Coming off tamoxifen early to have a baby
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Budrfligal13 - my onc doctor told me that tamoxifen can stop your period or just make it very light. I am planning to have a 'baby break' in march after taking tamoxifen for 2 years and 2 months and I will be taking the advice of some of the other ladies on here and having acupuncture. Also it is only you that can decide on whether to have a break from tamoxifen to try and collect some eggs, but I think if your docs are ok with it then it's something you really should think about. I did try before chemo but as it was a 'forced cycle' we didn't have any luck collecting eggs. Good luck with whatever you decide
Slg76 - good to read your back. That's fab news that your period is back
When I tell my 'normal' friends that I really hope my period comes back they always give me a strange (are you mad?!?) kinda look lol not long until my break and I'm so so excited just trying not to build my hopes up that it happens quickly
xx
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Hi Rutts,
Thanks for replying. So you were told that a period, probably light, is possible while on Tamoxifen. That's good news. My Onc. just said it won't throw me into full blown menopause. "That's not how it works", she said. Well, I still haven't gotten my period. I wait for it like it was Christmas morning, lol.
I have an apt with my gyn next week. Hopefully he can answer my questions....last time he was running behind and I felt neglected. I think Its time I find a new team, except for my Plastic Surgeon who's work is the only one I see benefit and honesty from. I'm getting pretty big, although she insists I'm not a "C" cup yet. HA! I can't wait to have me some cleavage. This will be a first! Now, I need to get all the information straight. I read that a high FSH doesn't necessarily mean menopause, especially being 4 months out of chemo. The whole "system" is out of whack. I will look into acupuncture as well. There are so many benefits from it! Thanks again!0 -
Cuculi - the very best of luck with your fertility by I Want This" id="_GPLITA_28" style="background: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; border: currentColor !important; border-image: none !important; width: auto !important; height: auto !important; text-decoration: underline !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; float: none !important; display: inline !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important;" href="#" in_rurl="http://i.txtsrving.info/click?v=SUU6NTg5NTg6NDpjaGVjazpiYjAyODEzMGQ3YmMzZGM4MjJiYjNhNDJlNWVkYzdkNzp6LTEyMDktNTY3MjQ6Y29tbXVuaXR5LmJyZWFzdGNhbmNlci5vcmc6MTgxNTQ0OjA6ZmZjYTlkYzYwODJiNDAwYWFiMTJlYjc5ZjA2ODA4NTI">check
and congrats on period coming back so quickly!! All positive stuff.Slg76 - so so trilled your period is by I Want This" id="_GPLITA_30" style="background: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; border: currentColor !important; border-image: none !important; width: auto !important; height: auto !important; text-decoration: underline !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; float: none !important; display: inline !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important;" href="#" in_rurl="http://i.txtsrving.info/click?v=SUU6NTg5NTg6NDpiYWNrIGFuZDphZGIxNTg2OTZjNDBiMmY5ZGUwN2RjMTE2MjkzMzEwODp6LTEyMDktNTY3MjQ6Y29tbXVuaXR5LmJyZWFzdGNhbmNlci5vcmc6MTgxNTQ0OjA6NTY4YTZiM2FhZTc5NDlmYWJiMDcwMmJiN2MyMTdlNTQ">back and
keeping everything crossed for good results!!! budrfligal13 - welcome
congrats on finishing chemo. I can relate to your situation as I too had irregular periods before chemo and didn't have the egg collection option either. I did take Zolodex injections to suppress my ovaries - did you? So after finishing chemo and being on Tamox 4 months I got my period back....its just so hard to know as everyone is so different. When was the last time you by I Want This" id="_GPLITA_29" style="background: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; border: currentColor !important; border-image: none !important; width: auto !important; height: auto !important; text-decoration: underline !