Bottle 'o Tamoxifen

gardengypsy

Tiny Dancer~ I have been throwing the covers off and on all night long for years!

As reccomended by my ND, I take 20 mg. of Melatonin a night. Along with MM, It helps.

gratefulmama4

I am experiencing constipation with Tamoxifen. Anyone else experiencing this? What have you ladies found to help? Thank you!

TinyDancer5

Gardengypsy - Magnesium? Somewhere in this thread was a list describing what the different kinds of Magnesium were used for, but I cant find it now. Can you please tell me which one you are taking?

lala1

Per my holistic doctor....I take SloMag (magnesium chloride) for constipation and KAL magnesium glycinate 400 for muscle pains. The second one also seems to help with the hot flashes.

superius

Prunes for me.

Lovinggrouches

magnesium didn't help me at all. I take senna two tabs every three days and works like a charm!!!!!

gardengypsy

Tiny~Medical Marijuana.

dtad

Variable...sure I can tell you why I refused anti hormone treatment but its not usually received well on a conventional thread. I'm post menopausal so I was offered Arimidex, not Tamoxifen. My reasons are numerous but the number one reason was because I already have a compromised QOL due to a chronic autoimmune disease. I do however do several thing to lower my estrogen naturally. I would be happy to discuss this further if anyone would like to PM me. Good luck to all navigating this disease.

MJS1266

Jennie93,  Sorry you had such a terrible time on Tamoxifen.  Hope you are doing better on Arimidex.  My MO mentioned switching me to an AI.  I have to admit, I am a bit hesitant, the devil you know theory.  I also have some concerns on bone and heart health.  I was reminded that I could switch back.  So after I have a new DEXA scan, will probably be switching, not sure which one yet.  Good Luck, Mary-Jo

jcn16

Hi everyone!

Saw an MO for the first time yesterday following a mastectomy in December. The good news is no chemo or radiation. Now I have to decide on Tamoxifen.

Would love to hear from anyone who was in their 50s and pre-menopausal when they started taking tamoxifen. Did you experience side effects?

Thanks so much!

J

Trvler

JCN: What percent is your ER? I have been on Tamoxifen for a year now. I was premenopausal when I started at 53. I have hot flashes, which are not that bad. I get chills. Also bad upper arm cramps. I can fix the leg cramps easily but I can't figure out what to do about the arm cramps.

labelle

Re: Constipation. There is a very long and informative thread on here entitled something like CONSTIPATION-- the problem with some many of our drugs.

Tamoxifen makes me constipated as well. No doubts, I've stopped and restarted Tamoxifen at various times, and when I'm not taking it constipation is not a problem.

Trvler

Magnesium for constipation. Miracle cure.

tbalding

I started taking tamoxifen about 6 months ago at age 52 ( still premenopausal) and so far, no noticeable side effects.

jcn16

Trvler,

I can't find the addendum to my path report where my ER% is but I do know it's more than 90%.

The night sweats are a concern because I'm a light sleeper.

Tbalding, Glad to hear you are symptom-free!

Thanks to you both for your response!

ArtyMom

I was pre menopausal when diagnosed last fall, have been on Tamoxifen since December 19. I have some minor hot flashes , some constipation and some trouble sleeping. So far I've been able to deal with them all. We will see how it goes from here.

jcn16

ArtyMom, Thanks for your reply! Hope you continue to do well on Tamoxifen.

mellee

Trvler, have you tried magnesium? Magnesium works really well for me for relieving leg aches and joint pain, and it's also supposed to work for muscle cramps. I take 400 mg before bed.

Just be aware that not all types of magnesium are created equal. I recommend magnesium glycinate (I take Doctor's Best brand) because it stabilizes your nervous system and has a calming effect, which helps for anxiety and insomnia.

Catkin

jcn16: I was 49 and 4 months when I started taking Tamoxifen in Nov 2015, and perimenapausal (as in my periods had started to become irregular). I did not get hot flushes or muscle aches, though a lower backache I sometimes got seems to come more easily.

I had some mild heart palpitations at in the early morning for a few months, weird - deep slow breathing helped.

I no longer sleep so long and have to wake up earlier in the morning (though that is related to anxiety too).

My periods stopped after a month, but just a week ago I got my first period since then, very light. Because I have had no bleeding for over a year (just) the Open Access breast cancer nurse (UK) suggested that perhaps I could have a trans vaginal ultrasound scan for my uterus to check it is ok. It is probably my hormones still trying to make me have a period.

Though some anxiety started before the Tamoxifen I do feel that my low moods/ anxiety are being made worse by being on the drug but I just can't say for sure. I would have to come off the Tamoxifen for a couple of months to see if I felt psychologically better.

I hope that is is some help. We all seem to react so differently, if at all.

tsoebbin

i am 52 and on my 3rd bottle of tamoxifin... So far mild hot flashes are my biggest SE. I might be shedding additional hair but it's too early to tell!

I wonder if the hot flashes go away after our bodies adjust? Who knows?!

Good luck!

jcn16

Catkin and Tsoebbin, thanks so much for sharing your experiences. It's a BIG help. My MO wants me to try Tamoxifen and see how it goes. If I experience side effects I'll ask my MO about taking magnesium.

Trvler

What I learned about the hot flashes so far is that they are frequently preceded by chills...so if I try not to get chills, I don't get as many hot flashes. At night, I now sleep with an electric blanket. I would get cold and toss and turn for a long time and I think the resulting hot flash was what woke me up finally. Also, I think exercise helps with hot flashes because I notice if I am sitting too long, I start getting the chills but if I am moving around, I don't get them as much.

jcn16

Trvler, these all seem like good ideas. I will have to monitor my symptoms to determine what might be triggering them. I experienced night sweats a few years ago and found that exercise stopped them completely. It wasn't until my recent surgery that the night sweats returned. Always accompanied by a bad dream. Not sure if the hot flash causes the dream or vice versa. Hoping once I am fully healed and able to excerciseagain it will get better.

Trvler

Hope so, too, Jcn!

gardengypsy

I have been unable to tolerate it. Horrible psychological symptoms. Brain fog, depresssion, exhaustion, impatience, anxiety, memory problems...to name a few.

It's difficult to know which SEs go with the chemo, the cancer experience (PTSD), the radiation or the hormonal therapy, but since I am postmenopausal, I am ready to try the AIs..

Hope your experience is much better than mine, JCN.

jcn16

Thanks gardengypsy -I hope AIs work better for you!

Blownaway

I've been on Tamoxifen for 2 years. I blamed my pain, hot flashes, hair loss......on Tamoxifen so my doctor had me take a break from it. None of my problems lessened during that time so I started taking it again. Although I'm way past menopause and have had a complete hysterectomy, I take Tamoxifen rather than an AI due to osteoporosis. I found that the Effexor I was taking was causing my headaches and breathing problems and since it was prescribed for hot flashes and wasn't helping with those, I weaned myself off of it.

mvspaulding

My breast surgeon prescribed Effexor for me to lessen the hot flashes but after taking it for two days I didn't like the way it made me feel at all. So I haven't taken it since. I am wondering if I should have given it more time but I just don't want to be taking one med to counteract the effects of another. And then having more side effects. I can't stop taking the Tamoxifen and the hot flashes aren't the only side effect I have from it.

lala1

I'm 2 years post menopausal after a total hysterectomy and am still on Tamoxifen (don't really want to have to worry about bone loss and heart issues with AIs). I have some SEs like joint pain and hot flashes but my supplements make that bearable. My MO allows me to take iCool for my hot flashes and I've seen an 80% improvement in their duration and intensity. Check with your MO to see if you can try it.

lala1

I'm thinking this might apply to Tamoxifen users as well.....

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