Bottle 'o Tamoxifen

I take melatonin every night right before Tamox. I've read something on this site about that actually being beneficial in some way besides sleep. (Can't recall exactly what at the moment -- thanks Tamox!) LOL

Yes. But I also take Omega 3 and Tumeric, which thin blood.

Hi all,

I started Tamoxifen in August after double-mastectomy in June.  I felt fine, no real hot flashes or anything, until 4 months after I started taking Tamoxifen.  In December I suddenly started to get bone pain (whole body).  After sitting for any period of time (like when I get out of the car) I feel like I'm 80 years old hobbling around.  I had started running again and was up to 7 miles but haven't run since 12/6 because the bone pain is so bad and my feet hurt especially badly.  Is this normal?  And if so is it normal to not hit until 4 months into it?

Thanks!

Lurline, I think there is no 'normal' with tamoxifen. You will read some people whose side effects got better with time and those who felt worse and worse. So it could be related to the tamoxifen or not. It's always hard to tell. 

Trvler, my Hub suffers from relentlessly bad sleep. He can falls asleep alright but never stay asleep. Wakes at 2 a.m. and that's it. He's awake. He has found that if he lays on the floor for 10 minutes before going to bed, letting his spine stretch out and doing a few simple stretches, it helps with some of the aches he tends to get that wake him up and make sleeping miserable. But at this point we are investigating medical marijuana. I know nothing about it but apparently it has been refined down to a science, what and how much you need to accomplish what task. He has developed a years long bad sleep habit and needs something to break the cycle. But I do know how miserable it is to not feel rested! Dragging yourself through the days like a zombie. Ugh. 

lurline- I’m about a month behind you in this whole thing, and I’ve just started getting some minor pains and stiffness and the dreaded muscle cramps I’ve been hearing about! All very minor so far, but I’m still on steroids for radiation damage, so it’s hard to tell what my actual level of discomfort is. I’m really hoping it isn’t going to get progressively worse! I think not only does Tamoxifen take time to build in your system, but maybe the lack of estrogen takes time to start causing trouble as things wear out

shelabela- 14 Years on the night shift, My only behavioral risk factor. Ironically, I left my job a few months before I found my lump. Yeah, I’ve heard the correlation before, but a family’s gotta eat, right? Not to mention I was carrying our health insurance up to that time. Too bad I hadn’t yet replaced my life insurance before this happened.

Oh my goodness, Melatonin grows er+ cancer. What a long list of suggested helpful remedies that might actually be harmful. Why is it that we have to stumble across these things. Has anyone else had a Dr or Pharmacist tell them this about Melatonin???

Wait... so LOW on Melatonin is Risk factor. but taking Melatonin also bad for ER +ve?  not cool!

My MO recommends melatonin as a safe option for sleep issues while on Tamoxifen.

Does anyone have stiffening/cramping of the fingers and hands at night? Then I get shooting pains up to my elbows. This lasts generally through mid-morning at least. My pcp said it was probably from the tamoxifen and prescribed a muscle relaxer (tizanidine 2mg) which helped a lot. But I really do not want to take any long term meds to counteract the tamoxifen if I don't have to.

All in all I have had an easier time than many on the tamox, and this symptom is not a game changer, it is just uncomfortable and annoying. I am just wondering if it has happened to anyone else, and what you have done about it. Btw i do take magnesium already, so it is not for lack of that.

Thanks in advance for any advice-

Barb

Capecodgirl, I have not had any hand cramping at night, so far. But I have suddenly developed weird finger/ hand cramps during the day. It's like my pointing finger spasms and pulls itself under my palm. Very weird, very annoying and it's like the strength in my whole hand craps out when it happens. This is entirely new to me. I was about to drain a big pot of boiling spaghetti the other day after several hours of this hand cramping going on. I had dropped several items already. As I looked at that pot of boiling water I thought, hmmm, this could go wrong. So I asked Daughter to do it. I spent all night shaking my hands to try and get the spasms worked out. Blech! I hope for you this is just a phase and it settles down in a while. My leg cramps did, thank god.

Are you hydrated? Try magnesium supplements. I take magnesium every night to avoid constipation but supposedly it helps with muscle cramps, too. I rarely get any muscle cramps. Just be careful. It can make you have diarrhea.

I looked it up and couldn't find anything negative pertaining to Melatonin and ER+, I only found good things but I'm no expert in reasearch. I reacted above to another post and had never heard anything bad

I actually looked up specifically Melatonin and ER+ cancer and I only found good things and as far as Magnesium, I've taken it for 3 weeks and haven't noticed anything yet, nothing bad or nothing good. I'll keep trying:)

I've read that Melatonin works well with Tamoxifen. Ah, hell, who knows, right?

Magnesium is great for headaches, too, for those who have them. Many have magnesium deficiency.