Bottle o Tamoxifen
Comments
-
Norma - I am not sure I understand how Tamox can can have a shelf life of 2 weeks ?? Please explain.
0 -
smrlvr, Try not to stress! You'll be able to get around well after a couple of days. I think my Dr told me to take a stool softner a day or two before surgery, but can't remember. I guess maybe because pain meds can bring on the big C. At the least, make sure you stay hydrated. Good luck!
0 -
MrsDarcy....it is my understanding that when "they" state a shelve life of...(whatever the length of time noted) it refers to the effective and maximum levels in our bodies. That is why drs. feel comfortable taking a patient off Tamoxifen for up to 2 weeks when having surgery if they are concerned about clotting problems in the patient. Personally, I was not taken off Tamo when @ 18 mons after the first mastectomy I had the two additional surgeries (my choice). One of the reason was due to the fact my onco had done a battery of blood work (16 tubes) of blood to see if I was prone to develop blood clots on my own. This was due to my port quit working one wk. before my last infusion for Herceptin which caused a clot that completely closed off my jugular vein on the same side of my neck. Scared my onco badly when I called him & explained the odd looking symptoms I was looking at in the L breast & arm!! This is rarely happens as people with ports many times leave them in for extended periods of time and do just fine as long as they are irrigated on a regular basis. Having said that, I can assure you if anything rare can happen I will be one of those few. :-)0 -
Ohhhhhhhhhh !! I thought you meant "shelf life" as in sitting in my bottle on my nightstand. LOL !!!
Now I understand what you mean .. I will take my little white pill this evening without fear now
Have a great evening !
MD
0 -
the grammarian in me can't resist. ;-)
"Shelf life" is the time that describes how long a substance can stay potent in storage (eg medicine in a bottle).
"Half life" describes the biological longevity of a substance in the body -- or the time that a substance takes to decay.
0 -
have you ladies seen this article here on BCO? http://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/ovary-suppression-w-aromasin-better-than-w-tamoxifen
I might have to talk to my doctor to see what she thinks.
0 -
Hi Ladies,
New to the group.....the short version is, diagnosed with BC super young (29), lumpectomy + radiation & been on Tamo for 3 years. All was going great w/ very little SE, just mild flashes and some sporadic night sweats. Then all of a sudden 6 months ago, it was like a switch was flipped on. Super weepy, acne, lethargy and major weight gain. I am ridiculously healthy, practice clean eating & am a triathlete. Yet I cannot lose this weight! I suspect estrogen dominance, and am seeing my onc next month. Until then I have stopped taking my Tamo to see if it changes anything? Has anybody had a similar experience like this? any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
0 -
MissRose, I have gained about 5 pounds in the past month or so that won't budge. I also exercise every day, eat enough to starve a bird because I am nauseous all the time, and what I do eat is very healthy. I seem to be retaining fluid. My ankles are indented from my socks, I can't get my rings off, and I am bloated. Does yours seem like fluid weight ? I hope your doctor has some answers.
0 -
MissRose and KBee--I have been on Tamoxifen for 2 years now. For the first year, I just had joint/muscle pain which I treated with magnesium, turmeric and ginger. Than at 1 year it was exactly like MissRose said....a switch was flipped on. I became nauseated, dizzy, bloated, excessive burping, gained 10 pounds that I can't get off despite working out every day and eating less and less. It doesn't help that I often feel nauseous so I'm not hungry. It's much worse at night when my stomach really swells. I usually eat just yogurt or fruit for dinner so I don't think it's my food that's causing the bloat. And I'm not having hot flashes per se....more like warm flushes. And my heart will race a bit and I get lightheaded. All my docs say "welcome to menopause!" Some say Tamoxifen kick started the menopause. Others say it was time (I'm 51). Either way, it sucks! So far, the only thing that has helped me is probiotics which keeps me from feeling so nauseated. But I haven't found anything to help with the other problems. At this point, I'll take the weight gain if I could just get rid of the bloating and heart palpitations! Thank god it only happens once or twice a week!
