Tamoxifen/Effexor
Thanks so much!! Comments
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I'm relieved to hear of someone NOT gaining weight on tamixofen! Good luck with the hot flashes. I am having them now anyway, so I'm hoping when I start tam it won't be too much worse.
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It may depend on when you take it. I was taking it at night but I just started doing half in the morning and half at night. I am still getting night sweats but not as bad. At least you are prepared for the hot flashes. It looks like your diagnosis and time line was close to mine. I was diagnosed in October of 2011. Grade1 stage 1 0/4 nodes ER+PR HER2-
Did you have a lumpectomy and radiation or did you have more?
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Hi Angel,
I take Effexor with my arimidex and have not gained weight at all. It helped with the hot flashes tremendously. I just moved up in dosage to a whole pill at night and half in the morning. I have been on it just over a year now.
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Shelly that is so good to hear! Do you mind if I ask how many milligrams you take?
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Hi,
I take effexor for chemo-flashes--37.5 mg the lowest dose--started in Nov.--my onc. looked up the side effects and found overall a 5 lb weight LOSS from effexor, not weight gain. I lost weight during chemo and have mostly kept it off. Perhaps b/c of effexor, I have not had bad hot flashes, although I don't have anything to compare them to since I wasn't having them pre-chemo. They are more just...interesting, not an awful problem and only last seconds, not minutes. I am welcoming every one I have, actually, since I'm ER positive and I think of hot flashes as proof that my estrogen levels are dropping and not feeding the party-crasher...
claire
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Claire, that is an amazing way to look at the night sweats. It does cause me to get up a lot at night but the "party crasher" is not getting fed, as you said. By taking Effexor and decreasing the sweats, this won't interfere with the estrogen-blocking, right? I realize it shouldn't but I wonder why it gets rid of the night sweats.
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Effexor is an anti anxiety med...why would it help night sweats...just curious?
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hillck: Thanks...something to consider
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I am considering Effexor for two reasons; to ease the night sweats and to take me out of a low feeling I seem to be getting while on Tamoxifen. I have read (not here) that Effexor has left some people with no real feelings at all, just sort of numb. I am not planning on taking a high dose so hopefully this won't occur. Has this happened to any of you on Effexor?
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Thanks Hillck. I know not everyone is the same. I just need the courage to try it. Did you get bad withdrawals when you got off of it?
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Angel 123,
I have been taking Tamoxifen since August 2011 and I started taking Effexor in January 2012 for brutal hot flashes (about 50-60 a day, no kidding). I take 75 mg twice a day and it works really well for the hot flashes and an added plus is my mood has improved and I have lost 15lbs without working out. I know this sounds like some kind of TV commercial for this stuff, but it's true. Before the Effexor, my onc had me on Neurontin for the hot flashes and it didn't help anything. I didn't want to be bothered by anything, not even work. Now, I'm feeling so much better. I recommend you give it a try and see how it makes you feel. If it doesn't work, stop taking it.
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Marcya...totally off topic, but I wanted to say Thank You. I respect our service men and women.
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Thank you Fuzzy!
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When asking the women on here about side effects from treatments, it so hard to guage on what will actually a happen to you. Some women get none, some women a few, some get them all, and that can vary from mild to extremely severe. The best we can do is try it and see what happens. I view all my meds as a balancing act between side effects and helpfullness.
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I am trying to see what the overall consensus is and then make my decision. It defiinitely is hard to guage what will happen with each individual but if I read a lot more negative than positive, it tells me I don't want to take that risk. So far, I really like what I hear. You are all a wonderful help.
Marcy I love hearing that your mood improved AND you lost weight! Woo hoo! As Fuzzy said, I have tremendous respect for all you do in the military.
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Thank you Angel! Whatever you decide will be what's best for you. Best wishes to you.
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I have heard about the brain zaps. My husband says I can always go off it if I don't like it but I am concerned about that too. I really want a low dose which will hopefully help with the night sweats. So you take 37.5 mg and it was enough to help with the hot flashes and mood? Is the ringing constant?
I am sorry about all of the questions.
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Thanks Marcy!
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Thanks Hill. I think I better bite the bullet and try. Thank you!
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My doctor put me on even a lower dose of Effexor 25 mg-but twice a day. The pharmacy had never processed that dosage, but they're accustomed to it now. It helps with my hot flashes, and I sleep through every night. I have gained a little weight, though I'm not sure whether that is from the tamoxifen, the effexor, aging or all three.
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Hi all,
The effexor relieves SE of hormone drops (apparently anyway, for me) but has no effect on estrogen levels. 37.5 mg is a very low dose. I copied this from breastcancer.org's link about hot flashes:
"low dose antidepressant meds may help forestall a hot flash by rebalancing or intercepting the chemicals in the brain that transmit the hot flash alarm, epinephrine and seratonin...effexor can relieve hot flashes by about 50% in nearly 60% of women with breast cancer (Mayo Clinic)...the standard rx is 12.5 mg. 2x daily (the problem with this rx is that it's my understanding that it's hard to find 12.5 mg capsules through most pharmacies).
