ADHD and Tamoxifen

cria

I've seen a lot of women report that their ADHD meds don't work as well at certain times in their menstrual cycles. Wondering if anyone has noticed if their tamoxifen affected the effectiveness of their medication for ADHD? I got my ADHD diagnosis at 40, and haven't had a "normal" life or schedule since then so it's hard for me to really tell if the adderall works or not. Got the breast cancer diagnosis at 43, and have been on Tamoxifen since 44. Given that tamoxifen acts LIKE estrogen in some tissues and ANTI estrogen in others, I'm curious if it messes with stimulants or not.

Thanks.

salamandra

This is so interesting!

I also was diagnosed with breast cancer very shortly (within a year? maybe less) after my ADHD diagnosis, and I honestly feel like my ADHD has gotten *more* difficult to manage despite finally have a diagnosis and medication.

I can tell when my meds are working because on the days when I'm like - why can't I get anything done today and why am I still on my butt glued to the computer feeling anxious about everything but doing nothing and why did it take me three tries to leave the house this morning and I still left stuff behind - those are almost always days when I haven't taken the medication.

I also feel like both the hormonals and the stimulants can mess with sleep, and that creates its own whole thing of trying to balance and get right.

Thank you for asking, I want to think about this and will ask my psych next time I see him. He is from the breast cancer side though and has been very game about supporting my ADHD but I don't think his expertise is nearly as deep there.

cria

I don't know if you are on Reddit at all, but there is a subreddit r/adhdwomen, that has a lot of members and many good posts. It was some posts there mentioning varying effectiveness of stimulants according to menstrual cycle that made me wonder about tamoxifen.

tinydancer24

I received my ADHD diagnosis a year after my cancer diagnosis at the age of 41. This was 7 months or so into taking Tamoxifen.

Whilst it is clear I have always had ADHD, combined with the constant fatigue that the Tamoxifen has caused as well as presumably the hormonal effects, my ADHD is now through the roof. My ADHD meds do help, but primarily just to get me out of bed, actually doing my job and completing tasks has never been so hard!

When I mentioned my newly diagnosed ADHD to my medical oncologist , his only reaction was something along the lines of 'oh everyone seems to have that these days'.

moderators

Hi @tinydancer24 and welcome to our community! First, we're sorry for the dismissive reaction from your MO! It is truly difficult to balance this diagnosis with the side effects from treatment. One strategy may be to keep a record of energy levels and food. This may allow you to pick out patterns of when you feel more fatigued and if certain activities and foods improve or worsen your fatigue. Also, are you exercising (even moderately)? Although you may feel wiped, it could help with both the fatigue and management of the ADHD. Glad you found our community and sending hugs.