Bottle o Tamoxifen
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Thank You JulieCC and Lorbgoo.
I was worried about that, we would sail through these first few weeks and then bam it might hit us. I think my NP in the MO office said 2-3 weeks. I have had no SE's only noticed my appetite is decreased. I don't need to lose weight, but certainly don't want to gain. I take them at night and so far so good. And I'm on Teva.
Keep me posted.0 -
Headeast, I saw you asked about Fareston - I was on it for 5 years- I think it is utilized more in the UK ( have now been off for 1 yr.) I first tried Tamoxifen and really struggled with depression and exhaustion. Then I tried Femara and Arimidex and with both had tremendous joint and nerve pain. My last hope was Fareston and it worked out very well for me. I did end up taking just 10mg of Prozac to help with depression but the depression was so slight I can't even be sure it was from the drug at that point or merely situational. I did stay on the antidepressant until recently - I don't see any need for it now. Hope this is helpful info.
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Hello folks,
I've been on Tamoxifen for about 2 years now and in the beginning I was tired and achy. I felt like what I imagine it is like to be an 80-year old woman (I was 43 when I started it). It got better. I still have moments when I am achy (bad days or bad moments, I call them) but I also have excellent days! I keep active - here in the Pacific Northwest we are fortunate to have an organization called Team Survivor Northwest which encourages exercise for those of us who have been through treatment of any sort (and supports women who have had any type of cancer). The exercise helps my mind and body. I have also gained weight while on Tamox but, as with the achiness, seems to be getting under control.
Hang in there!!
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mstrouble-- yeah about Mylan. I am calling CVS immediately and getting rid of this Watson Brand. No side effects with Mylan.. Watson.. I haven't liked at all!!!!!!
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So happy for those of you that have been waiting for the Mylan brand! I think it is closest to the original drug.
I have been taking Watson with really only some tiredness. I am afraid to switch to Mylan!
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Lenn13ka, have you already had side effects 5 days in? I have Teva brand and have not had any side effects....YET. I started a week ago, waiting for the other foot to drop.
I've seen some posts about the various brands and Mylan is a big one people like but I don't see too much bad about Teva?
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momto3- I started Mylan a year ago and was on it for 5 months then CVS switched to Watson. The difference was pretty dramatic for me. I have been trying to get back on Mylan since then and had given up. But, now that I know it is back in production I am going to find a a way.
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momto3boysaz - I am on Teva as well - and very minimal side effects. To the point where my pharmacy ran out of Teva a few weeks ago (I always renew my Rx in advance) and gave me Apo.
As I am running out of my Teva now, I called them back yesterday and my Teva is back in - so no Apo (although it's supposed to be even better) - as I don't want to shake up anything (SEs). I'd rather stick with what works right now.
My side effects are only trouble staying asleep at night, the occasional warm flush and loss of appetite (more so in the beginning). The appetite has since come back and I am now 4 months into Tamox.
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Thanks MrsDarcy, glad to hear that you are having minimal SE's as the only one I have had is the loss of appetite which is not a bad one to have right now. I'm hoping they continue to be minimal.
Lenn13ka, so your SE's were from Watson brand?0 -
Sgcam, thank you for your input. Yes, I heard from other sources Fareston has less SE. My estradiol test came back and I am menopausal. Chemopause. I just turned 46. Tamoxifen made me extremely fatigued, so much I was sleeping 10-12 hours a day and tired, no concentration, memory, etc. Now I am waiting for the two weeks to pass and talk to my MO and see if Anastrazole works better for me, but I will ask my MO for Fareston for sure. Thank you!
I went also to see another doctor who combines regular medicine with alternative and did three other tests, one is tk1, the other ones are for circulating cancer cells and ca25-27 if i am not mistaking.
If all three are clear he told me I could do natural medicine, if not i have to keep trying with conventional medicine until I find the one I can tolerate.
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Ok....is it crazy to be feeling side effects of Tamoxifen after 2 days? I started 20 mg on Monday am, was sooo sleepy all day, slept ok, increased pain at the BMX with TE, Tuesday sleepy...no desire to doa ANYTHING, yesterday was weepy and sleepy all day, woke up sweating at 2am tried to go back to sleep and started crying. On top of going through breast cancer and BMX I am going through a nasty divorce....I CAN'T be like this! Help please!