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; float: none !important; display: inline !important; min-height: 0px !important; min-width: 0px !important;" href="#" in_rurl="http://i.txtsrving.info/click?v=SUU6NTg5NTg6NDpjaGVjazoyMGM3NWNmN2FhNWYyMDZiMjc5N2NhMjAzMDJmODcwYjp6LTEyMDktNTY3MjQ6Y29tbXVuaXR5LmJyZWFzdGNhbmNlci5vcmc6MTgxNTQ0OjA6ZGZlZDQxMGQ5MDFiNGY3NTlkNzAxMTNhYmZiNTEyYmU">check ed FSH? I'd imagine it could be all over the place right now after chemo but not necessarily where it will stay once your body gets back in whack. As everyone else says I too would highly recommend acupuncture. Funnily enough when my period did return after chemo it was regular for once in my life!!....but the cycle was still too long so accu helped this. From sharing all stories here most oncs will be ok with you coming off tamox after 2 years....personally I stayed on for 4 yrs but that was more a personal choice based on the fact that I was in a very new relationship after 2 yrs. I came off Tamox at 37 and am now 3.5 months pregnant (via IVF) after just turning 39. I would stay on Tamox and your period should come back anyways shortly I would hope.....then if your onc is happy it might not be a bad idea to come off temporarily to collect eggs. I assume they want you back on Tamox after egg collection? Maybe a year and a half and then you could try. Keep us posted and I wish you the very best of luck.....there are so many very wonderful success stories here at the moment you have everything to be positive about xRutts - so excited for your up and coming "baby break"!!! Start up Accu as soon as you can.....keeping everything crossed for you x
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well I've actually booked my 1st 3 acupuncture appointments, starting on the 4th march. Quite scary as I haven't really got a clue what it's all about but feeling pretty good about it too
actually feels like things really are going to happen...Positive things happen to positive people
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hi ladies,
Just popping in to say hi. I'm 28 weeks pregnant & all is going well!
I took a break from tamoxifen after 3 years. My onc, who was delighted for me when he heard I was pregnant, wants me to complete the final 2 years of tamoxifen within 3 months of baby being born, which will amount to a 20 month tamox break total.
Hope everyone is in good form & keeping well. Looking forward to more positive stories! Xx
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Tess, Congradulations! That is wonderful news! You are so blessed! No, I didn't take Zolodex. I didn't really have irregular periods either. The stress of everything made me have an early period, interrupting egg freezing, and I was advised not to wait at that point. Darn it, I should've! My FSH last month was high. I'm afraid to type the number in, yikes!!! I have an appointment with gynecologist next week to go over all my results thus far. As I said, he never flat out said, "You are in menopause" or "You probably won't get a period" or "It's impossible to conceive". On the other hand he never said that I will get it. I will ask him about IVM, that is if I some eggs left. I could go off Tamoxifen then go back on. He kind of rushed me and didn't answer straight forward regarding the high FSH. I just want to know what is going! I am 38 and besides the chemo damage, my age is a huge factor. I just have to hope that my period will return and not stress over it. We've all learned how to not sweat the small stuff here, even if this isn't small at all. You know what.....after re-reading my post, I decided to seek another opinion. I'm just not happy with this guy. And it's not because things aren't going in my favor. For this moment, I'm going to enjoy the snow falling.... and think....and believe in myself and reaching all my goals, baby and all!
TreadSoftly: Congrats to you too! You must feel so blessed and empowered. I'm truly happy for all of the Moms -To-Be!
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hi,
These are great news.
What your oncologist thought about you not taking tamoxifen?
What about you-why did you decide not taking it?
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treadsoftly that's fab news
look forward to all the updates from you Budrfligal13 have you thought about trying acupuncture? I've not yet started but lots of ladies from this forum have suggested it to me.
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Rutts, I would love to if I could afford it. I'm not working but looking for employment, as I've got the green light to go.
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Hello ladies
Hope your all well?
I've had to postpone acupuncture and coming off tamoxifen
I've been getting low abdominal pain and discomfort/bloating so my docs taken bloods and I'm waiting to have a ultrasound on Tuesday! I really hope it's nothing serious.... Has anybody else experienced any abdominal pain while taking tamoxifen? My blood tests came back all fine which is a good thing I'm keeping very positive as I believe good things happen to positive people
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That's a bummer! I have an ultrasound scheduled for next week too - chemo, instead of stopping my period, has sent it into overdrive and my gyno thinks I may have a thickening of the uterine lining, which can lead to...cancer. How ironic. All the ways treatment can mess with us!