And MissRose--my doc did say I have lots and lots of estrogen in me. He also said it doesn't help that Tamoxifen actually increases your estrogen levels. Thanks to this lovely drug, I've just found out I have to have a total hysterectomy next month. Can only imagine how that's going to affect me going from waaaaay too much estrogen to practically none!!
0 -
I have been in chemopause since last September, but am just now at the year mark of Tamoxifen. I see my gyn in February and may ask her to test my hormone levels...not sure if she will or not, but doesn't hurt to ask! I do take probiotics. I have an appointment to finally see a GI doc at the end of the month. I am hoping he has some suggestions about the heartburn, nausea, vomiting, and resulting sore throat. I don't want to put up with this garbage for 4 years, so there's got to be something that will help with it!
0 -
Hi KBee & lala1,
KBee I had to laugh when you mentioned the sock indentation - i totally have that too & have been joking to my girlfriends "I draw the line at Cankles"!
It does feel like fluid weight, but I have read other ppl try diuretics and that did not work either. I will let you all know what my onc says next month, but regardless I will make them test my hormone levels because I want hard facts that is/is not the culprit. I urge you to do the same! I have read a few survivors say that their onc ok'd progesterone cream to help.
lala1 thank you for sharing. It's comforting to know that this is a shared experience, even if it's not the best circumstances
Good luck with your surgery next month, please let us know how it goes!0 -
I asked my MO to test my hormones and she said it doesn't matter what they are... it can be a small amount and you can still be ER+ with cancer. Funny how they all give us different answers and justifications. I think what she was trying to say is, that it is the makeup of the cancer.
0 -
Hello all. I need help fast! I have been on Teva brand Tamoxifen since June with no side effects at all and now my pharmacy gives me a huge bottle of Watson brand. I am frantically calling all of the pharmacies in my area but cannot find Teva! What should I do?
0 -
My pharmacy never has Teva anymore, and I have been taking Watson for about 9 months now. The side effects are definitely lessening. I would say, take it and give it some time if you can't find Teva.
0 -
HI, I have not looked back at all of the posts, but may be getting prescription soon for tamoxifen - so , please help,
does it matter if teva or watson?
I can't handle one more thing at this point.
0 -
I just took my first Tamoxifen pill. The mail order pharmacy sent me Teva. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing. If I'm going to have any side effects, how long does it take for them to kick in? I decided to take the first one at night. Is it better to take them at night or during the day?
0 -
Yikes : Some say the brand doesn't matter but some have noted side effects with one brand or another. There doesn't seem to be one that is "better", maybe just agrees with us more individually. Of course the pharmacist will say "there are exactly the same"....well, no, they are not! Teva is just the brand I started with and have had no side effects so I wanted to stick with it.
0 -
thank you bethq,
I just went through this with another med I take, so thank you.
0 -
My pharmacist called and special ordered me teva brand
We are all different but for me my few SE's on Watson stopped when I got teva brand !!0 -
annika12,
thank you, very interesting. I may need to find another pharmacist that would do that.
0 -
I have been taking the Teva brand Tamo for almost two months now. I could no longer take the chronic hot flashes and night sweats that were keeping me from getting any sleep at night. SO, I am now on Effexor and it has helped tremendously! The other thing I need to address is being constipated every single damn day since day one from the Tamo. I have to take something every day for that too and trying differnt things as one will work for about a week or so and then I have to move onto something new. Any suggestions?
0 -
I have been on tamoxifen for a little over a year. All was going pretty well and this last month I've been experiencing a headache which seems to be daily! Anyone else have this? Of course I worry that something else is wrong, but want to blame the tamoxifen! Thanks for your responses!!
0 -
I am on Tamoxifen as well for less than a year, though. I developed headaches about 4 months ago. I will be having a Brain MRI next week to make sure that there is no concern there. (I was surprised by this since I have not had any scans ordered by this oncologist) Hoping my headaches are from Tamoxifen as well... also hoping your headaches go away soon!
0 -
Debbie and daisy, I too have been on tamo almost a year. Smooth sailing, no period, and now recently I'm getting more headaches, more joint pains. My primary doc did a blood test to check if I was in menopause...turns out I'm post menopausal now! I'm thinking a lot of the new things I'm experiencing are due to menopause and not tamo. I've never had a hot flash, but I have very low blood pressure and have always been cold all the time, so that probably explains the lack of hot flashes. Kim.