The study found paxil was also effective but effexor's side effects seem not to include wegiht gain, while paxil is notorious for it. Since it's to our advantage to stay as lean as possible post BC, it seems that effexor would be the safer choice.
I suppose, if you were cautious, you could wait to see if you get hot flashes at all--many women don't--why overmedicate ourselves? But if you do, try the effexor. Personally I didn't want to wait to find out if I was going to get them or not. Since it works as an anti-anxiety med at 37.5 mg also, I needed that help as much as relief from any possible hot flashes. I was trying to be proactive.
Finally, I think if you need to quit the SSRI meds--any of them including effexor-- you're supposed to step down from it gradually over some weeks and not quit outright.
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I was on Tamox for 2 years and now Aromasin. I take 75 mg of effexor xr and my nightsweats have virtually disappeared. My doc said that they discovered the effects of it while treating BC patients for depression.
Good luck
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Hi Angel,
I started Effexor in October during radiation when I was feeling low. It helped with that immediately. When I had a hysterectomy in December, I didn't have hot flashes for awhile, but when I started having them, they were mild. For me, the Effexor helps for both depression and side effects from menopause and the anti-hormonals (I take letrozole).
It's an adjustment going on to it also. I had to take anti-nausea drugs for a week or so because it made me really sick and I couldn't lose weight during rads. Once I adjusted, though, I felt great! I would caution that if you miss a couple days, you will notice. I missed a couple of days when I forgot to get my prescription filled and it felt like I had the stomach flu. It's definitely a powerful medication when it comes to your body regulating those autonomic things like temperature and hunger. I don't know how it works, but I'm glad it works for me. I take 75 mg of venlaxafine ER.
Everyone who said you don't know how you will respond until you take it is right, and the side effects list is long, but I'm glad that I tried it and stuck it out. I definitely needed it. I think it's like any medication...you look at the risk-benefit ratio and go from there. Good luck!
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WOW...valuable information, thanks to all who shared. I've never been on an anti depressant and I have no idea how I would respond, particularly if I don't need it for depression. To take it just to prevent hot flashes...I would have to think long and hard about that, because it sounds like many drugs, that once you're on it, you become dependent. Now if you have depression and it cures the depression as well as helps hot flashes.. that's a benefit.
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I don't know if I would call it dependent--at least, not like a narcotic dependency, with classic w/d symptoms. As with most drugs, there are side effects and ways to stop taking the drug so that the effects of stopping are minimal.
For me, b/c I was (and am still) quite anxious about having BC in general, 37.5 mg helps me get through dx/tx/fear and allows me to be able to cope with it all while still trying to work and have a life.
And hot flashes have been minimal.
Claire
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Claire: Personally, I think if the benefit outweighs any risk, then you take it.
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Claire, you said it helped with depression. I read some people lost the ability to feel happy, sad, or anything other than numb. Are you able to feel happiness, etc? Did you put on any weight from this? Everyone is such a help here and I can't tell you how much I appreciate every bit of advice.
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Kaara, I agree completely. I knew if I had problems with it I could stop taking it.
Angel123, it IS an SSRI, which categorizes the drug as an anti-depressant. I wasn't given it b/c of depression, but to to relieve any hot flashes...
I don't think any drug right now could curb the emotional rollercoaster so many of us are on. I felt complete elation when I found out my PET scan was clear, and when my hair started falling out from tx, I was crushed. When my tx was delayed two weeks ago b/c of low WBC, I cried. When I found out my WBC was up to normal after a week off tx, I was relieved. So no...I think you have to take a much higher dosage than 37.5 mg to affect emotion.
As for weight, I lost 10 lbs because of worry, tx SE, and effexor. I've gained back about 3-4, I think. But that's due to Taxol, which for me doesn't bring the nausea and loss of appetite I had with my dose-dense AC tx.
I was pretty lean to begin with, and wanted to stay that way, so I can understand your worry about not wanting to gain any weight.
Claire
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Thanks Claire. My emotional rollercoaster seems to be better this week but not the night sweats. So I am still deciding whether or not to take it. Maybe it was just the first month and a half on Tamoxifen that did this and I am starting to adjust. I am not sure though.
I am sorry for your having your hair fall out because of Taxol. I hope it is just temporary for you.
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Hi Angel,
My hair is growing back pretty quickly with 3 tx left to go. I look like a noviatiate entering a convent (I can actually pinch it b/w my fingers--about 1/4" hair growth, or more so far) but in a week or two more I think it will look like I actually wanted to do this to myself.
Better to lose hair than lose life. I figure it was a good trade.
I start tamoxifen soon, so I'll be interested to know how I'll handle it.
Claire
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