First two Tamox! Is 1/2 pill better than nothing???

breastquest · December 2015

How I gulped it down yesterday, I don't know.... but I had no choice. I only took a half, so I would see how it went. I took it mid morning with food, and felt fine all day.... until.... Two am while I was sleeping, and woke up with a start-- and had a real hot flash and some gassy stomach feeling. I got really scared. I had one flash and two smaller ones, and somehow went back to sleep. Now, mind you--I still have my periods, but the last two years they are skipping (age 53), and I've had some warm/hot moments at night, but not as bad as last night. I'm going to take a half until I trust the medicine better.

So far, I take at 11 am still just taking 1/2, feel fine all day. And then it is hitting at night. Is this typical? I'm still very concerned about this medicine, but only have to take 20 days for MRI test. When did side effects hit everyone the quickest?

MelissaDallas · December 2015

By only taking half on this short 20 daycourse you may not be accomplishing what tge doctor had in mind.

breastquest · December 2015

I know you're right.... but, it's either freak out for the next couple of weeks with SEs, or take half and muddle through it. My feeling is, it's doing something, else I wouldn't have that wet sweats last evening. I might try to take more of the pill.... just hate medication and especially hormonal pills--so much!

MelissaDallas · December 2015

But you really don't know that the side effects would be any worse with the full dose. If suffering through a few night sweats would keep me from having to have a biopsy I'd put up with it

BarredOwl · January 2016

Hi:

In general, it is not a good idea to reduce the dosage of a prescription drug without consulting your doctor, as it may compromise efficacy. In some cases, you might incur side effects without incurring the therapeutic benefit. (In other cases, it would be dangerous (e.g., antibiotics)).

Drug action is affected by pharmacology and pharmacokinetics. Drugs have a dose-dependent therapeutic window. Drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (and time), all play into reaching blood levels of drug (steady state serum levels) that are therapeutically effective. With some drugs, several doses must be taken before effective levels are reached, and the drug must be taken regularly to maintain such levels. This is why it is a problem with some drugs to miss a dose.

Hot flashes are not harmful, so it becomes a balance of some quite unpleasant side effects with the therapeutic benefit and clinical goal you and your doctor are seeking to achieve.

Please keep in mind that tamoxifen is not a "hormonal pill". The term "hormonal therapy" is confusing, because it is actually a form of anti-hormonal therapy, due to anti-estrogenic properties of tamoxifen's metabolites in certain tissues (e.g., breast).

Please keep your treatment goal in mind, and take the prescribed dose. You may find that the side effects are tolerable. If they are not, then revert to the prescribing physician to report the problem.

BarredOwl

Sjacobs146 · January 2016

try taking it in the morning instead. Unfortunately, it is most common to have hot flashes at night because our hormone levels drop naturally at night. I have been taking tamoxifen since April, and hot flashes are my only SE, but I was getting them before Tamox anyway due to chemopause. Agree with everything BarredOwl said. If the SEs are completely intolerable, consult your MO

trish01254 · January 2016

may not be the meds. I didn't have wicked SE with tamoxifen but surgical menopause turned my body into constant flashes. Went on low dose antidepressant and they have lessened. I don't want cancer. I'll stick with the drugs.

ElaineTherese · January 2016

I'm with Melissa Dallas and Barred Owl on this one. What's the point of taking a half a pill if you're getting night sweats anyway? Have you ever looked into a sleeping aid (Melatonin, Ativan, Unisom, etc.) that will help you sleep through your night sweats? I get more hot flashes in the evening and at night, but with a little help from Melatonin or another sleep aid, I get my eight hours.

In general, I stick with what my doctor prescribes or tell him/her why I won't take it. If your doctor assumes that you are taking a full pill and you're taking a half pill, you may be undermining his/her regimen for you.

coraleliz · January 2016

I started out on 20mg per day. Went back to the MO after 3months with multiple complaints/SEs. My MO suggested at that point I try half(10mg). I did but my SEs remained the same, so after a month at the reduced dose I went back to 20mg. There isn't much(any) data on the effectiveness of the lower dose. A little bit of data on 10mg being used to treat DCIS & as a BC preventative.

I would put up with the SEs for now, at least until you get your MRI & can discuss this further with your MO. I have 9months to go til I reach 5 years. I wish I could say time has flown by. SEs seem to come & go. Especially hotflashes. I can go weeks without. Sometimes my more troublesome SEs will disappear. There are times when I wondered if the pharmacist dispensed the wrong drug.

Cowgirl13 · January 2016

I'll make it short and sweet. Take the med and don't compromise your MRI. If your MRI can't correctly diagnose you now you could have a bigger problem later down the road.

I know you can do it! You have lots of support here.

First two Tamox! Is 1/2 pill better than nothing???

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