I'm scared to take tamoxifin

Options
Thamil805
Thamil805 Member Posts: 4
edited January 2015 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After


I am not sure I want to take it . I have severe family history of heart problems clots ie strokes.. I have always been super sensitive to hormones could never really take birth control Because of the sensitivity.. Has anyone ever decided not to take it I need some advice please!!!

· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • Kruise
    Kruise Member Posts: 330
    edited November 2013


    hi Thamil. I am in the same boat as you - I need to start taking it next week. You haven't said what type of cancer yours was but I'm presuming it was ER+? I'm not but am a small percentage PR+ so they tell me there is still benefit in taking it but I am so unsure. Estrogen isn't the problem so I really don't know if benefits of taking tamoxifen are worth the se's of it.


    If you do decide to start it - I've heard taking a baby aspirin also can be useful to help with the clots issue.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Rdrunner
    Rdrunner Member Posts: 309
    edited November 2013


    tamoxifen blocks estrogen . i was afraid too but have been on it since june and its fine. a few side effects but nothing i cant deal with.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • fifthyear
    fifthyear Member Posts: 225
    edited November 2013


    It is a hard decision, very personal one that is. I opted out of Tamox, due to family history of clots and stroke. MO was adamant that I take the med, but in the end, it's my body, my life, my suffering. The data on this leans toward taking Tamox, but once I made the decision, I moved on, no looking back. Good luck with yours.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • RosesToeses
    RosesToeses Member Posts: 721
    edited November 2013


    I'd suggest before you make a decision that you sit down with your onc and have a good chat about your recurrence risks with and without tamox and your risk of blood clots.


    We're a great group here at BCO , but we aren't really the people who can tell you how important tamoxifen may be to increasing your odds of staying alive based on the particulars of your own cancer, and we aren't really the ones who can assess how risky the clotting issue would be for you or whether a blood thinner should be prescribed to go with it or some periodic testing. If the benefit of taking tamox is small for you and the clotting risks are high and can't be mitigated, then it probably makes sense not to take it, but that's not really something we can know.


    About the hormone reaction issue, unlike the blood clots, that one, I think, is totally reversible once you go off the tamoxifen, so especially since tamoxifen is not exactly a hormone itself, I'd say you might as well give it a shot and see how your body takes it and then decide.


    Wishing you the best with your decisions!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Thamil805
    Thamil805 Member Posts: 4
    edited January 2015

    i am both er+ and pr+

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited January 2015

    Perhaps a cardiologist and your MO could chat about your risk of blood clot increase versus your risk of cancer decrease to help you make the decision. There is probably no perfect answer; just make the best decision you can. Have they considered an AI? They do not carry the blood clot risk. It may involve shutting down your ovaries if you are premenopausal. Good luck

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories