Tamoxifen Issues

I have been on tamoxifen for almost a year, and have no side effects like that. the stuff affects different people differently. maybe a different med will work for you.

Exercise helped me cope with the emotional side effects of Tamoxifen.

I started slowly and built my way up.

Unfortunately after 2 years on Tamoxifen I have joint problems and am no longer exercising regularly.

Hopefully I can start slowly again.

I had a double mastectomy, no chemo or radiation. Stage one slow growing cancer. All 3 nodes were neg. I'm suppose to start tamoxifen soon. I'm having a hard time with if I should start it. Has anyone not taken it

Eventually, I switched to Evista, from Tamoxifen.

But before I did that, I saw psychiatrists, neurologists and had neuropsych testing, brain scans and cognitive assessments, etc., because my MO was absolutely convinced that the depression, worsened essential tremor and cognitive difficulties I was experiencing couldn't be from the Tamoxifen. As a part of that, I tried all sorts of meds (antidepressants, and others), but nothing was working.

At that time the idea that Tamoxifen could have those sorts of side effects wasn't well known. Eventually, since we couldn't find another cause for my symptoms, we tried a "holiday from Tamoxifen" to see if they would abate.

They did, and then we had a long discussion about the available alternatives, given my "rare side effect profile." I ended up on Evista.

My suggestion? See if you can manage the side effects from Tamoxifen before you abandon it, if your MO thinks Tamoxifen is much the best med for you. There are lots of techniques you can discuss with your MO (I tried lots of them!). A few of them (and in no particular order after the first):

1. Ask your MO about testing to see if you metabolize Tamoxifen so that it will have the effect your MO wants. No sense working hard to stay on tamoxifen if it isn't going to work for you.

2. See your MO if there is a psychiatrist he can refer you to who can help ID the depression, mood issues or other difficulties you may be having. And then your MO & psychiatrist can work together to try various offsetting coping techniques or med solutions if you are trying to keep the Tamoxifen.

3. Try a different manufacturer--sometimes the side effects are caused by the binders, etc., instead of the active ingredient. You may be fine on a different manufacturer's tamoxifen.

4. Back off the dose and then gradually increase it, so that you can manage the side effects as they appear. Perhaps with the SSRI your MO recommended, or possibly an SNRI like Venlafaxine. A good psychiatrist who specializes in (generic for Effexor, which they told me was a good "partner SNRI for Tamoxifen).

5. If nothing else works, you have to assess (hopefully with a psychiatrist and your MO) if you can deal with the side effects or if you need to do something else.

My very best wishes to you.

LisaAlissa