0 -
Cidney -- suffering from the same (and on Effexor as well)-- what's worked for me is lots of water, fibre from fruit (especially berries and oranges), coffee first thing in the morning and the occasional help from the drugstore. Before this rodeo began, I rarely took a pill for anything and when I did, I never had side effects. Now tamox gifted me with all kinds of issues, and Effexor has too -- including dry mouth. I just had to have two cavities filled yesterday -- I can't remember the last time I had a cavity -- must be at least 20 years.
The gift that keeps on giving!!
Happy Holidays everyone!
0 -
Ridley - I can say ditto for every thing you just said except drinking coffee. Had to give up coffee several months back because of acid reflux. Even though I take a pill for the reflux, I have noticed the enamel on my teeth erroding and not sure if I can blame that on Tamo or not.
I eat LOTS of fruit and fresh veggies, drink lots of water and was mixing Miralax in my water until it stopped working. I really dont want to have to start taking another pill everyday for this issue!
Like you, I have never had to take meds and now all of a sudden, I feel like I need one of those handy dandy pill boxes to keep myself straight!
0 -
I have one of those handy dandy pill organizers -- between prescriptions and supplements (e.g. iron -- also trying to figure out why that's tanked), I think there are a dozen pills in each day's box -- I would never remember what I took and what I didn't if I didn't use that system. My mom and I joke that we are competing for the highest number of pills right now!fyi -- I started taking my tamox twice a day after my last surgery (had the required 2 week break before surgery, so I suspect most of it was out of my system by the time I started back). In any case, I've felt a bit better taking it that way so I'm going to continue.
0 -
Cidneyl--Just a thought....a few years ago I was having a terrible time with acid reflux due to coffee. I tried what felt like every brand and type out there. Then my doc told me to try a dark French roast. I had always been told the lighter the better but he said that's not true. So I switched and haven't had acid reflux since. Maybe a fluke and maybe you've tried that but just thought I'd offer it up.
Also I've been on Tamoxifen for 2 years now. Just started getting headaches over the last few months as well as lightheadedness and slight nausea and pretty bad bloating. My doc says all of these are menopause symptoms and to just hang tight. He says he'd be more worried if I was having vision problems or vomiting with the nausea. I started taking probiotics which seems to be helping.
0 -
Hello Ladies: I am currently finishing up with rads and anticipate my MO doc to prescribe Tamox in the near future. I am pre-menopausal (last period +/- 5 months ago, slight hot flashes). Really, really do not want to take meds and not sure how to convince myself to take something that makes me gain weight, headaches, muscle aches, possible endometrial cancer, etc.etc.etc…. How can I weigh the risk/benefits to make an educated choice. First thing out of my MO mouth was "you will read all kinds of things of how diet can change your risk of recurrence and it's not true"…then she told me about Tamox… I have read a lot about how diet can help with recurrence risks….. very confused and scared!
0 -
Well, I first started tamoxifen in September or October of 2011. I had a lot of the side effects everyone has mentioned. I stopped for a couple of months (maybe three) in October 2013 and when I started back on it the side effects lessened. When I had my hormone levels checked I was told I was not yet in menopause so knew I had to go back on it.
I am now taking a second break from the tamoxifen. Mostly because I have had such a large weight gain (20 pounds), was having huge anxiety issues and terrible 1/4 hourly hot flushes. Anxiety and weight gain runs in my family so I guess I'm predisposed to these side effects. It might not have been the tamoxifen though so I will go back on it.
First I'm weaning myself off of Effexor (with my doctor's help). This is very difficult and I keep getting shooting electrical shocks in my head. My GP gave me some Mirtazapine (might be another name for it in the USA). It's helped with the side effects of weaning off. We aim to get rid of my severe anxiety - which has caused me to develop a breathing tic (I never had anything like this before).
Anyway, I just want to share this information. We are all different. I'm happy that I'm doing something to help myself and I have a positive attitude about all of it.
0
