Bottle o Tamoxifen
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Hi EastcoastTS. I am pretty small myself and would like to hear what others say. I've been taking the Tamox for a week now. The only side effect I notice is nausea. I am hoping that will go away after my body adjusts. I am goign to ask my MO about 10mg when I go but from what I've read, I think all teh studies were done on 20mg so that's what they recommend. I'll be folowing your responses.
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Hi- Thanks so much for the advice- I contacted my MO and my prescription was incorrect. I was only supposed to be taking 20 MG once a day and not twice.
I am on day 4 and woke up with some nasty nausea. I got myself some probiotics and sure hope they work.
I have a message out to my MO about taking a baby aspirin. I wasn't told to take one.
Tammy
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I'm not sure if it's the tamoxifen or the BMX, but has anyone noticed more sweating and armpit BO? I also have tons of itching in my armpit on that one side. It's just weird.
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I do sweat and have bo more in my right armpit, the side where no cancer was. Left one where nodes were taken out can but not like the right one.
Tammy- I was told baby aspirin because I'm at risk for blood clots with my inactivity and still having my port in which u/s had shown possible formation of clots awhile back. It's low dose and so many take it for stroke prevention and heart stuff. Definitely ask before just popping it even though it's low dose to make sure you aren't on something or have something that would make an issue problematic.
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I asked my MO if I should take a baby asperin and she answered I could. Mmmm not if I should? This MO is confusing me. Told me even though its only been 3.5 yrs since dx, that I no longer had to take a anti-estrogen drug. I have a strong history of cancer in my family, so to me taking nothing is not an option. I read many take it 10 yrs. i asked her when I should see her again,she said that was up to me too. Grr
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Haven't heard of MO saying less than 5 years is ok. Maybe change MO? Can't stand up to you stuff. We are there to find out what to do and are not qualified to decide such things ourselves.
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Hello all! I'm nearing my 5-year mark on Tamoxifen (October) so almost halfway there. I've had three primary symptoms to deal with: hot flashes every 1 to 2 hours (arggghhh), vaginal dryness/burning and occasional insomnia. The vaginal dryness and burning was resolved by using Estring. Although it's local estrogen delivered via a silicone ring that's replaced every 90 days, it apparently doesn't release sufficient amounts of estrogen to go systemic (unlike estrogen creams). I'm post-menopausal thanks to a hysterectomy/oopherectomy at 34, so I'm not churning out much, if any, estrogen of my own and it soooo improved my quality of life that I'm willing to take any risk that Estring may have!
I thought I'd share this; it's the updated guidance to doctors on the protocol for endocrine therapy after BC. I found it fascinating and thought any other nerds out there might, too! It addresses the 5 yr vs 10 yr questions pretty thoroughly (and repeatedly, lol)
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I have LESS sweating and armpit BO!
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With my dx as BC I have been through 2 Aromatase inhibitors and the last stop is Tomoxifen. I have had huge weight gain, joint pain, hair loss, sweats, extreme fatigue and insomnia. So Tuesday I will discuss whether I should go to Tomox. or could I stop (after just a year) altogether. Thank you for your info - the weight LOSS sounds like a gift from heaven for ME!
Ade
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nudgrri...I have never heard of less than 5 years. That is the standard protocol. I would ask your MO or find another! Good luck and keep us posted.
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Hi EastcoastTS. I am pretty tiny too, 4'11. I have been on tamoxifen for a year now, and lost 10lb the first 6 months due to diet changes and exercise. But in the last 6 months I gained it back, all around the middle, likely because I slacked on exercise and ate more bread than before. I find it harder to lose weight now despite returning to the previous regimen. So I would talk to your doctor first before changing the diet.
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Reckless:
Agree. I kinda think it's diet change (one bypassing nightly glass of wine and cheese! -- LOL) and increased exercise. Aside from taking a week off this week (somewhat) and just eating what I want, which still wasn't horrible, I think I'll put it back on. Hoping NOT around the middle. Geez.
For those reading, I also switched brands, as mentioned. Now on Teva, because pharmacy said that is what they usually get. I figured, oh, well, let's try. No noticeable effects to date.
The pharmacist was really nice and said she'll get me whatever brand I need with regard to brand but, again, since they get Teva normally, that's what I am trying. Told her to note on my file that I want to stick with one brand. Her sister has BC and apparently is having difficult time but she's younger (37). I wonder if younger women have more issues because these changes are being forced on the body earlier. I was already having sleep issues due to age and some things I attributed to hormonal levels dipping. Not hot flashes, though. I'm 50 in Sept and already peri (and have been for a few years we suspected) or perhaps even menopausal (hormones level not completely telling us), but so far, I can't tell much from taking Tamox.
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I started on tamoxifen about a year ago, and have had lots of trouble sleeping, hot/cold flashes,some joint pain, and trouble concentrating. I'm 56 and 1 and 1/2 years post natural menopause. I recently started to experience vaginal bleeding and excessive discharge. I have a transvaginal ultrasound scheduled for this week. I can't help but worry. I appreciate reading about everyone's experiences here--I have a good list of questions for my gyn and mo from this thread!
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Hi there,
I was prescribed spirolactone for hair thinning. My derm said not contraindicated for breast cancer, but now I've heard it is.
