Spring 2018 Starting Hormone Blockers

kaywrite, I think that’s the way my MO sees it too. I’m on tamoxifen now, but after I have my ovaries removed, he’ll switch me to an ai

Hi Veeder.

I am on anastrazole and no such warning on my label. Maybe you could ask the pharmacist about it. The first bottle of anast . I got the label said something about being in the sun, but nothing since. I do wear sunscreen and haven't noticed any problems. Who knows who even slaps these labels on bottles and maybe they put the wrong label on yours.

I am on my 3rd month of tamoxifen, I started April 5 th. So far nothing crazy yet, I really don’t have bone pain, more charley horses in my legs at times. I started taking a magnesium for that, we will see if it works😂. I am 52, diagnosed at 51, and was premenopausal. I had my 1st chemo in August, and haven’t had a cycle since, but I have enjoyed the full bloom menopause symtoms🤣.

The hotflashes come and go, a little less than what was during chemo. I did get a bone density scan 2 weeks ago, and all my scores are ++, so no worries there. My oncologists did test my hormones, they were low, but that is misleading due to the tamoxifen. I have two oncologist now, since I’m trying to get in the Pallus study and she said she wouldn’t put me in the menopause group until December since that was my last chemo, ThenI could switch over to AI(do I want to??? mild SE right now, unknown with a different medication).

I still have some reconstruction left ( nipple on right breast and lift on left breast) no one mentioned any problems with taking tamoxifen and reconstruction. Ofcourse mine is minor compared to a full reconstruction.

star-I has a god awful rash over my torso. MO said take Claritin/zyrtec/xyxal/Allegra everyday to help combat it. Vagicaine/Vagisil cream also works great and almost immediately on any itchiness.

Veeder,

Not a dumb question at all. The technical term is total hysterectomy (cervix as well as the body of the uterus) and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (both tubes and ovaries)--getting it all out 'cause if it is not there, there will be less target for cancer. Surgery is scheduled for this Thursday. My surgeon not only is skilled in robotic surgery, she also teaches others to do it so I believe I will be in good hands.

I'm not thrilled either at having surgery again so soon but think the peace of mind will make it worthwhile.

Just picked up my first bottle of tamoxifen today, I start on Monday...anxious, nervous, scared! I know if it’s that bad I can stop but since I’m only 33 I really want to try and take it as long as possible.

Hi all - I am back from my vacation now for a few weeks and settled back into a routine and am catching up on all the news from the group. Vacation was a wonderful reset back into normal life after treatment. My skin healed really, really nicely after the radiation and I felt good but a bit tired during vacation - not surprising.

Sorry to hear some of you are experiencing more issues with meds and future surgeries.

I've been on Letrozole now for 3 full months. Hot flashes have decreased and were pretty manageable in the beginning - much like my menopause experience. I have seen increased soreness/stiffness in the neck and shoulders, and pain in my elbow and I have plugged ears all the time (I doubt that is related but I've never had the problem before). And definitely some weight gain. I've struggled with weight all my life, gained during menopause which I think was my biggest cancer risk factor. I have been careful so I don't think it is normal weight gain due to over eating or changing my routine - I think it is absolutely a SE.

Of course every time something happens I think - is this aging? is it because I've been gardening more? Is it temporary? So it is hard to know when something is a SE or can be explained away. I see my MO on Monday for my 3 month followup so we will see what he has to say.

Glad to see you are all still fully engaged and sharing information.

Ok, gang, here goes. Just got the path report from my hysterectomy etc last week-- there were some changes in my uterus which had a10% chance of becoming malignant so she (the surgeon)said I made the right decision to hold off on starting Tamoxifen until after the surgery. Looks like this evening will be the first evening of my Tamoxifen train ride...finally moving on!

Good luck to us all with our "new normals"! I'll need to stay on the Tamoxifen for at least 5 years, then go on to something else according to my oncologist. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Who knows, maybe they'll have something even better by then!

My BRACA test came back! My doctor says test results are NORMAL...I was really happy to share the news with my 3 sisters and my daughter so they don't have to worry as much about getting the "breast cancer gene". Thankful for every little thing at this point! With surgery and radiation behind me, I'm ready to get on with life and ENJOY!

i have been on Tamoxifen for over 4 months now. I was taking at night initially and was having some sleep issues so I switched to the am. Main side effect I notice is that I am tired. Esp in the afternoons. I work out regularly , before diagnosis , while in treatment and now on the tamox and I do believe it helps with the joint pain etc. so far there's is nothing that I can't tolerate as far as side effects. I am 44 and pre menopausal so limited on my rx choices

My doctor ordered a bone density test before I started a hormone blocker. it came back mild osteopenia, so he chose Tamoxifen for me. The oncologist wants for me to stay on Tamoxifen 5-10 years, then he will probably put me on another hormone blocker. I have lymph node involvement, so he said I’ll probably be treated with hormone blockers forever.

For all the ladies here who have not gone through menopause, what are you doing for birth control? I got pregnant extremely easily with our daughter and I do not want to totally trust condoms. I just started tamoxifen so I don’t know what it will do to my cycle, if anything, but I need some type of birth control that I can count on. I was thinking about the paragard iud? Anyone have any experience with that one? I need to call my oncologist and make sure it’s ok with her, my OB said it’s perfect on her side of things.

SLL-mirena is being recommended for women with BC on tamoxifen as it helps protect against uterine lining thickening and uterine cancer. This is based on results of clinical studies in BCO patients taking tamoxifen. The small amount of hormones are local and not systemic which makes it different than say birth control pills. If you’re GYN or MO is not up to date on the latest studies you may have to provide them. If you need the links let me know.

Lula73, if you could provide those links that would be great! I’d like to read up on it myself also.