Bottle 'o Tamoxifen

I got the Columbia cool gel memory foam pillow from Kohl’s last month. It’s not bad. It does help, but it doesn’t seem to stay cool. Same thing for the Columbia cooling mattress topper. Not worth the money. I have become friends with the ice packs nearly every night. Put one behind my neck and that’s just as good at the pillow

tinydancer- I will let you know. The mattress my sister and BIL got has air channels between the top layer and second layer and I think that’s why it’s cooler. It wasn’t that expensive and Costco will take it back if it doesn’t work out. Here’s the one they got:

I will give you at tip that helps me when I have a hot flash. It's a simple thing to try. I am a side sleeper but when I feel a hot flash coming on, I turn on my back (after throwing off the covers) and spread my arms and legs out. I don't know if it's just exposing my skin to the a/c or what but it seems to soften the harshness of the hot flash.

My hair is falling out a lot lately, too. I am starting to take biotin. I will report back.

TaRenne Iron Infusions are soooo boring. I had to do one, thankfully only one and it was the longest day of my life. The nurse made a comment about the food I brought - I am one of those people that needs to eat when hungry or I feel sick and then headaches along with the "hangry". I had packed a lunch and snacks, seeing I was there all day! I was so upset about her comment I never bothered to go back for more infusions.

I have noticed foot/feet issues lately too, just figured it was from my strange foot design or wearing shoes all the time. I may look into the KT tape as well. For me it feels like my toes are being pulled up and back.

Trvler - Thanks for the tip! I do hope that the biotin works for the hair, do keep us posted on this.

This thread would be better named: Battle o' tamoxifen. Much more fitting.

Lula - have you tried MCT oil? The local health food store said they have studies showing it has helped with Alzheimer's patients. I am only doing a tsp a day right now, she said you have to work up to the tablespoon as it can give you stomach issues. My naturalpath already has me on curcumin so hopefully it starts working soon, been 3 weeks today I have been on it.

So I am currently waiting for my MO to call me back. The last few days I've had the most horrible cramps. I am officially in menopause according to my drs. And bloodwork. Haven't had a period since February of 2017. Not even spotting. I am freaking out.

shelabella - I think I have read women seem to hit menopause during chemo treatments, the cramping may be caused by a cyst or fibroid. NotVeryBrave had really bad pelvic pain from a cyst on her ovary. I hope you are feeling better and not in as much pain.

This is getting ridiculous! Last night I started out with 3 Ziploc bags half full of ice and an ice pack to cool me down, once I got my body temperature down I only needed one Ziploc bag and the ice pack! I took my temperature thinking I had to have a fever, nope 35.9, 36. and 36 were the readings (I didn't trust my therometer, lol) How can I feel soooo flipping hot and not have a temperature?

Veeder14 - I have seen Biotin recommended for hair loss/thinning.

Veeder14 - I have been taking biotin since I started T in April ‘18. I haven’t noticed a huge amount of hair loss, but it may be too soon to tell.

I have always had an itchy scalp, biotin doesn’t seem to help with that. I just use an itchy scalp shampoo formula from Head & Shoulders once a week to help with that.

I never had hot flashes before. I am 54. I started taking Tamo 5 days ago and today, after watching son’s baseball in 90 degrees weather, we stopped to have lunch and my face was bright red withsweat dripping at the table. My son and the waitress were really surprised. I had to go to the bathroom and wash my face. I wonder if this is hot flash or I was just super hot.

After only three months on tamoxifen and noticing changes in my periods which previously had been very heavy but regular (I'm 52 and premenopausal) my periods are now irregular on tamoxifen but I am now on day 20 of this period, with scary heavy bleeding and approximately 900 mL blood loss, hematocrit went from 38 to 27 with all of the usual symptoms of acute anemia. I went in for a transvaginal ultrasound & endometrial Bx last Tuesday. My uterine lining was 15 mm, (and this was after all that bleeding for ~15 days) and she found a 5 cm cyst (surprise!) on my ovary. She did an endometrial biopsy in her office & I should have those results tomorrow ( I always seem to have procedures before a holiday which results in pathology report delays :-() So here is what is frustrating me… My periods are normally very heavy but nothing like this one. Knowing that, why did they not do an ultrasound prior to my tamoxifen to see if my lining was already thick? I have no way of knowing if this is purely tamoxifen related or something that might've been happening anyway. Assuming that the biopsy comes back benign ( please, God) I'm not sure how to proceed. I know that I cannot go through periods like this one again. It was hard to function at work with the cramping and going to the bathroom every 10 minutes to change ultra tampons, or soaking a postpartum sized pad in less than an hour. ( on that delightful subject, have any of you used a menstrual cup? That might be a better option for me to use with pads?) Otherwise, side effects from tamoxifen have not been too bad and I thought I was going to be a superstar! Early headaches and joint painhave gotten much better, and I've had no hot flashes or insomnia. Has anyone else had this experience with super heavy bleeding? Did you end up with a hysterectomy?

Hello. I know some people gain weight from Tamo. Do you know the reason behind it? I feel hungry all the time now and I don't know if that's one of the SE. Just started Tamo a week ago.

I had that with the generic brand I was on, always hungry, never felt full. Thankfully the name brand Tamoxifen doesn't give me that side effect.

Okay Ladies, So I should probably search the forum first for all my questions, but since we're talking about 953 pages, I'm gonna be lazy and just ask.

I am 52 years old, have a Mirena IUD in place, Stage 1b lobular cancer. Had lumpectomy a couple of weeks ago. Lymph nodes negative. Surgeon said tumor highly estrogen sensitive, like 85% I think.

So, starting me on Tamoxifen. They asked me about whether I was pre or post menopausal at my last visit, but honestly, I don't know. Since I had the Mirena IUD in place, I haven't had a period. And honestly, I haven't really noticed any monthly fluctuations in mood or anything (never had), so I honestly don't know.

So, I asked Surgeon during my last visit, if Medical Oncology would decide if I took Tamoxifen vs the drug for post-menopausal women, and he said they had discussed it at Tumor Board and already decided that I would be on Tamoxifen. I should have asked questions at that point, but honestly, it didn't occur to me. So, now I'm wondering.....what would be their reasons for choosing Tamoxifen without verifying my menopausal status?

My nurse navigator is on vacation this week. I'll give her a call next week.

Also, anybody else a little teary-eyed starting on T?