Bottle o Tamoxifen
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Chabba,
Can you tell me what drugstore you got it at?
Sharon
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Just our local, independent pharmacy. We are way too small a town for any chain to bother with us.
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Off to the sleep doc this morning - Tamoxifen = insomnia - Onc and Sleep doc talks and said go back on Nuvigil because it wiill help with Tamox SEs - Nuvigil (was on before Tamox for sleepiness) = insomnia - AND HOW does this help??? That is the question that will be asked this morning. Got to get back to work... Love ya all!!!
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GMA - Keep us posted. Hope you get some answers this morning. (((HUGS)))
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Thanks all for the allergy med input. Looks like I was wrong about Zyrtec. My MO's office finally got back to me and said that Zyrtec or Claritin was ok to use for my allergies.
GMAFoley--good luck and hopefully you can get it resolved asap with these docs!0 -
Had a good visit with my sleep doctor. When I started having issues, she wanted to "SEE" me to see my SEs. She took one look at me and I said (with wide open eyes), "I don't fall asleep at my keyboard anymore!" - I put out my hands so she can see how shakey I was.
Sleep Doc: I think you shouldn't take the Nuvigil anymore. Let's see what we can do." - She brings out the drug interaction checker and reviewed all my meds and the ones I had bad reactions to in the past. She looked at me and said, "Have you tried trasodone before? -
Me: It sounds familiar but don't see it on my "No way" list.
Sleep Doc: She looks at me again and says the smallest tablet I can get is 50mgs but it's got a scorebar to cut it in half.... silence....Well maybe not half - how about just a quarter? And it also might help with your mood at the same time. Do you have any heart problems?"
Me: Only a t-wave abnormality, but heart is fine.
Sleep doc: Well, lets double check on that first - Do an EKG today and then you can go get your med. She has me taking a quarter of a pill half hour before bedtime.. -
As I walk out she said to make an appt for 2 months but if things go badly, call me right back and we will get you in sooner.
She is a sweet doc and at least listens to me.. EKG came back - normal sinus rhythm and I take my first trasodone tonight.
And I am on day 10 of the tamoxifen
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GMA - Hope the new med helps with the sleep issues.
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So do you think our sleep is all messed up because of tamoxifen or because of the chemotherapy? I'm not sure. I haven't slept the same since before chemo. I've been done with chemo for 5 months and still have crapy sleep. Been in tamoxifen since Feb.
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Dora - I think it's the way the treatment for estrogen-positive cancer affects our hormones. Whether it's tamoxifen, or AIs, or chemo - whatever it is it affects our estrogen like menopause would is my guess. I think I'm going to add the 5HTP to my nighttime regimen like someone mentioned on the other page (don't want to lose my post, but thank you for that idea!).
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No sleep still, instead, nightmares, walking into walls when I get up 5 times still, inner child playing with matches, think I used the whole matchbox last night
, dizzy and disorientated most of the day.. Not a happy camper and I don't know what to do. Forgot: leg and hip pains now too. Why can't I ever just breeze through like some people do? Am I alone, or is someone else having issues?? I cried all weekend too. 0 -
I know what your going through. I've been told, yes SE are terrible but Tamoxifen can help with the first five years of taking it.
Also been told if i stop taking it and it comes back, will i blame myself.
So i have to decide do i continue with shit SE or stop and fingers crossed.
I have to have tests as Tamoxifen has made me very bloated, pain and thickening of womb. Will see after the results and decide then.0 -
I have been on tamoxifen for 2+ years and have had an interesting time of it. I had all the awful side effects and some very disturbing uterine lining thickening and polyps. After the first 6 months I stopped having periods. No surprise since I was 53. But I just kept feeling worse. Bloating and like I was always PMS. So after a year and 10 months, I made the decision to stop it for 6 weeks. Just to see how I would feel. I immediately felt great, like my old self and slept like a baby. And after 6 weeks I started it back up. One day later I had a period. It's been 6 months and no more periods but I am tolerating the tamoxifen much better than I ever did before. Maybe I was more mentally prepared but honestly I can handle the tamoxifen now. By the way my onco had a cow when I told her I went off but I did it for me and it was the best thing I've done on this journey! And the polyps are gone and the lining ok.
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GMA - There hasn't been a thing I have breezed through including reconstruction. I had to be the first patient my PS had to have a hematoma after dorsi flap and had to go back to the OR the following day. Then there were the seromas to deal with. I have been on Tamoxifen 2 + years and 2 summers in a row, uterine issues - which are still hanging around. Uterine thickening = 2 D&Cs, polyps last summer. Oh! And how could I forget 2 hysteroscopies ( biopsies). Well, my GYN appt this year, I am going to insist on a hysterectomy and while he is in there, take the ovaries as well. I am 58 and hav been potmenopausal since 2008. Bloating - all the time. Enough is enough. Heck, maybe I should take all this crap and go throw it in the bonfire.
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Ladies-- how did you find out about your uterine line thickening and other Issues down there? Was it through regular check ups or certain symptoms? Thanks!
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Cuetang - After I started Tamoxifen, I read on here many of the ladies were asking their GYN for a transvaginal ultrasound so that is what I did 2 years ago. My doctor was not going to do one yet as I had been on the white pill for 6 months. I had him to a baseline and glad I did. Hystersocopy/D&C #1. Fast forward to last year. Insisted on another TVUS - hyteroscopy/D&C/3 cm polyp removal. This year, going to insist on a hysterectomy. I'm 58, post meno since 2008 - don't need the plumbing anymore. Bottom line, ask your GYN to do one at your next annual visit. It is painless and takes a few minutes and can be done right in the office. My doctor showed me the uterine thickening. The polyp showed up as a fuzzy mass.
