Bottle o Tamoxifen
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So true Chevyboy... I was on "the pill" for 20 years and my breast surgeon said that doest not mean thats why you have bc... she said there is NO rhyme or reason sometimes, she has women that have completly organic diets and no risk factors that get it, women that never took the pill or any other hormone and they get it. I am only 41 and aside from taking the pill didnt fit any other "risk factor"... just lucky I guess lol!!! She said if we knew WHAT caused it we would stop it.
Well hope everyone has the day off today and does something relaxing or fun. Today is my sons 18th birthday!!!! So time for some cake
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Determined - That is interesting on the soy stuff. Thanks for sharing. A few of the antidepressants that can be taken with Tamoxifen actually help with the hot flashes. Effexor is a common one but not everyone chooses to take it. Instead, the choose to deal the with hot flashes as it is just another drug to take. It comes down to a matter of personal preference.
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I don't know why I got breast cancer. I'm a life-long vegetarian, no hormones or birth control pills, I'm an extreme athlete and live healthy. I never did have any kids, that might be it. But with 1 in 8 women getting breast cancer there are bound to be some people who get it who don't fit any of the risk factors.
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surfette - I have asked myself a million times "Why Me?" and the answer I get sometimes is "Why Not Me" So confusing and frustrating.
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alaina: so a definite maye amd maybe noy and this experience and one that is opp anger and confusion and frustration are all yours to feel. they exist for all of us i think, regardless of priors. just gotta go forth and find support her, or form you religuion anf/or 12 step and or a rock or doorknob whatever works is what works. we are all here, thats a constant! i found another source of insight when i started reading through the diferent diagnoses and treatments of each person on their post i heard similarity in those diffences
~ ~ nabcy-carol
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My first post. Will meet the onco tomorrow for my first bottle of Tamoxifen. Gulp. I have also seen an Integrative Oncologist at UCLA who gave me nutritional and supplemental information. She encouraged soy providing it is in the bean form or organic. I have it with my coffee and will indulge in a few soy joy bars but that may be it. I am doing the expander now and have such a difficult time sleeping that I hope SE's don't add to the problem. I was the picture of health before all this too so now I'm just trying to be as smart about my future as I can. And not blame myself. Happy MLK Day!
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jo1955, lol, the funny thing is, I never asked myself Why Me? because I always knew it was coming. Just a bit of intuition, I suppose. And I'm thankful for that, because it really didn't phase me to much. I'm just ready to get on with life. I'm so over the cancer thing. And people need to stop giving me PINK GIFTS, DAMMIT!
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Oh little Surf! Don't be mad about the pink gifts...somehow I find "comfort" in anything pink, because it also was my Mom's favorite color. People just like you & want you to know they are thinking about you.....I did the cancer walk last year....Talk about PINK!!! Yikes! And my feelings were so confused.....sad & mad because I had breast cancer, & because people seemed to be celebrating something so awful.....I know it wasn't MEANT that way....but to keep from crying all along that walk was really hard....
Hipline! You are in Santa Monica? How tough can THAT be, ha! Always great weather, and in that beautiful State! You might have side effects, we all do somehow or other, but they seem to come and go....just try it! Hugs, kids! xoxoxoxo
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surfette ME TOO!!! i always thought that breast did not belong there...never felt right , just felt like the scar seemed like it belonged there instead. not fcatastifying, just knew hurts yes, posin (tamox) yes, but correctness also thanks for voicing that! (oh, i did ask for a day but when it was done..........) never got the pink gifts but did get a swell birthday party asked my gf, why this year...been around a long time . she suggested it was the cancer card...probly right...but hey 10 people around a table serving me lotsa food , cake , presents? i'll take it!
~ ~ nancy-carol
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Surfette - Pink is not a bad color - I know what you mean about the gifts. A box of chocolate would do the trick too.
Hipline - Welcome to the group. Sorry you have to be with us like this. You will do fine with the Tamox. I am doing a split dose - 10mg in the am and 10mg in the pm. That seems to work for me as I had bad nausea with Arimidex & Femara.
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I've been having severe ovary pain. I'm supposed to have gotten my period within the last few days, but it hasn't arrived - - only the pain. I've been on T for almost a month. Anyone else had this?
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Can someone please explain to me what the problem is with grapefruit?
Also, I have been on Tomoxifen for 5 days and for the last three nights have barely slept more than an hour total. I am only ten days out from BMX, and so tired. Is anyone else having this kind of trouble sleeping?
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I know everyone talks about the hot flashes but does anyone get reealllly cold like bone cold too???
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No hot flashes yet but I sure do get icey cold. I've been on tammy 2 1/2 months. 19 years post menopause.
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tinkertude - I do get realllly cold. Sometimes the hot flashes are welcome. Been on tammy since Jan 5.
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Hipline Welcome to this thread...I find it very informative comforting and supportive!
Pennythoughts I too have been havng terrible pain in my ovaries when I am around my cycle. I have had my period twice since I finished chemo in May. I have a scheduled appt with my gyn next month to make sure everything is ok. I want him to order an US to check it out. My onc says that its completely normal to have discomfort around my cycle and that it would dissapate.
Jo I have been freezing since winter started...my poor foob is like ice pack on me at all times..Although I can do without the hot flashes I am ready for warmer weather.
Hope everyone has a great evening.
Diane
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Diane - It is 62 degrees here and it might as well be zero. I have the oven on baking cookies and still have a sweater and slippers on. This is crazy. I am with you, can't wait for warmer weather.0
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Ha ha Jo that's funny! I wish it was 62 here. I have multi layers on, my UGGS a HAT cause my head is freezing and my pashmina wrapped around me and I just cranked the heat..maybe I should bake something though that does warm me up.....coooommmme on spring!