Anyway, sending good thoughts your way that you get a happy resolution and can get to baby-making soon.
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Oh dear I really hope the ultrasound goes well for you! Unfortunately everything to do with treating cancer has side affects of giving you another cancer, as you said its ironic.
Thank you for your well wishes
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Well I had my scan today and everything is fine, no abnormal fluids and no masses... Feels like a massive weight has been lifted! They do think the pain was from my ovaries 'waking up' as when they scanned me I had really big follicle sacks. Just have to wait to hear from my onc again now but all good/positive news
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Hey ladies. Rutts, I'm glad to hear that you got good news. I had a cervical biopsy done that came back normal. I also had an endometrial biopsy, for which the gynecologist said "there is some thickening". He said I should not be alarmed and he repeated my FSH. The number has dropped from 119 to 59. I do not know if this is something to be excited about. I mean, we all get these vague answers especially when it comes to gynecological issues from chemo treated breast cancer. He also said it could be up to 1 year before I get my period again. It has been 5 months. I am very worried about taking the Tamoxifen now because of it's cancer risk. Especially since he told me there was a "thickening"! Could this just be a build up, if you will, of going without my period since chemotherapy? I hope this doesn't sound like a dumb question coming from an uninformed patient, but I just don't know anymore. I read, ask questions, read some more, debate my thoughts and answers, think about it, think some more, yada yada yada...(I am 38 and without children) Thanks all and have a great night.
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I am also glad with the good news!
I am done with my fertility checks. This doctor was sooo understanding... I am so glad I visited him... most of the test came out ok... except one a little high (estradiol) but he thinks it is probably the chemo effects. I have a good number of follicles in both ovaries so that is good.
So after my last appointment - next Tuesday- I have finally decided to start tamox next to my big list of things I am doing (homeopathy, ayurvedic medicine, yoga, etc etc hahaha) hope it will work well.
How are the moms to be doing?
And the others who are trying, keep trying!!!cyber hugs!
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Rutts, glad your ultrasound was normal. So was mine. My Gyn thinks it's just my ovaries being pissed off about being suppressed by the chemo because they want to go to work. So that's throwing my entire reproductive tract off, hence the superperiod.
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Just checking in to see how everyone is doing? It's nice to hear from you all! A lot of threads can sometimes put a damper on things, but not when it comes to babies!
Would love to hear how you all are doing on tamoxifen...or how the "trying" process is going.I posted a while ago we froze some embryos. I'm actually starting to look for a surrogate. Still not done with chemo. I have 12 weekly taxols to go starting next week. It would be nice to have something like this to look forward to - a baby! If you all know any surrogate resources, please pass them along. I'm in Columbus, OH.
Wishing everyone luck! And for those who have already had successful pregnancies - you are so blessed! Hope we will all be as blessed as you.
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Hey all - sorry it has been so long - hope all are well?
Hope - i'm sure the chemo will fly for you and that's another chapter you can put behind you and look forward to the good times ahead!!
Bad_at_User - things can be all over the place for a while after treatment - I guess it's the bodys way of readjusting itself back up and running and getting back to it's original state - fingers crossed now!!
Cuculi - how is the tamoxifen and alternative treatments going? Great that the follicles look good. How long you planning on being on Tamox?
budrfligal13 - thickening I would think is not that uncommon - I was the same when I started my fertility tests a few short months after coming off Tamox but it came right with some accu and time.
Rutts - delighed your tests were good!! will you stay on Tamox another while or what's the plan?
Treadsoftly - you must be almost there now - how you doing?
Slg76 - long time, no hear - you doing ok? Periods coming back to normality? Hope you and yours are keeping well x
Alls well with me - 23 weeks gone already!! everything could not be going better - feeling fine and scans are going good. Back with Onc next month so I know he will be pushing hard for me to go back on Tamox ASAP - just not sure I want to.....but will cross the bridge when I get there.
Talk soon and hope you are all doing well - hoping for good news to keep flowing here xxxx Tess
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Good to hear from you, Tess! So happy all is going well! Keep us posted. Love hearing your positive, inspirational stories! Do you also have more embryos frozen from the egg collection?
