on tamoxifen 1 month, going crazy help

Hi Robyn,

Yes I felt the exact same way along with many other SE, 25 pound weight gain, severe depression and anxiety, brain fog, memory loss, nausea, very stiff joints and pain.  I stopped taking after 3 1/2 years, I am worried, I have been off of it for 2 1/2 months, I've heard so many negative things about this drug, but still I am scared to be off it, I may go back on in a month or so, not sure yet.

All the best to you. 

Robyn,

My oncologist is against me stopping it, so I just went ahead and stopped, I don't want to take other meds, I'm taking DIM a natural remedy which is supposed to block bad estrogen.

I still don't feel 100% and I've been off the drug for 2 1/2 months, another SE I forgot to mention was light headness which I constantly had while being on tamoxifen, this has almost gone away I still have a little. 

I had a rough time with Tamoxifen initially...many of the symptoms that you describe. I was not menopausal at diagnosis (age 50). The chemo threw me in to menopause after 4 rounds. It took about 18 months for me to feel like my old self...I think it was Tamoxifen adjustments...but also the after effects of chemo, radiation, surgery, organic depression over the situation and the sudden lack of estrogen...big time. I am now back to feeling like my old self. I strength train twice a week for an hour and stay active most of the other days as well...try and eat well and take some supplements...I think that with my high risk of recurrence...the potential benefits far outweigh the risks...all the things that "could happen" ... I can't worry about what I can not control...I will take the pill...and believe me, I feel your pain...I did not gain 25 pounds, but only because I ate rabbit food...I am now dropping weight again, with the work outs...and can eat more ...I do think Tamoxifen has a bunch of side effects...for some people, but I also think that Cancer is a rough ride on the psyche and the body and some things take time to get through. Make your own decisions and be comfortable with them...we can do everything right and cancer returns...others do nothing and it never returns...I think you need to see what is best for you...I did split the pill and take half in the early evening and half in the mid morning and I did notice that I did not feel as blue...

Robynnk-Below is the link on DIM, I don't any naturopathic doctors in CA.  Hopefully someone from CA will post soon with a name. 

http://www.healthsuperstore.com/p-enzymatic-therapy-estrobalance.htm

Robyn,

Did he give you enough so you can take it every four hours for a few days? Or as long as you need it? Is the amount strong enough?

I once took one single prescription pill for heaches that had me jumping out of my skin within 24 hours. Then one morning, a week later I woke up and the anxiety was totally gone. I didn't know enough to ask for Xanax. It would have made that week so much better.

Sending you relaxing thoughts. If I were there I would hold your hand.

Now that the Holidays are over, I have started taking the Tamoxifen again.  I do agree that perhaps it is going to be an adjustment period for my body and the drug.  I will see my onc in a month, and if I'm not better by February, then I will visit with him about my other options.  Wow, what a ride this cancer journey has been.  I feel blessed in so many ways, and glad that my cancer was caught early...I'm just having a really hard time finding the pure 'joy' that life sometimes brings.

robyn--it does take your  body a few months to ajust to tamoxifen.  Have you asked your doctor if you could take Effexor?  It is an anti-depressant and supposed to be OK to take along with tamoxifen.

anne

I have had depression most of my life and am already on antidepressants.  I am also on Tamoxifen now.  I would say, I can't even tell anymore why I am so severely depressed, but I would like someone to prove to me that my depression isn't worse on Tamoxifen.

Also, I have no libido.  None.  And that in and of itself is killing me emotionally.  I'm 52, and intimacy ... well I was looking forward to that in my 50s.  My husband and I have been separated for a long time.  I want a new relationship and at this point feel so depressed I can't see.

There is a part of me that says quality of life.  Yes, depression is real, and I believe it can clearly be exacerbated by the Tamoxifen.

I'd say for those who got it from the Tamoxifen (and I realize everyone is different ... everyone here) there are indeed options and I've heard many good things about Effexor.

But I understand wanting to go off of this, and my oncologist would be furious with me.  I KNOW I need it and yet ... I am so, so sad right now, more depressed than I have been in my life.

Hugs to all of you.  Never, ever, did I think this is what would happen ... all of this other misery.

Everyone hang in there.  There is indeed a part of me that wants off of this drug.

Love,

Bella

Anyone heard from Robyn since her last post a week ago? Robyn, do let us know how you're getting on?

(((((robnynkk)))))) I wish I had seen this thread sooner. 

Here is a golden example of exactly how closely Tamoxifen is tied to depression: they are actually studying it as an anti-manic agent in bipolar disorder.

I felt some depression but not that much. Mostly, I felt very raw on it, as though I would jump at anything. Very hysterical. 

I also found that Tamoxifen gave me PMS of the worst kind. I have a severe mood disorder (more mania than anything else) and see a doctor for that, who told me that, in his experience, his bipolar patients seem to have a particularly horrendous experience with hormone therapy, whether it be the pill, Lupron or Tamoxifen. I would assume the same would be true with depression. So bellapazza, that may be what happened to you.

I spent most of 2010 fighting to stay on the Tamoxifen. I kept going on and off it to see if I would experience different or fewer SEs the next time around. Then, I realized that a person who does the same thing over and over again expecting different results isn't crazy but stupid. So I stopped. The stakes are enormous and it was a very hard decision. It may cost me my life, and I am prepared for that now and am at peace with it because the trade-off for me is the opportunity to treat my comorbidity without chemical sabotage and live a happy, productive --if much shorter-- life. For someone else, staying on it at all costs may be the right answer. 

There is no single answer that fits everyone.