What Foods Interact with Tamoxifen?

lala1

Whitedove---I did the total hysterectomy thing in Jan 2015 because of thickened lining, cysts, fibroids, etc. I was panicked thinking about how terrible menopause would be. Much to my gyn's delight, I was wrong...which he kept telling me I would be. The surgery was easy, The recovery even easier. No more periods. No more mood swings. The hot flashes aren't great but very manageable thanks to my MO. And I feel awesome!! Very good decision!

Anonymous

my pharmacist said the only food to avoid was grapefruit (and grapefruit juice) as it decreased the effectiveness of the tamoxifen (as well as many other medications). fortunately, I never liked grapefruit anyway, so it was no big sacrifice to avoid it.

Anne

whitedove

Lala1:

Hi again. Nice to be reconnected (we exchanged posts years ago!).

Thanks for your supportive words. I may have to get back to you in 3 months after I get another biopsy of my uterus and at that point may need to decide to go the hysterectomy route. If you were on Tamoxifen, did you stop Tamoxifen?

lala1

Lol...I just responded to you on the other thread! I'm still on Tamoxifen. I do pretty well on it and my BS and MO said the decrease in risk by swapping to an AI was miniscule and not worth all the SEs. My MO is going to do the BCI test next year and decide then whether to keep me on it, take me off or swap to an AI. So for now, I'm comfortable with the protection Tamoxifen is giving me.

whitedove

Hi Lala,

Funny we're meeting cross-topic

I'm late to get the memo on the abbreviations. What's AI and SE? What's BCI?

lala1

AI--Aromatose Inhibitor

SE--Side Effects

BCI-Breast Cancer Index test

Anonymous

I know this is an old thread but looking for any new info from those of you who have been taking tamoxifen. I will be starting it in a few weeks and want to be aware of any helpful food or things to avoid. I'm NOT a supplement taker, but I eat a lot of healthy stuff -- veggies, fruits, juice, and I cook with a lot of herbs and spices.

lala1

EpicSquirrel--- My MO told me to avoid grapefruit and soy but now he says real soy is ok in small amounts. He feels it's the added unnatural soy that is the problem. I actually take my vitamins with a few gulps of soymilk each day. Seems to also help with hot flashes. And he asked that I take a multivitamin, fish oil (but one with no less than 1000mg of EHA and DHA combined. You have to read the label carefully), Vitamin D (I take 5000IU a day. I work outside alot and was still surprised to find out my levels were low. My BS swears there would be less cancer if everyone got their Vit D levels up.) and a daily baby aspirin since Tamoxifen can cause blood clots. The aspirin does cause bruising for me when taken every day so he has me take it twice a week which he feels works just as well. And the last thing my docs asked is that I take up a regular exercise program. They said it would help with the Tamoxifen SEs and it does. My joint pain is less now that I work out and I sleep better. And as a bonus they said research shows exercise can reduce your risk of recurrence as much as 30%!! Good enough for me!

Good luck!