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I also have a question to add to Cuetang's: since we are on tamoxifen - would going to a gyn be a better choice than having annual exams with a family practitioner? My FP indicated he could do my gyn exams going forward (I started cing him again this last year when I moved back to this area and after all the BC dx)...I don't want to offend him, but am just wondering if an actual gynecologist would be a wiser decision d/t potential SEs. However - maybe the FP would do just as well? I went to him years ago and he delivered my three boys - but BC and all it brings is a whole different ballgame. Any thoughts/experiences?
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ED2012 - Talk to your FP about your concerns and see what he/she has to say. Some FPs are just as good as OB/GYNs. Also, you may want to find out if you can have transvaginal US done.
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I currently don't have a gyno. I stopped seeing my OB/gyn practice about seven years ago when I was sure I wasn't going to have another baby. My breast surgeon has recommended that I start seeing one now that I'm on tamoxifen. She says that if wound be helpful to have a relationship established if any gyn issues arise with the tamoxifen. I just had a pelvic exam with my primary care doc, but I will set up an appointment with a gyn at some point to get the ball rolling.
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Thanks Jo for the info!
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Cuetang - You are so very welcome.
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Well, saw the MO today and we looked at what to do. He said my risk is so low that he didn't feel it was necessary to try it any longer. He thought that I'm going through so much right now, I need my sleep to heal.
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GMA - Of course you need your sleep to heal and I hope you do start sleeping better.
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GMA....sweet dreams!
Related to concerns about benedryl and it's impact (CYP2D6 inhibitor) on the efficacy of tamox.....
I had an eye exam today and the doc recommended that I use Zaditor (antihistimine drops for my eyes) to calm down my seasonal allergic eye reactions, which have flared up recently. I asked to be sure that there was not an interactive problem with this antihistamine impacting the efficacy of tamoxifen, but neither the opthamalogist nor the optometrist knew of anything to be concerned about (but my allergist knew nothing about the benedryl issue either!).
I could not find anything on the internet about any Zaditor impact on the tamoxifen, (of course the fact that it is being administered directly to the eyes only would already reduce the chance of systemic impact) but if anyone knows of a problem I'd appreciate hearing from you. Thanks!
Since I have returned to my tamox regimen (after a three and a half week hiatus two months ago) the SE's seem to be less bothersome.....mainly irregular sleep, thus some fatigue.....and cognitive issues (attention, memory, name retrieval, breaks in train of thought in conversation....damn!). Physically, I have been helped by using a personal trainer and exercise program thru the hospital's fitness center.
Best to all......0 -
Feeling Like I just lost my chance to keep it away though.... Epic Fail...as the teens say these days.
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Lacey - I also have concentration and memory issues. Lots of cognitive issues too. I can easily loose my train of thought right in the middle of something I am trying to say. Not like that before Tamox. I find it really frustrating.
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Cynthia1962. This is a crazy suggestion but it won't hurt to try it. Put soap in the bottom of your sheets. Some people swear by it for RLS. I have been getting cramps in my legs at night. I haven't had anymore cramps but who knows if this is the reason. I figured it wouldn't hurt. One caution, don't use Dial. When I googled it, that was one soap that didn't work. Ivory was the number one. I had a small bar of Neutrogena that I used. Upside, may work. Downside, soap flakes on your sheets.
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My Mo called in a tamox prescription even though I told her I DO NOT want to take it right now. I am terrified of the SE's. Had a lumpectomy and completed 33 rads in April. I am willing to try the tamox in October (after my daughter's wedding--I know it is vain, but I do not want to be a hot mess in the months before the wedding--too much to do! Also worried about the weight gain--seems to be a pretty common SE) I work in a bakery and the thought of hot flashes in the summer makes me worry that I won't be able to work... Does anyone have any statistical info on delaying tamoxifen? I have a mammo scheduled next week and an MRI in July, so I still feel like I will be fairly vigilant.
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Dalie, I too had been worried about the weight gain possibilities, but have staved that off, and even lost ten pounds with a healthy diet and moderate exercise. I think that my morning vege/fruit smoothie has really helped me manage my weight.
Re: the leg cramps....many years ago a relative told me about the soap in the bed trick. I used that and I swore by it (used a small hotel sized soap...just make sure to rescue it from the sheets before laundry day or you could have a sudsy mess on your hands). I had forgotten about this when I started to have leg cramps after starting tamox, and my MO recommended quinine, which I tried with decent result. However, I recently noticed quinine on a list with meds that interfere with the efficacy of tamox. I plan to bring this up to my MO at next appt.....meanwhile if leg cramps resurface (they are very infrequent now) I'll re-employ my little bar of soap. Thanks for reminding me of this handy trick, jk.0 -
dalie - Each of us responds to Tamox differently. I, for one did not gain any weight and Ido get a bit warm - nothing to write home about. Before Tamox, I would sweat so bad at night, I would have to change my clothes several times and had a extra pillow to swap out .-hot flashes in the day time were just as bad The decision to delay starting is completely up to you. No one can force it on you.
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Jo1955, you are right about everyone responds differently. I also want to point out that some side effects seem to wear off as time passes.
I waited almost 2 months from end of chemo to start tamoxifen. Mainly because I was so scared of the side effects and I desperately just wanted to feel and look like me again.
Most of my hot flashes have subsided, except for an occasional one at night or even during the day. They have become less bothersome and are over quick if I do have one.
Now I am definitly more emotional than ever before. I think some is do to that fact I am a different person so things effect me in a different way. But I know it's the lack of estrogen messing me up. However, even my emotional mess has calmed down too.
So I guess what I'm saying is take the pill when your ready and don't give up. We are lucky to have a pill to help prevent a reoccurrence.0