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Hi to Formerteacherofk,I am new to discussion boards but felt for what you are going through when I read it.. Having BC is bad enough without other stressors. I would contact your MD right away. What I noticed is that is seems some women aren't communicating all their symptoms with their doctors. After my surgery I must have called the PS nurse several times in the first week, ended up switching pain pills and antibiotics and then was much better. You usually speak with a nurse not MD but they usually have good info and can be sounding board to let you know if symptoms are "normal" or in acceptable range etc. It always eased my concerns when I spoke with nurse after my BMX (5wks ago).
Re: tamoxifen, I too was not sure about how soon SEs could start but I took my first pill today at 11am, had hot flash at 11:35 (brief and not severe at all but there) then proceeded to become extremely nauseous for about 1 hour with headache and then this afternoon so spacey and sleepy, was trying to read this discussion and fell asleep holding my tablet 😃. So in my experience they can start immediately. Since my nausea was only severe for one hour and is now very mild I can probably live with it. But the sleepiness and foggy brain (went to store twice today and still forgot something) it is going to be tough to function. I only hope symptoms decrease as I get used to it as I am supposed to return to work soon.
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formerteacher, I took Tamox for almost six months, the first months was much better than the last. Maybe your SE will be the other way around. I would suggest to talk to your MO. Maybe an antidepressant would work for you?
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Thanks ladies....my MO told me to stop for 2 weeks and then come in to see him. It is DEFINITELY the tamoxifen. I stopped yesterday and by 36 hrs past last dose I was feeling MUCH better! I hate thinking I'll have to chase one pill with another:-( I'll tell you one thing, I have a TOTALLY new respect for people with chronic depression! I called the PS and they gave me a refill on pain meds and I upped the Advil to 800 mg every 6 hrs. I go to court on the 8th and I NEED to be on my A game. My soon to be X left on March 25th and never looked back, 3 kids who he doesn't see or talk to......((((HUGS))))
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To those of you who have switched from taking it in the evening to the morning - are you glad that you did? It has been a really rough week sleeping this week (not to mention the humidity here is so thick you can cut it with a knife). I have been walking around like a zombie most of the week due to the extreme hot flashes and not being able to sleep. Like many of you said, extremely hot, kick off the covers, then too cold UGH!
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Hi Frostecat
I am functioning better since I started taking Tamoxifen in the morning instead of the evening. I do not wake up as often and my sleep seems deeper. I still have memory issues but much less than when I was waking up 4 times a night. I am also not as weepy as I was!
The change didn't happen immediately - it took about 2 weeks to be noticeable.
I am still tired in the afternoon but not as badly.
I do find that heat wears me out very quickly during the day.
Overall I am glad I swopped to the morning. I think it has been helpful for sleep, cognitive and emotional reasons.
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Formerteacher, I'm really sorry about you soon to be ex. That really sucks! Hugs.
Frostecat, I switched to mornings maybe 2 weeks ago and and I still have trouble sleeping but it's not nearly as bad. I thought taking it in the morning would make me even more tired but it hasn't. I think it was the lack of sleep that would make me tired.
I got my period yesterday after 47 days! Before, they came every 25-30 days. It will be interesting to see what happens. I thought maybe they had stopped for good and I was going to have to give away the 2 and a half boxes of tampons under my sink.
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Haha, I did a girls overnight out this past weekend, grabbed my pre-packed travel bag that I keep on hand and discovered a boat load of tampons and kotex's. Told my self "it's time to clean out this bag" haven't had a period in a year.
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Been taking Tamoxifen since June 14. Did not really think I'd had any side effects because I figured my depression is due to still being uncomfortable from surgery, etc. Still not sure. Am fighting NOT taking a nap in the afternoon because at some point I need to get back to work. I have three Percocet left so I will see how I sleep in four nights! Hate all of this. Just realized I have no point to this post....Tamoxifen brain?