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cgs19...Here's a study on spirolactone and breast cancer risk. Interesting portion:
However, incidence increases in the first year of use were not specific for estrogen-sensitive cancers, occurred with both spironolactone and furosemide, and were driven by exposures immediately prior to diagnosis. For drug exposure ≥1 years before cancer diagnosis, incidences of these cancers were not significantly increased. We conclude that associations observed with first use in the year immediately before cancer diagnosis were driven by reverse causality, i.e., because of treatment for symptoms related to the incipient cancer. With respect to breast, uterus, ovarian and cervical cancer, there is no evidence of increased risk with spironolactone or furosemide use.
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Ade, I started on Tamoxifen,was put into surgical menaupause started Armidrx, then Femara and a yr later I am back on Tamoxifen. I have minimal side effects on Tamoxifen. I lost some hair. It eventually came back, trigger thumb and mild body stiffness. Tamoxifen might be your thing. My MO said Tamoxifen may bring back the bone loss I had from the Al's and bring my cholesterol back down. I sure hope so
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HI, Has anyone tried Tumeric for hot flashes?
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If you're going to try tumeric, get the tumeric curcumin with black pepper in it. Before I could really tell, my warm flushes went down significantly but I know some people say it works for them.
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Hi all, I've been on Letrozole and Armidex, they both caused some not so nice side effects. I'm supposed to start Tamoxifen now. My MO assures me the bone and joint pain will be much better. Can some one tell me how tamoxifen has affected your sleep, if the brain is foggy, and if there is a the lack of wanting to do things fatigue. Thanks
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Outdoorswoman, I'm not certain if it was tamoxifen, or the surprising pathology report, but my sleep is definitely not as deep. I take melatonin (dual release) which gets me to sleep and the slow release allows me to fall back to sleep, even when I get night sweats. My brain was very foggy at the beginning, which I now attribute to the longer term effects of anesthesia. I do still have a little word finding difficulty, but I think that it is getting better. My fatigue has also lifted substantially. I'm 11 months out from surgery and I've been on tamoxifen for 9 1/2 months. Starting the drug when there are so many other physical and emotional factors makes it difficult to decouple what is really the fault of tamoxifen. One thing that is for sure due to tamoxifen is dryness!!!
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Saw my onc on Tuesday. Now I am off the Exemestane and will try Tomox. for a month - whenever it gets here. I am sleeping SO much better just being off for a couple of days! If the se's are as bad with the Tomox. I am going off it all. My onc. agrees on the quality of life importance and knows how miserable I was. My BC is not an aggressive one and 90% of all breast tissue is gone (he said that was a good move).
Ade
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I read the above article. Me and T have 8 years to go and I am post menopausal.
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ndgrrl--- I've been on Tamoxifen for 4 1/2 years and have been on turmeric for the last 4. I can say it definitely helps with my hot flashes. I take Gaia turmeric. It was recommended by my holistic doc and is sourced locally out of NC. It has the black pepper in it which is a must for your body to metabolize it properly. I've also found hot flash relief with 5000 IU of Vit D and a daily dose of magnesium glycinate. All of these were recommended by my doctor.
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I take the same thing! I was having horrible hip pain and hot flashes and found taking the Gaia turmeric with 10,000 of bit d every other day along with magnesium has helped so much. The magnesium glycinate allows you to absorb more of the magnesium. These meds have been a saving grace to me!!
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Lovinggrouches---I also take Vit D along with my turmeric and magnesium glycinate but I do 5000IU a day. I may give the 10000IU every other day a try. I'm amazed at how much these supplements (along with my ginger and magnesium chloride and fish oil) help with my aches and pains and my hot flashes. I couldn't do this without them!!
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Hi thanks for the replys. Where can I find The correct turmeric and magnesium? What do you use for sleep as it eludes me and is filled with the craziest dreams!!
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outdoors, I was also on Armidex and Letrazole. I started on Tamoxifen and made a full circle back. Sise effects for me on Tamoxifen were not as bad as those other drugs. I do get some "warm ups" and sleep is a bit evasive.
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ndgrrl---I buy my Gaia turmeric, KAL magnesium glycinate and pretty much all my supplements on Amazon. You can also buy these at the Vitamin Shoppe if you have one near you. As to sleep, my doctor suggested melatonin but to start in the lowest dose possible because the higher doses can have the opposite affect on you. I found Herbatonin on Amazon which is 0.3mg dose. I couldn't find anything anywhere near that low of a dose in stores. I took it nightly for about 6 months till I was sleeping soundly, then I weaned myself off it slowly in order to maintain my sleep. I now take nothing and sleep easily for 8 hours a night with a couple of mild hot flashes thrown in which a fan usually deals with pretty well.
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I get all my supplements at vitamin shoppe. I have priced on amazon and is a good bit cheaper there. Would be worth it to pay for prime to get free shipping. I have had heck with sleep for almost a year. Tried melatonin, doterra essential oils , restoring, ambien. I just stay up until I wear myself out around 1 or 2 am and have learned to make do with about 4 to 5 hours of sleep and try to get a nap in on weekends. My cool pillow helps my head at night with hot flashes. Layla, I used to live in South Carolina in hickory grove. I miss the mountains
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Thanks I will check out Amazon, sleep is eluding me and I swear my bodies temp guage is broken. Hot, cold, hot cold and wild dreams. Last time I was on Tamoxifen I was put on Effexor. I really do not want to go that route again. Thank You for the suggestions
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