Tamoxifen: Fatigue/Cognitive Problems. CoEnQ10/Ritalin help?

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Bounce
Bounce Member Posts: 574
edited March 2019 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

I would be happy to hear from anyone who has problems with Tamoxifen causing fatigue (I have to have an hour and a half nap each afternoon) and cognitive issues.

I have been taking Tamoxifen for 2 years and will probably need to be on it for 10. I am not keen on doing ovarian suppression and an AI instead.

Does Ritalin help cognitive issues?

Does CoEnzyme Q10 help with energy?

Are they both safe to take with Tamoxifen?

I have had to cut back on exercising because I have developed hip pain (and other aches and pains) - also - I do not have the energy needed to even go for a small walk most days. I get home from work and go to sleep. wake up - do minimal housework - laundry and a scrappy supper - and off to bed I go again!

I am not depressed - though I am finding this situation depressing. I am working hard to maintain my Bounce!

Any advise or suggestions will be gladly considered.

I already work at a less stressful job than before I was diagnosed (less hours and less pay). I already ignore housework and have lowered my standards and expectations to about zero. I cannot possibly do less than I am already doing.

Thanks

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited December 2015

    Hi Bounce,

    We're so sorry you're struggling with this difficult side effect. We're sure many others will be weighing in with their advice soon!

    In the meantime, you may be interested in checking out the main Breastcancer.org site's section on Managing Fatigue, which is chock full of information including Ways to Manage Fatigue, including medications, diet, and exerise tips.

    We hope this helps!

    --The Mods

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  • Goodie16
    Goodie16 Member Posts: 446
    edited December 2015

    My onc recommended I take Coqu-10, 200 mg/daily, with my tamoxifen. It helps some, but the other side effects of tamoxifen are getting to be too much. I'm speaking with my onc about next steps.

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  • rleepac
    rleepac Member Posts: 755
    edited December 2015

    I don't have advice but I'm feeling the same way. I wouldn't think Ritalin because there are side effects and dependency issues with that but there must be some natural remedies that can help.

    Honestly, I thought my cognitive issues were left-over chemo brain but I suppose it could also be partly Tamoxifen. Our bodies have been through hell and it's hard to sort out which treatment is causing which side effect

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  • agr68
    agr68 Member Posts: 2
    edited January 2016

    From reading a lot of these tamoxifen/fatigue threads, it seems as if a lot of our MO's don't admit that fatigue is a SE. I'm going to emphasize it more on my next visit, but I don't think I need any of the antidepressants. Hopefully this is the extent to which it will affect me, and not more than this.

    I started taking 20 mg in November 2015, after my radiation treatments, and about 2 weeks later, started getting dizzy (or vertigo), and really fatigued almost every day, it was weird, like I hit a wall and within 5 minutes it took effort to do anything. Other than BC I'm very healthy, I exercise, eat well, continue to work due to necessity, etc.. so in my opinion, tamoxifen must be the culprit. I didn't have fatigue during radiation.

    That, plus the brain fog is not fun, but I guess it's just something to deal with. I don't want to go through BC again so hopefully this drug is working in my body!!

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  • djhead4
    djhead4 Member Posts: 2
    edited January 2016

    OMG, this could have been my post. I have zero energy and zero standards. I used to shop sales at the grocery store so my cupboards were always full. Now we are lucky if we can find enough in the cupboard to make a meal with. As long as I don't stick to the floor I just kind of ignore it. My breast cancer doctor tells me it is just age and because I am "doing too much." If this is doing too much I can't imagine what doing too little is. In addition every 4 to 6 weeks I get sick and can't keep anything down (including water) for 3 - 4 days. I've been on tamoxifen for 15 months and it just keeps getting worse. I have an appointment with my GP this Friday. It is severe enough that we need to get some answers. If it is the tamoxifen then I would rather live with the increased risk than this quality of life.


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  • Salamandra
    Salamandra Member Posts: 1,444
    edited March 2019

    I was on Ritalin before I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I have terrible fatigue from the tamoxifen. I can say that the dose of Ritalin that helped my ADHD is doing bupkis for the tamoxifen fatigue. It was a low dose and I increased it. It is helping with some of my ADHD symptoms that went all out of wack but it's not counteracting the fatigue. I can take my dose of Ritalin and lie down for a nap. Even with the higher dose of Ritalin, this level of fatigue is not sustainable for me. I'm going to try different brands of tamoxifen and hope that it helps. Otherwise I think I have to come down or off the tamoxifen.

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  • AliceBastable
    AliceBastable Member Posts: 3,461
    edited March 2019

    I've gone from needing about 7 to 7.5 hours sleep to 10, plus naps.

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  • Rah2464
    Rah2464 Member Posts: 1,647
    edited March 2019

    Oh my Goodness this is me! I have to have a nap every day. The only thing that helps me a little energy wise (coffee and tea doesn't touch it) is when I am congested and take one Sudafed pill for my allergies. But I don't want to rely on that. I mentioned to my MO about my fatigue. I feel like I am running at around 60%. She thoroughly tested my blood, no anemia, vit B is good so no help there. She said the next step will be to go off the T for a couple of weeks and see if the fatigue lifts some. I am not quite ready to do that. I would like to have a full year under my belt before I try that. No reason for that logic just how I feel about it. Thanks for starting this thread.

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  • Salamandra
    Salamandra Member Posts: 1,444
    edited March 2019

    Hi Rah2464,

    My med onc didn't want me to try coming off of tamoxifen yet. I think she believes that it's a side effect. She recommended changing brands, different brands might have less side effects for different people. Then she recommended the option of splitting the dose and taking half in the morning and half at night if that works.

    I just asked for the new brand from my pharmacy and it will take a couple days to mail it to me so I haven't started yet. I'll say my pharmacy made it pretty easy - I just talked to them on the phone. They said there's about 4-5 brands and I can keep trying them until I find one that works for me. You can just do it on your own, without the doctor calling at all. It might be worth a try.

    I sure hope I can find a brand that doesn't do this to me because at this point my job is suffering and I need the job to live!

    (I was on Mayne, the next one I'm trying will be Mylan)

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