Bottle o Tamoxifen
Comments
-
ndgrrl---I'm one of those that the aspirin caused severe bruising. My MO recommended I drop from a daily dose to twice a week. Worked like a charm for me!
CCNC---After extensive research and phone calls a few months ago, this is what I've been told about TEVA Tamoxifen. Teva bought Tamoxifen from Activus a while back. Recently they sold it to Mayne Pharmaceuticals. I spoke with Mayne who confirmed they bought TEVA's Tamoxifen and are reproducing and selling it using the exact same formula. The NDC code is 51862-446-01. If you give that to your pharmacist, they can order it for you. I've taken TEVA and Mayne. If you look at TEVA brand is has 93 782 printed on it. That's the same number printed on Mayne. If you have questions for Mayne you can call 800-344-8661 and press option 2. I haven't had to order Tamoxifen in 3 months (I'm due for a refill soon) so this information may not be accurate anymore, but my pharmacist knows that I demand Mayne (TEVA) and she usually calls me if there is a problem getting it. Hope this helps.
0 -
lala1
Thank you so much. You have no idea how much I appreciate you posting that information. I just called the pharmacy and they are going to order it, so the information is still good. Hope you have a great weekend!
0 -
I just picked up my first bottle Nov 2 and it says Teva on the top of the bottle, the fine print says manufatured by Teva Pharmaceutical and distributed by Mayne Pharma. The numbers on the SKU(barcode) are slightly different than those listed above. Imprinted pill # matches though.
0 -
I feel very fortunate to say that I have been taking Tamoxifin since October 1st and have really very few side effects. I seem to yawn a lot more but truthfully I am sleeping really good. I was worried about nausea as I tend to be a little sensitive that way but I haven't had any. Some vaginal discharge but it seems to be taken care of with a pantyliner.
I saw a post on this forum somewhere when I was fretting over taking the Tamoxifin and it was a girl indicating that she had to change her mindset and start telling herself every morning that she was grateful to have something like Tamoxifin to possibly prevent recurrence. I was inspired by her post and have taken that thought to heart and every morning I look at that darn pill and say Thank you!
0 -
I call Tamoxifen my 5 year insurance policy! For me the side effects are minor, so I'm grateful
0 -
TaRenee Gabapentin helps with insomnia and Effexor helps with night sweats. They put us on these two pills usually. I am on them and they help allot.
0 -
My bottle of tamoxifen still says manufactured and distributed by Actavis. Exp date of 10/18 so I don't think old. Maybe CVS has A stockpile of the Actavis pills before they sold it Teva who sold it to Mayne? I seem to be tolerating it well in either case. Thanks fo the research Lala.
NDC code 0591-2473-30. Code on the actual pill is 2233. It looks like mine is different.
0 -
okay
I decided to take a closer look at my bottle. I use CVS in Houston
It reads TEVA on the green cap. On the side of the bottle, in the fine print, it reads: " manufactured by TEVA Pharmaceutical IND. LTD. Jerusalem, 9777402, Israel. Distributedby: Mayne Pharma, Greenville, NC 27834..
On the bottle: Expiration 5/2019, even though the CVS paper wrapping has the generic date one year from now.
I have almost no side effects as long as I drinks tons of water, especially since I take it in the morning. I drink 16 ounces in the morning before I take the pill and 96 ounces of water every day. When I started, I didn't know how dehydrating that little pull us! My NO clued me in...He said a lot of reported A ed are related to this...dizziness, leg cramps etc...
0 -
ih..and tablet imprinted with 93 782
0 -
Well the day is finally here. day one on this drug for me. mine save TEVA (I am in Canada) and nothing about Mayne on it. but has been dispensed from its original bottle. took the drug an hour and a half ago, so far so good. I will just be on it a few days then I go off it until after my ALND surgery. Right now I am finishing a 4 month course of fragmin injections as I got a clot from the PICC line so no worries about clots while taking it for now. After I restart, am to use 81mg ASA.
0 -
Legomaster225, mine is Actavis also, also from CVS. I’m on my 2nd bottle and have had the same both bottles. So far so good. I appreciate all the info on the different brands and makers for future reference in case something with what I’m given changes or I develop reactions that a change might address
0 -
Candyapple--I hear ya on the idea of thanking tamoxifen instead of being scared of it. I looked at that bottle for 2 weeks before i got brave enough to take it. Now I'm coming up on my 5 years and have had the BCI test which shows me to have low benefit from continuing for another 5 years. I asked my MO if I could just keep taking it and he said "you do realize it'll just be giving you the placebo effect?" He just doesn't understand that I now look at it as my security blanket! I've agreed to go off it Feb 1 (that's my 5 years) for one month. If my stupid little brain can handle it, then I'll go for another month. And so on.... I just feel silly...scared to go on and now scared to go off. But I'm tired of fear running my life so I'm going to at least give it a try!
Legomaster---You're welcome all for the research. It's one of my favorite things to do! It's the only thing that got me through all these damn SEs from Tamoxifen!
