Tamoxifen, it's not all bad is it?

Hi gals, glad I found this topic because the other one is nothing but major negatives about Tamox. I go today to find out if this will be my next course of treatment and now feel better about it. Thanks for sharing.

I've been taking tamoxifen since 10/15 and so far so good



I'd been reading all the posts too and as a result, I swallowed that first pill like it was cyanide. It's good to know what can happen but it's not inevitable by any means.



I haven't noticed any side effects at all so far. Yay!



I'll keep my fingers crossed for everyone

I started tamoxifen in July. The only SE I have s hot flashes. They were not fun so I finally decided to take my onc's advice and take Effexor. Magic pill! No more hot flashes.

I was one of the ones that had a terrible time on Tamoxifen, I had terrible SE's, but my MO & I perservered & discovered that myself & a lot of other women who get bad SE's are actually allergic to some of the fillers used.  The drug is the same but every company can use whatever fillers they please. 

I have now been on APO brand & I don't have any SE's, have been on it for over a year now, feel great, no joint pain, few flashes, losing weight. 

I've been on tamoxifen since August and the only side effect is a bit of vaginal discharge - but considering chemo had put me in menopause and I was like a desert down there, I don't consider that side effect a bad thing. I've also lost about 7 pounds (of the 15 lbs I put on during chemo/surgery/rads) so that's good too. Still have hot flashes, but they're no worse than my chemopause-induced ones. For me, it's been no big deal and I'm very thankful for it as I'm 100% ER+.

Hi everybody,

I have been on Tamoxifen since Aug. 1. The only SE is a few hot flushes daily. I don't feel I need anything for it, because it is not severe. It does not bother me at night, and I sleep well. Only thing that I struggle with is that I cannot lose the 10 pounds that I want to lose despite working out in the gym, doing yoga, and walking the dog. At the moment I am basically eating a vegetarian diet in an effort to lose the weight. After lots of research it seems that it is chemo and radiation that change our metabolisms and slow them down, and that Tamoxifen is not the culprit.

Best wishes from Vancouver Island. 

I haveben on tamox since may. No SE.

Hot flashes started before tamox, and i hardly have them now.

Have trouble sleeping, but that started when i found out I hadBC.

No joint issues

Hi Tazzy,

Hopefully Tamoxifen will be SE free for you too. And yes, I hope you lose weight on it. Then you can tell me the secret - lol!

Jjnscat52, I thought Tamoxifen was only prescribed for hormone positive people? This is a bit confusing.

I am 66 and VERY post menopausal and still have terrible night sweats and hot flashes. I am almost done with RADS so have to make the Taomox decision soon. I cannot bear any further sweats/flashes,etc. I also have a terrible time getting back to sleep if I wake up in the middle of the night.  Anyone on here in my situation as far as age and post menopause SEs?

Tx

Terri

Took my first tamox this morning.   Hoping for no SE's... except of course possibly the losing of weight and not gaining

Just saw this thread!  I have been on Tamoxifen for almost 2 years and have NOT had any problems on it.  I am kind of achy, but I don't know if that's the Tamoxifen, left over from chemo, my fibromyalgia or just old age.  And you'll never pin a doctor down on "achy".  One said to try a gluten-free diet - ugh!  I'll just deal with achy.

I just had a transvaginal ultrasound because I was worried about the possiblity of my uterine lining thickening - a possible SE of Tamoxifen.  It was already somewhat thick (8 mm) before I started the little white pill, so I wanted to make sure it wasn't getting worse.  It had, in fact, improved to the levels they prefer - less than 5 mm.

Nothing else to report.  Oh, I do have hot flashes but they are tolerable.  My MO offered Effexor to me (which usually stops them) but they don't bother me that much.

Good luck to the newbies, I hope it doesn't cause you any problems.  I know my MO has a lot of faith in this little pill.

Tazzy - so happy to help!  Yes, fear not the little white pill!  Hopefully, it will be as easy on you as it has for me.  Not that there won't be any problems, but for me they have been small and never lasted very long.  If you ever have any questions, feel free to PM me in case I miss this thread.  

Took tamoxifen for 5 years and during that time almost no side effects - a very ocassional leg cramp, one endometrial polyp that had to be dealt with so that was a negative, absolutely no hot flashes or joint pain and I lost weight which I think may have been due to the drug....

I had some headaches at first, can't remember for how long, but not more than a couple of weeks I think.  I tried a few different things, over the counter like Tylenol, Naproxen etc, then acupuncture & then they just went away.  Hopefully you will find the same, be sure the mention it at your MO's appt, (they will probably ask anyway, mine always does)

Crossing my fingers that you will have the weight loss SE!!    I only got that one when I cut out carbs!