Tamoxifen side effect?

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meepersmonkey
meepersmonkey Member Posts: 2
edited March 2019 in Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment

Hi sisters,

I started taking Tamoxifen about 3 weeks ago and have noticed that my urine often has a slight pink hue to it.

I've had many kidney stones in the past and do not have any other symptoms (intense flank pain) of this leading me to think I am currently passing a stone and I don't notice any symptoms of a UTI.

I had a hysterectomy last year so I know it's not menstrual blood.

Has anyone else had this?

Thanks!

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  • Paisley2916
    Paisley2916 Member Posts: 65
    edited December 2018

    hello! Did you ever find out if the tamoxifen was causing this? I just started tamoxifen last Friday and after only 4 doses, had blood in my urine. I went to the doctor and my urinalysis shows no infection, but does show a large amount of blood. I'm scheduled for a ultrasound of kidneys and bladder next week. This is freaking me out. Thanks

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  • kat69ohio
    kat69ohio Member Posts: 1
    edited March 2019

    I stopped taking tamoxifen because of the side affects, and had some blood work done through Oncologist to see if my estrogen levels were low enough to maybe take the Post menopausal medication and I wasn't.. I'm very torn here.

    Is diet enough to help? organic and hormone free? on one hand I know there are women wishing they could just take this pill, on the other the side effects are brutal, I'm no baby but brutal, headaches seeing spots, I'm supposed to drive like that? can't function at work, and the pain.

    Has anyone stopped taking it, and made other changes to lifestyle? Was it enough?

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  • gb2115
    gb2115 Member Posts: 1,894
    edited March 2019

    Hi Kat69ohio,

    Welcome to BCO!

    I don't think anyone really knows if diet can prevent breast cancer from returning. They can't pinpoint what causes it, so they can't really pinpoint something that will prevent it. And no one can really say for sure that lifestyle changes are enough, because recurrence can happen at any time---there's no guarantee that it won't happen, even at the 20 year mark. So someone that says, yeah, I'm 10 years out and been organic and haven't had a recurrence, doesn't mean they won't at the 10.5 year mark. It's a risk to not take the tamoxifen (which has been proven to lower risk), but you've got to do the best you can to get by. And if that means not taking medication that lowers your quality of life, that's entirely your decision and is a valid one.

    That said, have you discussed with your oncologist about shutting down your ovaries in order to take the other medication? There are many premenopausal women on these boards that end up doing that in order to take hormonal therapy that isn't tamoxifen.

    I'm wading through my own unpleasant tamoxifen side effects, so I feel you. So far I'm willing to put up with them because I had a family member go metastatic at 17 years...so to me, the side effects are worth it so far, but they are definitely extremely frustrating. I feel like I'm taking poison every day...

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited March 2019

    Dear Kat69ohio,

    Welcome to the BCO community. We are sorry for your diagnosis, treatment and subsequent side effects but glad that you reached out with your story. We hope that you will continue to receive support and helpful information here on the boards. You may also want to review some of the topics in the Hormonal Therapy Forum. You will find topics for those who may be struggling with tamoxifen and others who are choosing ovarian suppression and others that might be of help as you struggle with your decisions. Let us know if we can be of help as you navigate your way around the community.

    The Mods

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