Tamoxifen
I was diagnosed in 2025 with grade 2, ER-positive, PR-positive, with associated high-grade DCIS and extensive lymphovascular invasion. Node negative
I had a partial mastectomy and radiation. I been Tamoxifen since December. The side effects are such joint pain has subsided it's the low mood no motivation and exhaustion that is getting me.I spoke with my PCP about the exhaustion and he told me the medication doesn't cause tiredness. I brought this up to my oncologist and he just dismisses my systems as if it's not a side effect. I'm at a lose. All my energy goes to work and when I get home I'm so tired. Does anyone else feel this why and if so what have you done to help with it?
Comments
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Hi @fighter2025, and welcome to BCO! We’re sorry that you have to be here, but we’re glad you found us.
Fatigue and other side effects while taking Tamoxifen can be very frustrating, and we wanted to share a few resources from our main site that may be helpful:
Podcast:
You might also want to check out our "Bottle O Tamoxifen" thread. It’s a long-running discussion where lots of members talk about their experiences with Tamoxifen, including fatigue, mood changes, aches, and all the little day-to-day things that come with it.
Hope some of those links help, and feel free to keep posting and let us know how you’re doing.
The Mods
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What time of the day are you taking it? When I first started taking it I took it in the morning and I felt tired during the day. I now take it at night and I feel like it works better for me.
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Hi @fighter25,
I hope the link the moderators sent u is helpful. I'll add my experience here: I am right there with you on being tired most of the time. I attribute it to many things and not only the tamoxifen: my body taking many years to adjust from cancer treatment, menopause (not sure where you are with that), and not getting enough exercise or healthy foods.
I second the previous poster to take the dose before bed and not in the morning.
Another thing that helped me some: the "Livestrong" program at the YMCA to get me back to exercising. It's very hard to make myself exercise when I'm tired but if I can make myself, over time it does help to have a regular exercise habit. Having a program/exercise buddy (anything that gets me commit to it) has helped me.
I also tested positive for moderate sleep apnea so that was another factor. And my A1C tested in the prediabetes range so I changed my diet dramatically which helped me get back into the normal range.
None of these things removed my tiredness completely but small changes have helped some. Not expecting myself to have the same amount of energy as I did before cancer treatment and menopause also helps.
I hope you feel less tired soon. Take good care of yourself.
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