Tamoxifen and Pregnancy

tia8

Hello,

I've been on tamoxifen for 2.5 yrs now (post mastectomy and chemo)

I'm 29 and my period has nearly stopped ever since, except for every 6-8 months

now I'm concerned, Can I actually get pregnant if I'm not having periods?

am I still ovulating although there is no periods?

many thanks...

Moderators

Hi tia8,

We are copying this excerpt from this page:

http://www.breastcancer.org/tips/fert_preg_adopt/t...

Have you spoken with your oncologist about your concerns or fertility plans?

That sentence is found on this page, in addition to other relevant info regarding Tamoxifen and pregnancy. http://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/women-co...

"Because tamoxifen may cause damage to developing embryos, women taking tamoxifen should not get pregnant and should use an effective non-hormonal type of birth control -- such as condoms, a diaphragm along with spermicide, or a non-hormonal IUD -- while they are taking tamoxifen and for 2 months afterward."

______________________________-

There are three hormonal therapy medicines approved for treating premenopausal women:

• tamoxifen
• Evista (chemical name: raloxifene)
• Fareston (chemical name: toremifene)

These hormonal therapy medicines can cause your periods to become irregular or stop and make your ovaries stop producing eggs. Many premenopausal women are still fertile and start their periods again after hormonal therapy treatment is done. But it's important to know that some women have problems getting pregnant after hormonal therapy.

To find out more about these medicines, visit the Breastcancer.org Hormonal Therapy section.

We hope this is helpful, and are thinking about you.

-The Mods

tia8

Thanks,

It's not that i'm concerned about my fertility

It's my concern that I could get pregnant now (that I'm sexually active now)

is it possible to get pregnant even if I'm not having periods?

thanks again

Moderators

Ah, okay.

This is really an important question to ask your doctor. However, because it is always possible, and not recommended to get pregnant while on Tamoxifen, you'll probably still want to consider non horrnon-hormonal type of birth control -- such as condoms, a diaphragm along with spermicide, or a non-hormonal IUD. Certainly consult with your physician however to help guide you on this.

gb2115

Yeah, I think you still could get pregnant. You can get pregnant postpartum when not having periods during breastfeeding I think....right?

Also even though your periods are only every 6 to 8 months, there's no guarantee that it won't change from that schedule whenever it wants. I think tamoxifen was originally designed as a fertility med.

I am so afraid of getting pregnant on tamoxifen that I have decided to not be sexually active. I can't handle the stress of the possibility of birth control failing (and my husband can't handle me being stressed out---we decided together it wasn't worth it). Discussed it with my GYN and she said that was entirely fine. So on we go.