getting off tamoxifen

klz3469

I am trying to help my mom get off tamoxifen and am a bit overwhelmed.  She is stage 4 with bone mets.  Her oncologist told her the petscan looks great and her bones are not taking in any sugar  at this time.   BUT the tamoxifen has caused her to gain LOTS of weight which has caused her blood sugar to go up along with her blood pressure. Her liver enzymes have been up as well and the oncologist says that is because she has fatty deposits in the liver due to gaining so much weight so quickly.  She is open to alternative treatments, especially ones that would help her lose weight:)  I just have to do the footwork for her.  So, where do we start?  What kind of supplements can she use to replace the tamoxifen?

Thanks so much for any help!!

dlb823

kiz, it sounds like your Mom has multiple health issues going on, so I think I would caution you about following any advice or suggestions, no matter how well-intentioned, you might read here.  If your Mom is interested in considering an integrative approach, perhaps finding a really good integrative oncologist would be a logical place to start.

Here are a couple of resources that might be helpful:

http://www.integrativeonc.org/

http://www.oncanp.org/

Well-respected integrative institutions include The Block Center in Chicago, http://www.blockmd.com/  which is rated #2 in the world, I believe, and also Cancer Centers of America, http://www.cancercenter.com/    I haven't personally used any of those, but am passing along their info so that you can look into them. 

Your Mom just doesn't sound like a candidate for self RX'ing, especially if her bone mets are stable.

Good luck finding the right professional to guide her!    Deanna

peggy_j

Sorry to hear this happening. Deanna makes a good point, that when there are multiple health issues to balance, it's important to get medical advice that considers them all. That's great news that tamox seems to be controlling the mets. Hurrah. That's huge, so personally I'd exhaust every option to reduce the SEs (i.e. losing weight) before stopping the tamox. 

FWIW, I'm on tamoxifen too and gained some weight and it's been really hard to drop.  I'm choosing to stay on the meds and work harder (arg!) to lose the weight. Unfortunately, no easy fixes, but the things that did work for me were some tweaks in my diet (shooting for 6+ servings of veggies a day; no meat; no fruit juices or other things that can give a glucose spike etc) and upping my exercise. If your mom isn't feeling well enough to exercise much, walking can be a great place to start. My nurse recommended 1/2 hour a day, says it can boost your energy level and give a boost to the immune system as well.  In my case, I was already walking, so I started swimming and after six weeks lost 3-4 pounds.  Not huge but at least I'm moving in the right direction. A friend with another type of cancer just joined Weight Watchers. Maybe we can start a cancer diet club.   Good luck to you and your mom.

klz3469

I am certainly hesitant to "rock the boat" when things are going well, but her weight gain is excessive.  She has gained 60 lbs since she started treatment in jan 2011...and she eats healthy and small portions. Doesn't that seem like an extraordinary amount of weight?

She is going to be more intentional about her excercise but she had an extremely hard time losing weight even before she ever got cancer.  I am trying to find a integrative naturopath nearby her...

peggy_j

I agree, that does seem like a lot. Have the docs ruled out other possible issues, like thyroid problems, Cushing's syndrome, etc?   I googled "weight gain causes" and there were other possible causes.  It may be the tamox, but I've never heard of that much weight gained due to tamox (of course, I'm no expert).

Your mom is lucky to have a daughter who's so caring. Good luck to both of you.