Bottle o Tamoxifen
Comments
-
Susana- I got some vertigo/nausea when I first started. It went away. Give this medication a chance, but be cautious.
And don't let the medical staff ignore you.
0 -
Good Morning,
I am on tamoxifen and had spotting. My transvaginal u/s revealed a lesion, my 3 fibroids that used to be almost gone are greater in size, and my endometrial lining is 7.2.
My ob/gyn suggested a hysteroscopy in the office with propofol (IV sedation). My question is: is the hysteroscopy a standard procedure that can be done in my gyn's office? For those of you who have had it, did you choose to go to the hospital instead? I am very worried and don't know what to do.
Thanks in advance for any response at all.
JaneyK12
0 -
Janey - I had one in the office, but I was not sedated. It was not a big deal, and certainly no worse than a uterine biopsy. That revealed a benign polyp which she excised. That grew back and I had a d&c/ooph. It grew back and after another biopsy my gyn ordered another hysteroscopy, instead I asked for a hysterectomy. I looked into the future and saw that anytime I had bleeding, and since I'd been on Tamoxifen, I would go back down that rabbit hole of testing. I've been on Tamoxifen for four years.
0 -
Thanks for your kind note and your advice, farmerlucy,
I scheduled the hysteroscopy in the hospital right after I posted this morning. I want to be in a setting that if anything goes wrong, they have the means to help me (I'm a "worst-case-scenario" girl :>(. I need a modified D&C also (at the same time). My BS said it's all from the tamoxifen. He told me to stop it and go on Arimidex after I get the biopsy results.
I have ALH and am at high risk (25%).
I'm glad you had the hysterectomy and don't have to bothered anymore with the procedure.
Janey
0 -
The black box warning is real, I have a Trans vaginal ultrasound yearly with my scheduled pap. I already had a polyp removed, not cancer...I've been on Tamoxifen, over 4 years, and yes I still get leg cramps....
0 -
JaneyK12- I had a D &C hysteroscopy and two polyps removed last week in the hospital and though I was nervous, was pleasantly surprised at how well I felt afterwards. This was done to rule out any cancers before a laproscopic hysterectomy because I had a thick uterine lining before even starting tomoxifen (with a baseline ultrasound), fibroids, and terrible periods. I too am "a worst case scenario girl" but was pleasantly surprised about how quick the procedure was and how great I felt afterwards. I actually stopped at the grocery store upon discharge and made dinner with no problem at all. Went to work the next day and felt fine. Path report was all clear and I was good to go for hysterectomy in June ( when school is out and I can recover without work worries).
As an added bonus to my plans (written in total sarcastic tone and suggest you do not read further unless you have a sense of humor), a week after my pleasant D&C experience, I ended up with an unrelated emergency laproscopic appendectomy!
0 -
Hi everyone,
Is Watson still making Tamoxifen? I ordered mail order and specified I wanted Tamoxifen from Mayne but they sent me Watson pills. Does Watson brand have a lot of side effects? Should I ask for Mayne and refuse Watson? Thanks.
0 -
Everyone is different so while some people praise some brands, doesn't mean you won't fair well on one that isn't mentioned. I don't even know what my brand is. I don't look because if I do and it's not listed, I may start feeling things that may not be there.
0 -
new2bc--I started on Watson which I used for 2 years with lots of strong SEs. I then swapped to Teva and found my SEs were considerably less. Teva was bought by Mayne and all of the ingredients are exactly the same per the pharmacist I spoke with at Mayne. I get my prescription from Walmart now because of new insurance. When I went for my first refill I found that they offer Watson. I asked for Mayne instead and they were very quick to offer to get it for me. When it arrived, I looked at the pills and realized they had gotten me Watson (the numbers on the pill are different from Mayne) so I went back and asked again for Mayne. This time I had the NDC Code for Mayne Tamoxifen (51862-446-01) which immediately pulled up Mayne brand and got me what I wanted. I think if you've taken Mayne and are happy on it, then you should insist on Mayne.
0 -
I have been taking Tamoxifen for about a month now. At first not much in the way of side effects. This past week I am just plain tired out. I can deal with the hot flashes and the occasional muscle cramp but this overall sort of mild flulike feeling is not going to work for me. Before Tamoxifen I was ramping up my level of exercise and now I have missed a few regular visits to the gym. My MO was not strongly recommending Tamoxifen for me only saying "it would not be unreasonable" to take it. I haven't taken my dose for today- I am going back to bed and maybe I will feel better about it later. ugh
0 -
lala1,
They did the same thing. I asked for Mayne and they sent me Watson. I will call Monday since it is mail order and I will ask for Mayne. I will give them the NDC code you gave me. What number do you have on the actual pill?
Brigid,
If you are not doing well on Tamoxifen, see which company made it? Different companies have different fillers with different side effects. As of now, Mayne looks like a good candidate since Teva is discontinued. Call the pharmacy and ask them for Mayne if yours is from a different company.
0 -
new2bc--The number on my pill is 93 with 782 underneath. This is the same number that was on Teva which is why Mayne said they have the exact same formula as when it was owned by Teva. So if you did well on Teva, you'll do well on Mayne since it didn't change at all with the sale.
0 -
Artista: I am the same. I am not sure the difference in the SE's are the brand. My SE's have worsened lately (worse hot flashes and arm cramps) and I have no idea if I am getting the same one all the time.
