How long after starting Tamoxifen before S/E's

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precioustime
precioustime Member Posts: 233
edited January 2018 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

I have been taking Tamoxifen for 1 month now and have only had S/E of hot flashes.  I am in hopes that this is the only S/E I will experience on Tamoxifen.  Is there anyone that has experienced additional S/E's after 1 month?

Thanks,

Loretta

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  • Laurie09
    Laurie09 Member Posts: 313
    edited April 2010

    I started Tamoxifen in November, and initially I had no side effects.  For the past 6-8 weeks I have started to have some mild progressive side effects:  Fatigue, irritability, mild nausea, mild headaches. 

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  • precioustime
    precioustime Member Posts: 233
    edited April 2010

    Laurie -  It sounds like then that your S/E's are accumulative?  Thanks for your response:)

    Loretta

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  • GG27
    GG27 Member Posts: 2,128
    edited April 2010

    I didn't start to have bone & joint pain until about 2 1/2 months in.  I know it's from the tamox, I had to go off it for surgery & within a few days I was pain & hot flash free, & sleeping at night.  Within a couple of days of restarting I was back to hot flashes & within another week or so I was back to joint & bone pain.

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  • Hattie
    Hattie Member Posts: 414
    edited April 2010

    I mainly just had hot flashes and not much else.  I really dragged my feet starting the tamox, but i lives with the hot flashed.  Smallish price to pay for me.  Quality of life issues, but weighed against life.  Keep track of what's going on with you.  If you have to, you can do it.

    Take care,

    --Hattie 

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  • noellech
    noellech Member Posts: 86
    edited April 2010

    My hot flashes continued to get worse over a few months. I never had any other SEs. I finally went on a quarter dose of effexor and now I am completely hot flash free. I don't notice any problems at all anymore. Good luck.

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  • Kleenex
    Kleenex Member Posts: 764
    edited April 2010

    Are you worried that you're in for a nasty surprise down the road? Laughing I don't think you are.

    I started Tamoxification Dec 1, 2008. I was 45 and premenopausal. Hot flashes started slowly, but they sort of ebb and flow based on the weather (humidity!) and other things. I had on and off issues with random discharge and dryness early on (sorry for TMI, but that's why we're here), but that peaked at perhaps 3 or 4 months and isn't so much of an issue now. Same with dry eyes - really bad at about six months, but I think my eyes have adjusted their moisture levels to the new normal.

    Joint issues took longer to show up, and they are still intermittent - some days my knees bother me or my fingers and wrists. Low level fatigue has been sort of slowly cumulative, as is the seeming slowing of my digestive system. My breast tissue also seems to be less dense, although I had radiation, so it's also lumpier somehow...

    My menstrual cycles have gotten slowly longer - from 31 days to 45 days for several months to 55 and 60 days apart in the last few months. I also experience functional ovarian cysts mid-cycle, which started after I stopped BCP's with my diagnosis and have been exacerbated by the Tamoxifen.

    I've had no abnormal irritability (although I go from zero to screaming to calm MUCH faster than before - can't tell if I am getting angrier faster or if I'm not holding it in or what), no headaches, no nausea, no sore throat.

    It's all mildly annoying but not debilitating. While I don't like being on a fast moving sidewalk into menopause and physical aging, I like that I have something that feels like it's protecting me, and let's face it, this is where I was headed anyway...

    Coleen

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  • Dorothy12
    Dorothy12 Member Posts: 28
    edited April 2010

    Hello!

    My mum has been on Tamoxifen since Septmeber. Her symptomps which can be inconnection with tamoxifen are the following: hot flashes, frequent urge to urinate, mood changes. She also developed an ovarian cyst which was thought to be cancer (it had both fluid and solid parts), therefore her ovaries and her fallopian tubes were removed laparosopically. Luckily, the cyst was a dermoid cyst, so everything turned out to be fine. Take care! 

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  • charmainejensenvoisine
    charmainejensenvoisine Member Posts: 369
    edited May 2010

    Hello Ladies:

    I am new to this thread...

    I have been on Tamoxifen since February 23, and I am post menupause.  

    The first month that I was on Tamoxifen I had hot flashes and they have since more or less slowed down.

    There is another side effect of Tamoxifen and this is ' vaginal discharge ' and this is what I am getting.  I am wondering if other women are experiencing this?

    Charmaine 

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  • ellen57
    ellen57 Member Posts: 7
    edited May 2010

    I started Tamoxifen in February and have been doing pretty well. Hot flashes have calmed down some, they actually were bad through radiation also? I just this week had the 'vaginal discharge' and was surprised by it. I don't remember reading about that SE. Is this sporatic or something that will be ongoing on a regular basis?

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  • wallycat
    wallycat Member Posts: 3,227
    edited May 2010

    I am an intermediate metabolizer and it took me about 9 months before the joint pain, muscle cramping and hot flashes started....I was 50 when I began the meds.

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  • charmainejensenvoisine
    charmainejensenvoisine Member Posts: 369
    edited May 2010

    ellen57: I started Tamoxifen February 27th and I have been getting the vaginal discharge on a fairly regular basis for the past month.  I am now having to wear a panty liner, it is only a wee bit though.

    Here is info I found on vaginal discharge by medical staff on breastcancer.org :-

    http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/planning/ask_expert/2003_01/question_05.jsp

    Charmaine

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  • precioustime
    precioustime Member Posts: 233
    edited May 2010

    I am getting a "hot flash" right now!!!  OMG they have been bad the past week!  I feel like i have been on the treadmill for 1/2 hour!  Maybe I can lose some weight this way...  he he

    Anyways-- I have also been getting like a cramp on my right side for about 3 weeks now - It kind of feels like when I had endometriosis (cysts on my ovaries)-- HAS anyone else experienced this lovely S/E?

    Thanks Tamoxi Train LadiesSmile   sorry-- I feel kind of silly right now-- I wonder if that's a S/E?Wink

    Loretta

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  • Triumph4sure
    Triumph4sure Member Posts: 1
    edited June 2017

    I am going on day 4 of the pill myself & was started off at 20mg - Let's see how this goes ..... I just want to say thank you to you & everyone else for the helpful comforting posts ...... I have been told to look into apricot seeds? :/ but I'm afraid to take anything other than what's approved by my On

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited June 2017

    Triumph4sure, thanks for posting and welcome to Breastcancer.org - We hope you've found this to be a supportive place!

    This thread where you've posted is a bit old... nobody posted here since 2010. If you want to join a very active thread on this matter you may want to jump on to this Topic: Topic: Bottle 'o Tamoxifen.

    Wishing you the best!

    The Mods

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  • Woodchurch
    Woodchurch Member Posts: 2
    edited January 2018

    Hi

    I have been taking tamoxifen for a few weeks now- after changing over from anastrazole because of the joint pain side effects of anastrazole.( I am post menopausal )

    Big mistake!

    Hot flashes, sweats,tearfulness,feeling low, restless legs at night and generally feeling poorly and rubbish.

    As a result of the awful restlessness and feeling of limbs ‘crawling’ hubby has bailed into spare room and I have another sleepless night.

    I am lucky that I can swop back to anastrazole- with 16 mths to go

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  • Dukip
    Dukip Member Posts: 40
    edited January 2018

    I have been on Tamoxifen for 2.5 years and have no side effects at all.


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