Experiences with tamoxifen?

mammafox

What are people's experience taking tamoxifen?

dlb823

bumping for mammafox

Linda603

I'm just finishing my 5th month on Tamoxifen.  At first, I was experiencing nausea, but fixed that by taking it with food.  I was also very tired at first, but that seems to have corrected itself.  I suffer from night sweats and hot flashes.  They seem to be a little better, but could I just be getting used to them???  

Sherryc

I had numerous SE's but that is not typical.  There are two threads that are active and you can ask questions. 

Bottle 'o Tamoxifen

Newbies on Tamoxifen

Great support on both of these.

mdg

I will let you know...picking up my Rx today and just getting started.

mammafox

So did anyone here on tamoxifen get the CYP2D6 test?

jdeking

Hi mammafox,

 I had the CYP2D6 test, as I was really hoping to avoid Tamox. I came back as an Intermediate metabolizer (IM), which is basically the same as the dr's saying "I don't know". It did say that IM's have higher risk for SE's and dimished response to usual doses, which I kind of figured as I cannot take several other drugs that are also metabolized by 2D6 (like Tylenol and Benadryl).

I had bad hot flashes and leg cramps at first. These passed after about 6-8 months. I have now been on Tamox for 2 years, and the only lingering problems have been knee pain, insomnia, and a huge outburst of growth of some uterine fibroids and ovarian cysts for which I had to have surgery for in April. (12 tennis ball sized fibroids!).

Periods are funky. Not totally gone, but very random. Are you premenopausal? I assume so, or you'd be on an AI! Duh! :P

Really, it is something you totally get used to. Once I got past the hot flashes (which I was having already anyway from chemo/rads), it evens out and is not so terrible. Good luck!

~Janine

BlueLily

3 months of tamoxifen & my cholesterol went up 70pts. (Even with increased exercise & improved diet). The MO said it's a SE.