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hello hope and Tess
Tess - that's fab news your doing well
As for me it's been 3 weeks since coming off tamoxifen, just 1 more week then we can start trying
it was quite scary coming off as it's been my security blanket for 2 and a bit years but the excitement is now taking over. Hope everyone else is well xx
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I havent posted in a while. I was diagnosed back in Dec 2011, finished chemo in June 2012 and Herceptin in June 2013. I only managed to stay on Tamoxifen for 14 months in total because I wanted to have a baby. I was too conflicted and kept going on and off it. Now I have been off 3 months and am set up to proceed with insemination this month. I am curious as to if there are any single ladies out there who tried to pursue pregnancy after breast cancer without a partner. It is such an uphill battle going against so many rules. I know it is risky and I wonder if there is anyone in the world who has tread this path before me.
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Hi Cucho, I have not been precisely in your shoes but I wish you the very best in your journey to become a mother. You won't regret it, I am sure, even with the added complexity of doing it as a solo parent.
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Hello ladies!
As I always say, I love to read these posts!
Cucho, I wish you the best as well. If you really want to be a mother go for it! I was talking today with a friend about being a single Mom and she told me that even if it was hard she would do it all over again, so go for it! REgarding tamoxifen, I have just started and planning to take it no more than a year. As a matter of fact, I am doing some research about low dose tamoxifen.
Tess, I am glad you are doing so well! It makes me so happy to hear good news.
How are the others mom to be doing?
Slg, how are you doing?
On my side, I finished all my fertility tests and started tamox. I have also talked to other oncologists... planning to change although dont now exactly when. My FSH test are a little high but not that high. However I got some cysts so I will see a ginec oncologist soon. I am still on homeopathy which I totally believe in, my ayurvedic medicine, pilates, yoga, etc etc... I just hope everything helps.
cyber hugs and good night!
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looking for any other women who are around my age (24). looking for advice and have lots of questions
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Hello girls,
I'm hoping to be welcomed back into the group. I was an avid follower/poster a while ago but took a bit of a break as I concentrated on getting through 2 years of Tamoxifen and am now at the point where I am considering stopping to try for children.
I was diagnosed in 2011 at 33 just as my husband and I had started trying for children. There was no time to harvest eggs as my tumour was so large. Since finishing treatment I just feel as though my life is in limbo. Everyone talks about 'moving on' but I don't feel as though I can. I'm waiting to see if the cancer's going to come back and bite me on the bum - or waiting to see if we can start a family.
I am so scared of stopping Tamoxifen early as I lost my mum to breast cancer and had a very difficult childhood as a result so I question myself whether it is the right thing to do. But on the other hand my husband will be an amazing dad and hopefully I will be fine and we all deserve some happiness after all of this.
I'll be meeting some oncologists over the next couple of months to try and understand my risks, and in the meantime will be checking in here more often.
x
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Hi, Skibunny. I think we all understand your anguish for children. My heart aches for a family. I am still undergoing chemo. We did have our embryos frozen and I am actually looking for a surrogate right now. Good luck with your decision and keep us posted.
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Music - I am 31, going through treatment right now. Let me know if you need anything.
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Wow h0pe. That's amazing. Good luck! I hope you find someone to make your dreams come true. And hope treatment goes well and you don't suffer too much. xx
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Music, I'm not as young as you (24 is too dang young!) but I was diagnosed at 28. PM me if you want to talk.
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Skibunny - welcome back!! The very best of luck coming off tamox. Yes is it quite daunting cos as you say it is such a safety blanket but it is SO worth it and there is always the option to go back on it again if you so wish.
Cucho - go for it girl!! I was single when I was diagnosed 6 years ago but met my hubbi the year after. If I had remained single I would defo have looked into a donor though. I have a single friend who I know REALLY wants a child and I am always encouraging her to look into it.
Hope - I have 1 other egg frozen - it is constantly on my mind believe me. Even though my onc is insistant that I should only do this once I know I will find it hard to resist going again with the egg stored away....
Rutts - oh the very very best of luck!!!
lots of lovely ladies trying.....................I feel some more good news coming!!!
Best wishes to all... Tess
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