Bottle o Tamoxifen
Comments
-
Hi,
To change the subject for a minute, does Tamoxifen have the side effect of your hair falling out? Just wondering. Thanks
0 -
Yes, thinning hair is a possible side effect.
0 -
Thank you for the info.
0 -
Get children's melatonin. 1mg is typical dose -- some melting on tongue type. But gets you the lower dose you want. (On Amazon)
0 -
Thanks, folks, for the 411 on melatonin. I figured it was either not enough, or too much. It would have taken me a while to figure out which. I'll try a much-reduced dose and see how that works.
0 -
i was told i would be on Tamoxifen for 10 years. Apparently there is new research regarding 10 vs the standard 5 years.
0 -
tkane, i was told 10 years also.
0 -
I was told I would be on it for 10yrs too
0 -
I was told I would be on it for 5 years too, and now the doc is talking about 10. I think my MO will be retired before I get to 5 so we will see what happens. I just found out that my family doctor died last month too so now I'm in GP limbo too. So sad for her.0
-
molliefish, i would not like to have to switch drs that would suck. Have you thought about checking new one out now
0 -
I was told 10, too.
0 -
is 10 years recommended because of your ages? I wont see my MO until July and started on tamoxifen in December. She said for a few years then switch to Als. I'm 52 now, was 51 when started and still having regular periods up until mid way through chemo in August.
0 -
Tpralph,
I am 51 and my MO told me the same as you...I will switch to an AI as soon as I am clearly menopausal. I was not menopausal going into chemo. I am trending in that direction now. However, if you take an AI before you are menopausal, because of how AIs work, it could actually backfire and create more estrogenic conditions that could cause a recurrence. So, I am okay staying on Tamox for the next 2-5 years before switching to an AI. I suspect that younger women, who are not menopausal and can't plan on moving in that direction for the next 10 years, could stay on Tamox for an entire 10 years.
0 -
I'm on something for 10 years. (May switch to an AI after menopause but depends upon bone health.)
0 -
I'm on Tamoxifen for 5 - 10 years and I went through menopause about 12 years ago. My MO switched me to Tamo after bad SEs from both Armidex and Femera. I started on Dec. 18 and, so far so good. Only a few hot flashes, couple of sleepless nights but mostly nothing remarkable at all. Whew! I was so worried about the SEs after my experience with the two AIs.
0 -
It's 10 years total hormone blockers. Could be Tamoxifen or AL's.
0 -
I was told 5 years at diagnosis then 10 years by the time I actually started Tamoxifen. But now I had the Breast Cancer Index test which showed zero benefit from hormone therapy for years 5-10 so now I'm not on anything.
0 -
Lala: Lucky!
0 -
My hot flashes also disappeared. (been on it since Nov 2015). I am on 10 yrs. maybe it's both research & my age (diag just turning 42)
0 -
10 year recommendation comes from this study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3596060/
Almost up to 6 weeks of the Big T, now. Insomnia occasionally (but nothing terrible), which resolves if I do some relaxation yoga before bed, and constipation, which resolves if I guzzle water, eat enough fibre, and get some exercise. So tamoxifen is basically making me live a veryhealthy life!
0 -
I'm very similar to Scrafgal and Tpralph. I'm 51 (52 in a few weeks) Premenopausal before chemo but have not had a period since last February after my second AC treatment. My blood work both in July and again last month showed I was menopausal. I actually discussed staying on tamoxifen or switching to an AI with my MO last month. He said that he wanted to do more research. His recollection was that the majority of the studies that showed AI's as being slightly more effective were done on women that were already menopausal and not forced into it from chemo. He is very comfortable keeping me on tamoxifen for the next year or so at least since I am tolerating it so well. I'm comfortable with that and I'm also glad that he wants to look into the research. He did say I'll be on one or the other for 10 years. Heck, I'd take them for 30 more if it helps.0
-
tamoxifen might be for a certain type. I'm trip +
0 -
I was 55 at diagnosis, but was put on tamoxifen because at the time it was the only hormone treatment licensed for DCIS. I was told 5 years, and so far no one has said that will change. My oncologist says he prefers to put his DCIS patients on tamoxifen not AIs because the outcomes are more or less the same, but he thinks the quality of life issues are better. Though I guess that depends what side effects you get. So far I've noticed that I gain weight more easily and it's much harder to shift. And it isn't down to being post menopause, because I was already well past when I was diagnosed.
