Tamoxifen, it's not all bad is it?

Keenie - congrats on almost finishing the tamoxifen!  You give us all hope!  And proof that it can be done!

I am on Femara, but thought I would share...my mom and her sister both had IDC and after mx, both took tamoxifen for 7 years. Neither had a recurrence. My aunt lived another 20 years and died from leukemia and my mom died from lung cancer. Wishing you all much success with tamoxifen.

I've been on it since March 9 and have noticed some warm flashes, but not nearly as bad as during chemo, and sometimes I feel tired or foggy. I was very afraid to take it, but the side effects have not been bad at all and I don't have any trouble sleeping. I was afraid of insomnia because I had some intially when I briefly took Arimidex.  I'm supposed to take tamoxifen for 2 years then switch. I was 50 at diagnosis and went into chemopause. Periods have not returned. I have had two leg cramps since taking it and I'm pretty sure it is from the tamoxifen as I haven't had them in years until now. I haven't noticed any joint pain from it.

As I sit here and stare at my first bottle of Tamoxifen, this is exactly the type of forum I needed to read! I'm so tired of all the negativity! Thanks ladies for sharing. :-)

Babyfacenelson, I've been on tamoxifen since february 12 and so far so good. No weight gain, in fact, since getting back into a good exercise routine, I've lost 5lbs. Hot flashes are my biggest SE especially at night, and some achey joints, but totally manageable. Check out the thread that talks about different SE from different manufacturers of tamoxifen. Im taking the Mylan one.

I belong to a cancer group, ladies who have or have had all types and stages of breast cancer, some for many, many years.  Of that group I am the oldest who has been prescribed tamoxifen (after the aromatase inhibitors proved intolerable).  I am also the only one who had bad effects enough to even think about stopping it.

I also went to a university study group, also where I was the oldest and the only one who didn't tolerate any of the meds.  It was the observation of the group that only the older patients in their home groups had intolerance of the meds.  All of us also probably had a bit of arthritis when starting treatment.

My opinion: don't refuse meds based on horror stories.  Try what your doctor recommends for yourself.   

I've just recently finished chemo and have an appointment with the MO next week to pick up my prescription for Tamoxifen.  Its encouraging to read the non horror stories, thank you!  I don't seem to have big time sensitivies to meds and got through chemo rather unscathed.  With the exception of the hair loss and some fatigue the week after nothing terrible happened to me.  I'm going to take it with an open mind and deal with any SE's if and when they arise.

I do agree that in reading alot of posts on other threads that those suffering from the most SE's are the most active posters. 

 Thanx for this thread,i was wondering if I might be able to take Tamox, I have been so sad since the Arimi made me very sick,been off it for a mth now and still have high bld prz and extremely chapped lips with sores on them for which the gen phys is treating me. But I am scared and so are my friends that maybe I need an anti cancer drug.

Bumping...and happy to report no problems and all side effects gone!

I've been on it for a little over a month and have not seen any major side effects.  I've had the occasional night sweats but it's June in Texas so I'm sure that doesn't help.  And I've lost a little weight too!

I started Tamoxifen at the end of February. I have had hot flashes, but do not notice any other SE's. I sleep fine and have lost a little weight in that time just by picking back up on my exercise. You won't know how your body handles it until you try it. Good luck to all those making the decision to Tamox or not to Tamox...

I've been taking it since last October and I don't have any side effects. I had some mild ones at the beginning but my body adjusted and now I don't notice any. I also had my ovaries removed to put me into menopause (I'm 38) side effects of that have been way more then any I had on tamoxifen I'm very thankful that there is something out there to help us with our fight, best wishes to you

thanks for the post Iam scheduled to start tamoxifen in 2 weeks this has helped to relieve some of my anxiety a little since i am having hotflashes,joint pain,insomia there can only good things to look forward to.

stormynyte... thank you so much for starting this thread.   I start tamoxifen a week after Dec 5 - that is when I return from a visit to England to see family.   My MO told me to not start til after which I am happy to do, because of possible blod clots.    It is so good to read the positive and now I am not so nervous about starting.   Some of the posts on here were beginning to scare the crap out of me with all the SE's.    Funny but when on chemo I didn't think about all the SE's and got through relatively OK.  Not quite sure why I started thinking about the possible SE's on Tamox.  The way I want to look at it is that it is that tamox is a bullet in my gun to keep bc away.   Added to my favs.   Thanks. 

Nice to see some other ladies I know here - hi.

Thanks so much for keeping this thread going Stormy

I agree most posts scare the crap out of me!  My side effects are night sweats but under control with Black Cohash.  Of course there is the dreaded 5 lb weight gain and not sure if you would consider the lack of periods a SE or a gift from above.  Started Tamoxifen 11/11 and stopped having periods on 2/12!!