Di
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DIane - I am in deep South Texas very close to the Mexican border. Our coldest of the season was last week when the lows were in the 30s. I am thinking about moving further south if this this keeps up. I had perhaps Cozumel in mind - have been there 6 times on cruises and love the place.
I agree - Come on spring!
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Thanks everyone - I'm sure as long as they monitor me for the bad things, then the little things will be fine. Guess everyone is different and I'll just have to see how it goes for me. Still a little scared, but I'll see how it goes in a couple of weeks.
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Fran - Everything will be alright. Hoping for minimal SE's
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Elizabeth - here's a link for the grapefruit question: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400404/Is-Eating-Grapefruit-a-Breast-Cancer-Risk.html
To soy or not to soy was the biggest question I had and the reason I decided to consult my Naturopathic Oncologist in the first place. I quoted her the Asian women example and she told me that Asian women metabolize soy differently and she recommended I limit it, at the very least. She scrunched up her nose when I told her I've been using it regularly for 20 years, she also scrunched when I told her I "had" to have coffee. It isn't the caffeine, it's something called xanthines that are the problem. That's how I know what to avoid, her scrunches. haha
Also, I'll add my 2 cents on what causes breast cancer. My surgeon, at my first visit, told me they know of 80 things that can cause breast cancer but there are a thousand they don't know and not to beat myself up or try to figure out what caused my cancer. My mother is 84 years old. She had a hysterectomy when I was a little girl and took Premarin for 40+ years and doesn't have breast cancer. In fact, there is no cancer in my family anywhere, I'm the first. I took BC pills on and off over the years, but if everybody who took BC pills had breast cancer, hardly anyone would be unaffected. I'm making the changes I have in my life in the hopes of making my body as healthy as I can so that it is an unwelcoming environment for cancer to grow in. I've always eaten a pretty healthy diet. I've always exercised, never been overweight, did not drink much alcohol, etc. The rest of me is in good shape. The only Rx I was on was Zyrtec for allergies, that's it. I got checkups every year, my husband was military, and that's how they roll. All they can do is site statistics of who gets cancer after what, and I think we probably all fall into several categories. I do have low circulating vit D and I am overloaded with phthalates - my Naturopath tells me that I have this in common with a lot of breast cancer patients, so I'm trying to do something about it every day. I want for us all to live to triple digits and never have this shit make an encore for anybody. Once was more than enough.
OK, down off my soapbox now. Sweet dreams to everyone and hope you all had a good MLK Day.
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phxsunshine: Your oncologist told you that Asian women metabolize soy differently? Hmmmm, I dunno, a human being is a human being, I would think. It is all very confusing.
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I don't remember exactly, but I do remember reading somewhere that Asian women do have lower risk of breast cancer AND yes, eat soy. BUT they've been eating it all their lives. It said something about if you haven't been eating it all along, not a good idea to just start for the 'benefits' because they won't be the same and possibly opposite. Not sure why that was but remember reading it during one of my researches.
I also read somewhere (sorry I don't have links...didn't save, just things I remembered reading about) that if you are going to eat soy it should be the edamame, beans.
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The link is interesting about grapefruit consumption, but my understanding is that it interacts with Tamoxifen. DH can't have it either because it can alter the effects of anti-rejection meds. I don't know if it has to do with the acidity or what.
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Oh boy, grapefruit too? My mother ate a 1/2 a grapefruit every day of her adult life, for over 50 years and never got breast cancer. She got lung cancer at 77 from smoking.
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I have also read that it is not so much the soy as how the soy is processed / mixed etc. My students eat soy products regularly but it is not overly processed...maybe that is the difference. As for me, I started drinking soy milk 1.5 years before I was diagnosed because cow's milk makes me often gave me eczema. I had a hard time not blaming myself for getting breast cancer initially as a result of the soy thing...funny where your mind goes...but other than that, I never asked or felt "Why me?" because really...why not? I may not have any of the indicators but I was on the pill in my 20's and part of my 30's, a cell phone tower was erected very near my home 10 years ago and I weigh more than my 4'10: frame should likely have on it (though a good portion of the excess weight is breasts...)
So, I have decided not to drink soy milk...am back to cow's milk but organic only when I eat cereal and other than the tamoxifen and zopiclone (because I am still not sleeping well and know I need to in order to heal and keep on top of all of this), I am not taking anything. My face cream does not have parafen in it, my shampoo and conditioner are organic and I am not a big make up wearer....it is just so hard to know, hmm?
oh and I did end up with major hot flash last night..took my tamoxifen (all 20 mgs at the same time) mid afternoon because I had forgotten in the am...so I definitely think halving it helps..
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all oy! seems like too mny rumors and beliefs and studies and opinions and experiences too keep up with. everything seems to undo everything else colorado, surfette grapegruit the fruit? i had read many articles on grapefruit JUICE, but not the fruit. maybe we should just do life and to h3ll with all the info. ya think?
~ ~ nc
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Phew - After reading all the posts and the different theories - I have decided to live my life as I have for the past 55 years. No gonna freak out, read labels or change my makeup. If I did that, then BC wins and I end up running scared the rest of my life - not gonna do it. Does that sound crazy? Maybe, but I am happy with the way things are now. Oh! By the way, I will take the Tamox for the next 5 years - I may be crazy but I am not stupid.
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Ha, yes, everything else undoes everything else. So true! LOL It is crazy...makes us crazy anyway.
I started out being kind of radical...(you know, CANCER...then freak out mode) but have settled down some. I have always been very health conscious (and end up with BC, lol) and so still will be. I have changed some things, makeup, etc and will continue to go with that. But, I have loosened up a bit because it seemed EVERYTHING was bad, estrogenic, etc. So, I agree somewhat that you have to "live" to LIVE.
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