Apart from that, I don't have any side effects, no aches and pains, no hot flushes, no hair thinning (I could do with a bit of that!) I am a bit warmer than I used to be, I was always cold before, wanting to turn the heating up. Now my husband and I are on the same page when it comes to when to put the heating on, that only ever used to happen when I was pregnant.
I think it's hard to find the facts about side effects, if you look up tamoxifen and weight gain, or tamoxifen and cholesterol, there seem to be as many studies saying it lowers levels as it causes an increase.
0 -
Dizzybee, I think your DCIS diagnosis might be a difference too. I know that the several people I know that are post menopausal are all on tamoxifen. Both meds are very effective and if one is better tolerated then all the better. So far I'm happy with Tamoxifen
0 -
I had DCIS, grade 3 too. I am post menopausal and am on Tamoxifen - for about a month now - so far so good side effect wise. Was told I'd be on it for 5 years.
0 -
tlfrank
It's interesting that you're so recently diagnosed and have still been told five years, not ten.
My sister had 3cm of DCIS grade two, they asked her to go on a trial to be allocated either to lumpectomy or to a watch and wait program, to monitor and only operate if something changed. She wasn't happy to leave it to be monitored, she wanted surgery. But she didn't have rads or any hormone treatment, just a lumpectomy. So it seems that they're looking at whether to treat lower grade DCIS less aggressively than now.
0 -
Dizzybee - I have been struggling with whether or not all of the treatment I had was really necessary. I sort of feel like I threw an atom bomb at a mosquito. My diagnosis escalated gradually, and each step committed me to taking the next......My initial biopsy report was only ADH bordering on DCIS, so lumpectomy was recommended. Lumpectomy pathology revealed pure DCIS grade 3. When reporting my results the surgeon said "I'm really glad we did the lumpectomy because your biopsy didn't really tell us what was going on. I was told that since it was DCIS, once the lumpectomy was done, you're committed to rads otherwise your recurrence risk is great. I likened it in my mind similar to kicking a hornet's nest. My mind is not at ease at all with any of this, but yet I'm too scared to do nothing at this point.
0 -
I am using medical marijuana (Indica edibles, 5-10 mg before bed) for help with sleep and it's working really well..
I have yet to consult with an herbalist for an opinion on THC and Estrogen+BC. There is a highly trained and trusted practitioner nearby and I need to make an appointment.
I am still looking for a strain that helps with the neuropathy and joint pain, and the herbalist at the local dispensary states that she has clients who have had good luck with 1:1 THC/CBD.
Wishing you all more good days.
-gardengypsy
0 -
I have been on Tamoxifen for 5 years this coming May. My Onc told me last week I had to decide whether to continue on the Tamoxifen for another 5 years or change to Femara. The “only" side effect I've had with Tamoxifen is blood clots, which put me on Warfarin. I had a second recurrence on Aromasin, which I took after my first recurrence. She put me on the Tamoxifen after the second recurrence. Anyway, she's pushing for Femara because she's worried about uterine cancer during the second five years of Tamoxifen. But she also said Femara is hard on women in my age group (almost 59) with the bone and joint pain. So, I have another hard decision to make. Any opinions or advice appreciated! Karen
0 -
Karen- I’m surprised she put you back on tamoxifen with the blood clots. I also developed blood clots (DVT & bilateral PEs) on tamoxifen. MO and IM docs all agreed discontinue tamoxifen, start lovenox acutely, switch lovenox out for Xarelto for 6 months, then start Femara once ovaries removed. They said due to the clots I absolutely cannot take tamoxifen again. Now what I can tell you tamoxifen vs femara side effect wise (at least for me) is that Femara has far fewer SEs and the ones I have are mild in comparison. On tamoxifen I had memory issues (even just remembering the next word in a sentence), terrible joint pain in feet/ankles/hips/arms/hands/fingers, hot flashes, restless sleep, and severe itching on my upper body that I had to take an anti-histamine for. Oh yeah, and the clots. On Femara, I still have hot flashes, I tend to wake up a couple times a night but the sleep in between is restful, and from the tip of my left pointer finger extending down into that part of my hand where it joins together with my lower thumb joint aches horribly when I try to move it after a period of non-use (ie when i wake up in the morning, after sitting still watching a movie or reading a book, etc). I still sometimes have memory issues or will use the wrong word on occasion (ie I was trying to talk about zofran for nausea but it came out as ‘Zoloft’ instead) but the brain fog is nearly non-existent now. Thank god for that fog lifting as my job requires a lot of memorization, recitation and thinking on my feet. I hope this is help
0