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I switched to taking tamox in the morning about 5 weeks ago. I am sleeping better and I think I have more energy. I have been turning down the temperature at night consistently and have switched to a lighter cover, and haven't been waking up to kick off the covers.
However, I have been having more mood swings, which I never ever had, so I'm not sure what's worse!! I saw my breast surgeon a couple of weeks ago, and she suggested that if I'm not feeling "normal" then I should continue to investigate -- she suggested seeing a psychiatrist that I saw last summer when initially diagnosed. My appointment is not until a few weeks from now, so we'll see how things go between now and then.
And...my hair has stopped thinning -- fingers crossed that that continues!
Oh and last thing -- I would like to order the "loss of appeitite" SE that someone reported earlier:)
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Wow, I feel so fortunate. I've been on tamoxifen for almost 6 months. I take it at 6 pm every night. I sleep great. No hot flashes. More stable mood than before tamoxifen. No period in 6 months. Yay! Now, I still have major post surgery pain and that sucks. My chest muscle, armpit area and back all still hurt pretty bad. I don't take anything for it, just deal with it. So much numbness too. I'm hopeful this will all go away sooner than later. Anybody else still have a lot of pain after mastectomy? I didn't have reconstruction either. Kim
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I know I have only been on T since the 14th but I have lost a little weight....just putting that out there in case anyone needed encouragement. Of course, I could also say I have lost weight because I go to the gym or take long walks or even pet my dogs so who really knows?!
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I have been on it since 06/17 and the only SE I've had so far is a little weight loss also. Like Beth, while I'm not 100% getting in the best shape is important to me so I've been going to the gym 4x a week and doing 40 minute running intervals. Working with a trainer starting tomorrow. I hope hope hope, if I do get additional SE's they are minimal and I worried for nothing.
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I just started tamoxifen 3 days ago and had a very rough weekend - nausea, headache, fatigue. Hopefully these SE's will lessen over time because it's extremely difficult to work when I feel so cruddy. I've been taking a low dosage of Zoloft for OCD, just recently tapered off of that during my treatment for BC. Maybe not the optimum time, but if I need it for depression I can always start back. I just needed to know there's a light at the end of the tunnel, now I do.
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jld1675, did your Dr. talked to you about the options you have? My Dr. calls it in, so we can't just let it sit (smart Dr.), but you have a F/U 4 weeks later to discuss SE's in the event you need a little boost to get you through. Are you taking it at night or morning? I decided early on to take it at night as I take a thyroid drug in the morning. I figured hopefully I would have less SE's taking it before bed. Just out of curiosity what mfg brand? I'm on Teva and people seem to prefer Teva and Mylan.
Hang in there and hope it gets better.0 -
Oh how I'd love the weightloss side effect!! I have just the opposite. I seem to be starving all the time! I've got to get a handle on it!
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the best SE i had was that I lost some weight. But I also became a vegan at the same time I started with Tamox. Now waiting for my MO to tell me if Anastrazole or Fareston.
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Seems that a little achy joints (elbows) is a new side effect for me.Unless it's a touch of a virus.Not sure.Hurt really bad yesterday and at bedtime.Felt better in the morning but it crept back in this evening again.I take mine around 8pm.It makes me sleepy.
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I start aramosin tmrw. I am 2wks post hysto/ooph. My MO left it up to me to decide. I will try it but if the SE's are unbearable, he will switch me back to the Tamoxifen immediately. I've read so many different things about it but still don't know what to expect. I did add calcium supplements to my daily vitamin regimen as they will help with bone strength. Fingers crossed.
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josie, unfortunately joint pain is a known SE of tamoxifen. More common with the AIs but tamox can sure cause it too. I have had a bad time with this. It didn't start right away, I was on it for several months before the pain started, but it got worse and worse to the point where it was seriously interfering with my life by a year on tamox. The doc says I can try switching to an AI (the chemopause is apparently real menopause now, according to the blood test) but I'm leery of those - they have even a worse reputation plus I greatly fear osteoporosis. So for now I'm toughing it out, trying to stay on the tamox as long as I can stand it. But the pain is not fun.
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