly or had something else serious going on she would have relented. She did offer to give me a two week vaca off the drug when about 8 months in the fatigue was crushing me. I chose not to yet. I am saving that 2 week vaca for when I hit the two year mark. I write on each on of those d@$# bottles what month it is. Just closing out #14. Hate it but at the same time thankful that its working.
Hmmm now that I am thinking about it, I need to coordinate a really great vacation to go along with my T break!
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To be honest, I think the reason my MO hasn't had kittens about my planned approach is he knows I'll bail if I get the physical side effects so many of you have experienced. I'm a runner and I'll be damned if some drug takes that away from me.
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It was two weeks for me per my MO. I took three weeks to get my head around it, and she can lump it.
She also wouldn't even consider my starting lower than 20mg. Instead of arguing, because why bother (the power here is mine), I decided to try it her way and see what happens. So far so okay. But we'll see.
She has no idea how stubborn I can be. But okay, so far her way is working. I am thinking of breaking up with her though because I didn't care for her pat textbook responses.
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A few hours after taking my first tamoxifen 20 mg pill I already had nausea, heartburn, ankle pain and a swollen belly like a 7 month pregnant woman...
5 mg/day is all I'm willing to try. If the University of Oxford does not lie, that dose is as effective as 20 mg. I'm thinking of taking sulforaphane tablets, according to some studies it is the same or more effective than tamox. and does not have its adverse effects.
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AngielInAmsterdam - There is at least one forum on CBD, CBD/THC you should check out. For me, it does not seem to help. THC tends to make me feel groggy the next day, and I'm thinking CBD also does the same. Both drops to put in beverage, have not tried lotions. I took one product recommended by a friend for sleep ( hers is no cancer related), but did not seem to help me. Several people on the marijuana/THC/CBD mention products they found helpful. I have not tried many. Only CBD legal where I am, have to travel out of state for other stuff.
https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/79/topics/868047?page=1#post_5300868
https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/79/topics/817030?page=2#post_5300612
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Thanks BlueGirlRedState.
Bought hemp CBD tea to test. Not really helping with joint/bone/muscle aches and pain, but did help with sleep. Not quite sure it’s doing anything for anxiety and depression. Had appointment with MO yesterday. She doesn’t have any remedies for all the SE’s. Going to take a break from T for 6 weeks, will do bloodwork to see if chemopause has led to menopause in a couple of weeks. Perhaps switch to letrozole as alternative to tamoxifen. Although, have heard AI’s have similar SE’s as well. An endless cycle.
Not feeling hopeful during appointment with MO. She made it seem that only option is tamoxifen or an AI if post menopausal. There are no other solutions. Either I follow anti hormonal therapy or stop and risk recurrence. Of course this did not help with my level of anxiety.
Will just enjoy these next few weeks without any meds or poison for the first time since chemo in December 2018! Already feeling relief just thinking about having respite. At least, temporarily, thisgives me a sense of happiness.
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AngieInAmsterdam - turmeric might help with joint issues and acupuncture might help with stress/anxiety. I add turmeric to meals as well as taking a supplement, and I think it helps. I like the Gaia "joint" formulation, but there are many other kinds and brands out there. Acupuncture has been quite variable with stress/anxiety/sleep loss/joints. Sometimes I find the sessions very helpful, othertimes I do not notice much. I looked into "scalp acupuncture" for joint issues related to cancer treatment. Only one person where I live seemed to know about it and said she had studied it in school, but never practiced it. We tried a few sessions, and it did not seem to help with joints. I can't find the original article I saw which described scalp acupuncture and patients taking cancer drugs, but maybe these links will be helpful. https://www.aimc.edu/event/yamamoto-new-scalp-acupuncture/
I have just started to read Anticancer living : transform your life and health with the mix of six by Cohen, Lorenzo, And so far I think it has alot of helpful information on lifestyle to get through/fight/prevent cancer. ".....building social and emotional support; managing stress; improving sleep, exercise and diet; and minimizing exposure to environmental toxins" . They even have a clinical type trial in Texas exploring this. For me, I need to work on the social/emotional support, so I am looking into a "Livestrong" program at the YMCA as well as Qigong. I am pretty motivated for excercise, but probably need to do more variety and with other people rather than the treadmill. Usually I manage stress fairly well, but working with internet providers has just about done me in. I need to reign in the sugar/carbs/alcohol. I probably consume far more than I think I do.
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Re: tumeric - I've read that this affects the body's ability to use tamoxifen as well. I've started taking it, but I only take it morning and maybe lunch if early enough. I take tamoxifen at least 6 hours later.
I just started LiveStrong this week. I'm hoping that this does help me with the social / mental / emotional aspects in addition to the cardio & strength training.0 -
Re: tumeric - I've read that this affects the body's ability to use tamoxifen as well. I've started taking it, but I only take it morning and maybe lunch if early enough. I take tamoxifen at least 6 hours later.
I just started LiveStrong this week. I'm hoping that this does help me with the social / mental / emotional aspects in addition to the cardio & strength training.0 -
Hi Everyone, I also tried turmeric because I had read such good things about it. I took it for two weeks after lunch even though it gave me such terrible heart burn and nausea. I had to stop.
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