Tamoxifen brands

I started Tamoxifen 2 months ago and have been given the Mylan brand. I have asked repeatedly for Teva, but nobody in my area seems to be able to get it consistently. I avoided the Watson brand because I had heard of some possible (anecdotal reports only) SEs.

My notable SEs are hot flashes, mostly at night. I sleep with a fan going, even when it's cool, and that seems to help. The first two weeks I had some joint/large muscle pain, but it may have been unrelated and is gone now. I have experienced some depression, but I understand that's not unusual just after finishing active tx. So may also be unrelated.

Hope this helps a bit. Good luck.

Teva generated a number of side effects for my wife, primarily skin rash and chronic sore throat.

So, she switched to the Watson brand months later and side effects subsided.

One could argue that her body acclimated to the drug, so perhaps the Teva side effects would have diminished over time without having the need to switch brands. We will never know.

The ultimate question... is Tam doing its job?

Make sure to sleep in a pitch black room at night. Studies (in animals) are showing Tamoxifen's effectiveness can be negated by light. It is associated with a drop in melatonin. I now use a sleep mask. I would suggest reading about it. A very, very small amount of light (a streetlight in a window, light coming in under a door, etc) can disrupt it. Taking melatonin can offset this risk, but no dosages or guidelines have been issued by any authoritative body. I have heard 6-20 mgs)

Also, I presume everyone knows not to take Benedryl, Wellbutrin, and a host of other drugs while on Tamox. They use the same metabolistic/endocrine highway and Tamoxifen loses the race.

The brands differ in my country, but I take my generic tamoxifen a couple of hours before bedtime plus a melatonin. The room is very dark. 

No side effects after one year.