Bottle 'o Tamoxifen

Fe_Princess

Hi Scottiemom, does Tamoxifen making sleeping hard? I have a bottle of it on my desk and have not taken it yet. I feel petrified. I have been a wack job since I had my ovaries removed and am afraid I will get even worse on Tamox.

cliff

I am still trying to find out if my hot flashes are night sweats from tamafloxin or my diabetes. the diabetic low blood sugar symptoms for me are dizziness, bad vision, and confusion. is that how the tam hhot flashes or night sweats are?

lala1

kansas---I've had on and off low back issues since going on Tamoxifen. I seem to always ache a little bit in the lower back and sciatic nerve. I also seem to be more likely to "throw out" my back. I have started working out since going on the Tamoxifen so it could just be the usual gym stuff but who knows.

Trvler

Mellee: Thanks for the info. Maybe that's it. I had to take some Xanax this week. Had a very busy week and needed some sleep to recover from a bad cough. I am going to stop again. Hopefully, it will get better over time. I take melatonin but not sure if it's extended relief or not.

Anonymous

Speaking of melatonin, I went through a couple different kinds and none worked as well as a liquid dropper from the local health food store. I take 5 drops = 0.5mg. I like it because I can easily adjust the dose, and it has no additives, and I sleep great! Complete difference with and without it.

Last night I forgot whether I took my tamoxifen. So I just skipped. I freaked out a little but I don't think one day will make a difference. First time this happened!

SweetCaroline2

To Sheri64 and Trvier: I take 300 mg of CoQ10 daily.I am sure that my muscle cramps were caused by Tamoxifen. It is wonderful to not have the muscle cramps anymore. If you decide to try CoQ10, I hope it works as well for you as it does for me.

mellee

Blownaway, I've been told that Benadryl (diphenhydramine) interferes with tamoxifen so you may want to consider looking for a different sleep aid.

From OncoLink (https://www.oncolink.org/frequently-asked-question...):

"Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) is one over the counter medication that interferes with P450 2D6. People taking tamoxifen should read the labels on any over the counter medications, looking for diphenhydramine, as this is often an ingredient in sleep aids or cold and allergy medications."

Trvler

I forget my Tamoxifen all the time. Maybe like 2 x a month..

Nancdancer

Hi Ladies, I posted this on another topic but have not gotten any responses. Hoping that some of you have some insight to this.

I had my second mammogram this week after my bilateral June 2015 lumpectomy surgery and August 2015 radiation and it is showing up as calcification. Has this happened to anyone? They want me to follow up in 6 months and see if any change, they said it could be from the radiation. I was hoping after today that I could breathe again but now have to think about this for next six months. Thanks.

superius

I have one of those pill caddy that they gave out at the chemo class (my insurance have class you have to take & learn what to watch out etc before chemo). it helps alot!

Blownaway

Melee - well, shucks! Another med that my onco (who I fired several months ago) either overlooked or just wasn't aware that I should not be taking it.... She also prescribed Cymbalta for me to take alongside Tamo (which is why I am switching oncos) after learning on this website that I should not be taking it.

twiggyOR

This website lets you enter all your meds and tells you of the interactions.

https://www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.html

Trvler

What's the Cymbalta for?

Loral

I mark on the calendar when I start my next scrip and if I miss a Tamoxifen I count how many pills I should have left............

Trvler

I have a pill thingie but if I don't see it, I forget and there is always so much crap on our kitchen counter. I realized that after 3 weeks off Tamoxifen, my arm cramps have virtually disappeared. Ugh to having to start it again today. But I will try the Co Q10 and be optimistic. If it doesn't work, I will have to go on the other drugs. I forget what they are called. The after menopause ones.

BBwithBC45

I set an alarm on my cell phone to go off at a certain time each evening and this way I remember to take my meds.

Blownaway

Tryler - the Cymbalta was prescribed for neuropathy pain. It worked great but it seems like anything that works shouldn't be taken while on Tamoxifen.

Blownaway

twiggy - thanks for the website.

Trvler

Gotcha, Blownaway.

farmerlucy

My hysterectomy is schedule for next weds. It'll be open and not laparoscopic due to several large fibroids. I have to say I'm much more on the fence about this than any of the other surgeries. However I look down the road and I see one biopsy and TVU after another because I've been on Tamoxifen and my body makes these stupid bleeding polyps. So I'm gonna suck it up, follow my doctors orders to the letter and get past this.

Trvler

Tried taking melatonin in the middle of the night and it seemed to help. I am optimistic.

Sheri64

Has anyone gotten back pain on Tamoxifen, I got really back upper back pain so of course your mind goes straight to bone meds. I read somewhere it could be from the tamoxifen so I stopped taking it last Thursday and most of the pain has gone.

Trvler

So, the back pain is in your actual spine? Not in your muscles? I have horrible muscle cramps in my arms from it.

Sheri64

Trvler more like in my right shoulder blade.

lala1

Sheri64---I noticed you don't have your stats in your tag line. Did you have lumpectomy or mastectomy? I only ask because I complained to my BS about shoulder blade pain and he said he has it as a fairly common complaint. His theory is that surgery causes us to overcompensate while recovering by hunching our shoulders, kind of like a protective thing from the pain. He feels it causes some of us to develop strained muscles up underneath. I went to a really good massage therapist and explained this to him and had him pay special attention to my shoulder blades. He was amazed at how tight I was. He said the muscles there were actually in fist sized knots. I had about 4 or 5 half hour massages from him focusing on that area before it felt normal again. Now I can keep it pretty loose myself by doing stretching exercises that he and my BS showed me. I'll go get a "maintenance massage" every few months just to keep me right. And I'm convinced that any "issue" you have is only exacerbated by Tamoxifen. So if you have slight arthritis, you'll get severe arthritis. You have slight allergies, you'll get severe allergies...and so on.

Sheri64

lala1 I had a lumpectomy and right now I have a large seroma in that breast and in a couple weeks I have to go in to get a drain put in. I brought myself an hour long chair message for Christmas guess it is time to set that up.

mellee

Anyone use Unisom (doxylamine) for insomnia? Unlike Benadryl, it doesn't interfere with tamoxifen.

Anonymous

I have some shoulder/upper back pain, but it all started in the last few weeks since work started getting crazy. Lots of bending down and reaching for things. It goes away with some rest and warm showers.

Re leg cramps: I've tried pretty much every magnesium supplement at the health food store. None have worked except Chelated Magnesium by Country Life. It's mostly Magnesium Oxide. Glycinate, malate, citrate, none of those worked for me even though they were much more expensive!

Scottiemom11

Recently, my HFs have gotten considerably better or less. I now know why. My cycle suddenly came back out of nowhere after 1.5 years. I'm having blood drawn this week for regular check with MO next week. I had graduated to every 6 mos but if my levels are not good we'll see what MO says. This is on top of learning last week that I need more recons. surgery. Ugggh

Irritated Scottie

katcar0001

Scottie -- Just wanted to say hello and tell you how sorry I am that you are facing more surgeries. I can empathize as I am faced with some tough decisions as well. Keep us posted how you are doing.