0 -
Brigid: ok, so no ovarian cancer.......wonder if one should take it if they have fibroids already. would it hide a uterine cancer?
0 -
If you have a brand you are doing well on, stick with that brand...but don't get focused on the actual brand name. Focus on the NDC number - it should be listed on the bottle. Drug companies get bought out by other drug companies all the time and manufacture under a different brand name, but the NDC will be the same (same formula). For example - Actavis bought out Watson Pharmaceuticals (pills say WPI 2233 on them). At a 90 day refill 6 months ago, I was given one bottle of 30 from Watson, and 2 bottles of 30 each from Actavis - but they were the exact pills with the same markings and same NDC number. Now when I refill, I specifically ask for that NDC (one of the pharmacists told me to do that). I do have to call it in a week ahead because it is a hassle every time though depending on which pharmacist is there. They get another brand cheaper now and want to know what side effects I have because they want to switch me. I remind them that they (pharmacy) initially decided which manufacturer (which was Watson at the time) so now I want to stick with that because I don't really have any side effects and want to keep it that way!!
0 -
Do you mind posting the NDC codes of Mylan and other manufacterers of Tamox with the least se's? My bottle always has my rx info glued over most of the #s so I can't read it all. Thanks
0 -
Over the course of the past year I have taken Teva with little side effects. I asked for Mayne when they took over for Teva, and so far, so good.
The pills are labeled 2233/WPI.0 -
Actually, pills labeled 2233/WPI are the Watson generic. Watson must have been acquired by Mayne, too, because I've been getting them the past couple of months in bottle that claims Mayne is the manufacturer.
The month before that, I got the Teva brand. Those pills are imprinted with the numbers 93/784.
You can get more info (including ingredient lists and photos of the pills) at Drug.com's Pill Identifier section:
0 -
Thanks mellee! Just saw my 20 mg tabs are Teva!
0 -
Now I am confused. I asked for Teva, and they said Mayne took them over.
My package is labeled Mayne.
0 -
Aug 10, 2016 12:50PM Nancy2581 wrote:
I just called TEVA and yes they are no longer making tamoxifen. Mayne Pharmaceutical is. I called Mayne and they told me they will not be changing the formula. You can ask your Pharmacy to order from them.
Thread on this topic and info here gardengypsy-
0 -
Gardengypsy, my Watson pills also come in a Mayne bottle. I did some digging and found out that Watson became Actavis a few years back. Actavis then acquired Allergan and changed its name to the Allergan brand name. Teva purchased Allergan's generics in 2015, so this would have included the Watson version of tamoxifen. So when Mayne acquired Teva, they presumably acquired both the Teva version of tamoxifen and the Watson version.
0 -
For requesting the brand you want by NDC number, as recommended above:
Teva National Drug Code (NDC): 00093-0784
Watson National Drug Code (NDC): 00591-2233
0 -
Ok, so if they are working for me, should I just use the number on my pills for future reference?
0 -
Don't use the number on the pills, use the NDA number. In your case (for pills marked 2233/WPI), the number you'd give to your pharmacist is: 00591-2233
0 -
mellee~ where did you get that number?
0 -
I found it on the Pill Identifier listing for WPI 2233 (Tamoxifen 20 mg): https://www.drugs.com/imprints/wpi-2233-17777.html
0 -
gardengypsy---You can also get the number from the manufacturer. When I was trying to find out what happened with Teva, I called them. They told me Mayne bought their Tamoxifen but gave me the NDA number. I then called Mayne who confirmed they bought Teva and gave me the NDA number. It was the same which confirmed the ingredients were the same. It came in handy when my Walmart pharmacist was struggling to actually get the Mayne brand sent to the store.
0 -
Thanks lala, artiste, and mellee. I wouldn't put up with this with the food I eat and so the fact that my drugs potentially have different ingredients each time blows me away.
0 -
So I have stopped taking the Tamoxifen. I am just one of those people that have a strong reaction. It has been a difficult few weeks.
Many of the side effects I could tolerate-and they were numerous. However the fatigue and this sort of anxiety/gloom that dropped over me brought me to my decision. I would be spending all of my energy trying to somehow manage that. I was missing visits to the gym and when I was there I was stopping mid workout. The anxiety would drop right into the centre of my chest within an hour of taking the pill. It would ramp up throughout the day and then ease off in the evening. Anxiety is the best word I can think of to describe the feeling. It felt like my heart was going faster although my pulse remained the same and a weird feeling would radiate from there. I also noticed a darker and more limited outlook on things-just gloomier.
I am not interested in layering extra medications on (with their own side effects) to combat the Tamox side effects.
So I am almost a week off and feel much better-not completely back to pre-Tamox but better-more energy and brighter. I was hopeful to be one those that described minimal or tolerable side effects as I was motivated for any percent improvement in avoiding a recurrence. But there are limits. And I am aware I am able to set those limits because of my diagnosis. That being said I am still frightened of a recurrence and I don't use that word lightly.
I have a few options to consider. My plan today is to try the Tamoxifen again in a few weeks but a different brand. I was taking Teva. Hard to believe the formulation and not the drug itself would cause so many problems but it is worth a try.
Next, I am post-menopausal but was not interested in AI because I thought the side effect profile (mostly bones) was not worth the percent improvement compared to Tamoxifen. I will reconsider that decision. I don't see the MO until the end of May so I have a while to think that over.
0
