Migraines from Tamoxifen

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cbmom3
cbmom3 Member Posts: 6
edited October 2018 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

Hi. I'm brand new to this forum. I'm post-double mastectomy and started Tamixofen about 3 months ago and had to stop a couple days ago due to a migraine that began two weeks ago and still has not resolved. Thats in addition to the side effects that I was already getting such as bone/joint pain, hot flashes, nausea, stopping ovulation. I could live with those side effects but not the migraines. Has anyone else experienced migraines that would not go away from Tamoxifen? If yes, did they eventually resolve? If anyone else has switched from Tamoxifen to another hormonal drug - how did that go? I'm premenopausal so I'd have to take an ovary suppressing medication in addition to something like an aromatase inhibitor. I'm worried that the side effects from two medications will be worse than the ones from Tamoxifen.

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited October 2018

    First, we welcome you to Breastcancer.org, and are sorry to hear what you're going through. Any number of medications can cause migraines. You may want to look at our page here: Headaches, and perhaps talk to your oncologist about options.

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  • cbmom3
    cbmom3 Member Posts: 6
    edited October 2018

    Thanks for the info. I'm not taking any other medications that could be causing the migraines and my migraines are slowly subsiding since stopping tamoxifen 5 days ago so we are pretty sure its the Tamoxifen. I'm scheduled with my oncologist next month to figure out next steps. I'm getting a month off from the meds but then will need to find something else to block/stop production of estrogen.

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  • beeline
    beeline Member Posts: 308
    edited October 2018

    cbmom3, I don’t have any insight to offer but this is one of my fears. Did you have migraines before starting tamoxifen? I’ve gotten them with my cycle since I was a teenager and am very sensitive to things that affect my hormones. I’m afraid of ovarian suppression for the same reason. That said, I’ve read on these boards about a lot of people who stopped hormone treatments for a while and then had a better experience when they went back on the same one, almost as though their bodies adjusted in the meantime. It may be worth a try. It could also be that ovarian suppression plus an AI improves things if estrigen is causing the migraine. In any case, good luck! I hope you find a good solution and please keep us postef

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