If the code is different then, yes, it's a different Tamoxifen. I believe I may remember (VERY spotty memory!) that the rep at the company said something about TEVA buying Actavis but that Actavis actually took over another company and got their version of Tamoxifen. I may have dreamed that because quite frankly, I barely remember breakfast (thank you, Tamoxifen) but it could be why you have different numbers on the pills.
0 -
My Tamoxifen has an M on one side and then the #274 on the other.
Also, I was having terrible headaches daily - started monitoring my blood pressure and sure enough it was running very high. Talked with my MO and she said it can cause hypertension in about 11% of those on it. Yay me! Anyways - now on blood pressure med and my MO really wants me to get my ovaries out so I can switch to an AI. But what is to say I won't have worse side effects on those? For the insomnia - my breast surgeon oncologist suggested Serenol. It is amazing!!!! Sleeping very well now and so thankful.
0 -
Lala1, I am confused. So, for the first 5 years tamoxifen was a needed drug but for another 5 years all it would offer you is a placebo effect? Does that make sense to you? I would have felt utterly betrayed because if it will have a placebo effect after 5 years, was it having that same 'placebo' effect for the previous 5?
I think I know what your doc was trying to say. That another 5 years will not do you any good, you will not gain any more cancer free years. He meant to say (I'm guessing) that you've done all you can and there is no evidence to support that another 5 years will make things better. But to say it will have a placebo effect was the wrong choice of words!
I hate taking this drug and worry about not taking it too! I rub my newly impressive chin hairs (thank you tamoxifen) and ponder the future. Or ponder not having a future. I wonder if I would continue this drug past 5 years. I think I might, but not at a daily dose. I might cut back to half a pill 3 times a week, or something like that.
I asked my onc if I should be removing my ovaries. He said he couldn't think of any good reasons to. Good. I'm cool with that. I haven't had a period since July and I was regular before that. I hope I don't get switched to AIs because to me they sound worse. You know what they say, the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know.
But I do understand your feeling of free falling into a life with unkind statistics looming overhead.
0 -
I agree Runor. Really makes me wonder if these 5 years did me any good at all. If there's a test that tells you about efficacy for years 5-10 then why not test for 1-5? But that's water under the bridge now. I did have a total hysterectomy back in 2015 which all my docs agree helps reduce my recurrence risk. I could have gone on AIs at the time but again all agreed that I was doing well on Tamoxifen and as you say "better the devil you know". My BS went so far as to say he didn't feel the 2% advantage I'd get would be worth the heart and bone issues. As to continuing for 5 more years, if I really struggle with not having it as a safety net I'll probably do as you're thinking and maybe take it every other day or something. I don't have to worry about endometrial cancer but I do have to keep in mind the elevated risk of blood clots. And cataracts. My eye doctor definitely favors me coming off Tamoxifen for that reason alone and I have to say, the idea of vision problems really scares me! But I am glad I have another couple of months to work through my options.
0 -
I tried duloxetine for my bone pain from Tamoxifen which I thought was neuropathy from chemo until recently. I also have a headache most of the time from Tamo. I am weaning off duloxetine because it didnt help as much as I had hoped however my pain is increasing. What is everyone else taking. BTW - I take gabopentin at night and will wean off that next. I just want to start over and try to find something that works. Any ideas?
0 -
Blownaway--Have you tried turmeric? Ginger? Doing both helped me tremendously but when I added magnesium glycinate I achieved almost total relief. Maybe a 1 or 2 on a 10 pain scale. I also take 5000IU of Vitamin D which my doctor swears helps alot with muscle and joint pain as well. So who really knows which one works or if it's all of them. Maybe try one at a time till you get relief?
0 -
Well, I know someone who refused to take Tamoxifen and she has already had one recurrence. It was about 3 years out.
0 -
lala1 - I describe the deep aching bone pain as similar to flu symptoms while running a high temp. The headaches come and go all day. Although gabapentin and duloxetine helped somewhat, I still have pain and hence the decision to wean off both drugs and start over with anything else that might help. I will not stop taking Tamo and while I realize that most have side effects, it shouldnt have taken me 2-1/2 years to figure out my pain stemmed from Tamo, rather than CIPN, which I also have but is less bothersome. I will try your suggestions. Thanks.
0 -
Trvler, I wish we could definitely point to NOT taking tamoxifen as the reason a woman gets a recurrence. I always hear a slight hint of 'blame the victim' when I hear someone say, see, you could have taken tamoxifen and you didn't take tamoxifen and now you have a recurrence and it's your own damn fault for not taking this fabulous drug that we all know saves every single woman who takes it!
Only it doesn't.
