Tamoxifen questions

Mausie

Thanks Headeast - in the process of trying those!

Cutiekool

hello ladies I've been on tamoxifen for a little over a month and had to change my antidepressant to effexor which they say effexor and tamoxifen work well together to help with hot flashes. True but when I take the meds together I get really bad anxiety and I feel like I'm getting a rash but nothing is visible my ears get hot. Does anyone else experienced this?

PWFNP

I am having terrible leg cramps. I am on my 3rd mo of tamoxifen. My MO told me to go off of it for 7-10 days and see how I do.  The hot flashes stink. I tried Effexor and the flashes were worse.  I will have to try the mag.  

Thanks

MrsDarcy

Good morning  Just a quick update as to my wierd feelings of late - and they are not to be attributed to Tamox !  I saw a therapist that specializes in the draining and massaging of LE.  She actually knows the therapists I had at the hospital right after my surgery.  

I have the onset of LE in the breast .. but not at all in the arm.  So that is good news .. and now I will see her for 3 more weeks (once a week) and then probably once a month.

The treatment of last night has already made a big impact on my breast - lot less swelling and it feels almost normal again .  I am, however, exhausted by this treatment.   It's a very light and non-invasive massage of the lymphatic system but very powerful.   I am to do the home massages / draining 2 or 3 times a day and I am just so glad somebody took me under the wing to help me (still no news from my surgeon or my MO).

As for the Tamox, I started taking 5mg of melatonin a night - and it is actually starting to work a little - or the Tamox is letting up after a month of taking it.   I thought I had some pain in my left arm (joint) from the Tamox but we deducted (the therapist and i) that it is my new job / desk sitting situation that is bringing that on.  Today I tackle getting my desk fixed up !!! LOL

So I am one month into Tamox and still so far so good .. knocking on wood and keeping toes & fingers crossed

Hugs!

Milaandra

For those of you with se... How quickly did they show up? 

Jennie93

I think you will find that everyone is different, but...   I started getting leg & foot cramps soon after starting tamox.  Magnesium helped a good deal.  Also have had strangely vivid dreams, weird, but not nightmares.  Who knows if that's related.  

The weight gain, for sure that's the tamox, started creeping up right away, and continued at the rate of about 5lbs/mo despite my best efforts. 

The other biggie for me was joint pain, and that took awhile. Started noticing it after about 6 mo on tamox and it got worse gradually, pretty unbearable after 12mo.  

MrsDarcy

Milaandra - I am now 7 months into Tamox and honestly, no SEs.   The occassional "warm flush" and possibly some nights having trouble falling asleep now.  But not sure I can attribute all that to Tamox or age  (46).   Whatever SEs I had or felt in the beginning have decreased to being almost non-existent.  

I am on the Teva brand and I try hard to make sure the pharmacy never substitutes another brand on me

Good luck