I'm choosing triathlon over tamoxifen - anyone else out there?

PattiTris1965

I cannot take the side effects anymore - my training has suffered, my personal life is suffering, and I feel like if I had 30 more years like this it would not be worth it.  Anyone else?

NatsFan

Patti - talk to your MO about taking a "vacation" from tamox for a month. I was on AIs, and horrible s/e and was at the point of quitting. My MO suggested that I take a one-month "vacation" instead. The s/e began to reverse within a week or 10 days, and at the end of the month I felt almost normal again. I hated the thought of starting back up, but when I started back up, to my surprise the good effects of my break persisted for a long time - it took several months for them to get back to being as bad as they were.

I ended up taking a total of 4 "vacations" in my 5 years, all with my MO's permission. I never would have gotten through the 5 years without those breaks. My MO is very much into QOL, and while she would have liked if I'd stayed it for 5 years without stopping, she much preferred that I take a break now and then rather than stop completely. My MO even worked with me and we timed my breaks to coincide with vacations or other special events.

See if your MO will work with you on this.

Boobytrap

hi

Did you decide to quit tamoxifen in the end? I'm also a triathleteand find I struggle with lethargy if I increase my training. I'm not sure whether tamoxifen is the cause or it's an aftermath of chemo 21/2 years ago or whether I just need to get more structure into my training. really worried I will never reach my previous standard again. I also seriously wonder about the benefits of tamoxifen when you look at it in absolute terms. It only makes the difference of about 3 more people in a hundred being alive at 5 years. They blind you with relative statistics which say halves the risk, but in absolute terms the benefit really isn't that great