It hurts our bones. It dries our vaginas. It shreds our emotions. Our hair falls out of our heads and grows on our chins. We have hot flashes all day, night sweats all night, leg cramps and would forget our head if it wasn't screwed on. It gives us ovarian cancer, uterine cancer and blood clots. And women faithfully take this shitty little pill, offered to them as a slim hope against a rising tide of recurrence and many of them still get cancer again! So when I hear of a woman who has studied the numbers (oh good god the endless sea of numbers) and decided that the benefit she will gain IS NOT WORTH the bullshit she will suffer, I have two thoughts. 1) she is not smart 2) she has big balls and I admire the hell out of her.
On another thread someone posted a link to a study. The study went on and on with its techno talk that flew right over my head but near the end it said, "Take all your medication in the dose and exactly as prescribed by your doctor." And I just about barfed. There it was, the religious warning to follow, to the letter, the wise and healing word of our almighty doctors, in whose hands all healing and wellness is contained. BULLSHIT! If you got 20 doctors in a room you would NOT get a consensus about this disease! All anyone can offer us is their best guess. Their most current advice. What the most recent study shows. But the idea, handed down, right here in an article printed by breastcancer.org, is that we are the mindless masses who must be good girls and do as we are told. Ask no questions, cause no ripples, shut up and swallow that pill.
It is us, you and me, who have this stuff in our bodies, maybe to strike again, maybe not. But that anyone should ever suggest that I get cancer again because I didn't follow the rules, jump through the hoops and sacrifice the appropriate pound of my flesh to the gods of cancer had better not be in striking distance when they say it. If this disease ends up killing me, it will be on MY terms. And taking tamoxifen, or not, does not mean the wolf will stay away from the door. The idea that tamoxifen or chemo or surgery will guarantee us life free from cancer is just, plain WRONG and a horrible guilt trip to lay on women who did everything they could and get this disease again anyway.
Trvler, this post was not directed at you personally, but at the idea that we must all follow the rules to live. If we do, no guarantees. If we don't, no guarantees. Just millions of women terrified and doing the best they can.0 -
runor...I totally agree! There are no guarantees either way. We have to respect and support all individual decisions made. This is not a place for judgment. Good luck to all navigating this complicated disease.
0 -
Thank you runor! You always have a way of getting to the heart of the matter.
0 -
Hear! Hear! Thank you, Runor! VERY wise words!
0 -
bcky I am going to ask about that. I don’t have a follow up till almost January. I’m going to email my MO and ask. It’s miserable being so dang tired from not sleeping. Thanks
0 -
I would like to add that the person who didn’t take the medicine and had a recurrence might have had a recurrence even if they did take the medicine because for some it just doesn’t work. Obviously if it always worked then noone would be getting a recurrence. Also it’s not very ladylike to have balls. Just saying...
0 -
I am so thankful that Tamoxifen is easy for me to take. I do get some hotflashes, but overall I feel amazing. If any of you who have not taken Tamoxifen, that are worried about vagina dryness, it is not an issue. If any of you are worried about libido, it is not an issue. No body aches that I can't walk off, or hair loss that I can't work on. Better yet, extremely normal mammograms and no worries. Tamoxifen is a piece of insurance that I choose to live with taking. Happy Holidays to all my girls taking Tamoxifen!!!
0 -
Marijen, I appreciate a woman who wears her balls well!
Michelle, it is good to hear that tamoxifen has been easy sailing for you and I hope it continues that way! Unfortunately, not everyone can claim the same easy time with it. Even more unfortunate is that easy time or hard time in no way indicates effectiveness at keeping us disease free! So we all plow ahead anyway....
0 -
Keeping disease free, or at least catching something sinister early, is the goal. Our MO's, armed with the meds that they have available, try to keep us as disease free as possible. For that, I am grateful. I am also thankful for the regular checkups by our MO's to make sure that we are staying as healthy as possible while undertaking treatment. I am thankful for Tamoxifen and the many studies since the 1970's on the usage and treatment of breast cancer. Some people will have recurrences, that is a known fact. But, I will take my changes with Tamoxifen and be thankful that I have that to utilize. This being the week of Thanksgiving, provides us with an opportunity to reflect and give thanks for the lives we have been granted.
0 -
^^We need a like button. Happy Thanksgiving Michelle
0 -
Ditto what Michelle and Legomaster said. Let's be mad at cancer all we want, but let's not be mad at each other or the incompleteness of medical knowledge. That is the nature of science. It is based on statistics--not math. Science is about increasing supportive evidence, over time--not immutable proof of the truth. It will never be that! We know more today than we knew yesterday and less than we will know tomorrow. We can't learn more unless we support research that might not benefit us but, instead, benefit future generations. My personal way to try to help is to donate to support research and to participate in research studies, whenever feasible. So, I cannot be disappointed that medical knowledge is incomplete. I am biased in this way, because I am a researcher (in a non-medical field). Each of us has benefited from previous research that led to the discovery of various medicines, surgical techniques etc., albeit there is a long way to go and the clinical reality is not pleasant for us, at times. I pray for all of those who spend time trying to heal us, in medical offices, hospitals and labs across the world, because they are not the enemy. Cancer is the enemy. I pray for each of us to heal completely and find peace in the midst of the terror of this cancer.
0
