Tamoxifen and high cholesterol and triglycerides

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tinker-bell
tinker-bell Member Posts: 62
edited March 2019 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

Hi 

I’ve just had a fasting blood test as my Gp was concerned about high cholesterol. I’ve got low good cholesterol, high bad cholesterol plus high triglycerides (3.39, normal is 0 - 1.7). 

I am a bit overweight with a BMI of 28 but am working out twice a week and have cut down on alcohol, red meat etc. Anyone else had similar issues? Got any advice? It could be side effect of the Taxol chemo I had, from what I’ve read, unrelated or (I suspect) a Tamoxifen side effect.

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  • NZM
    NZM Member Posts: 1
    edited March 2019

    I had been on tamoxifen for nearly 5 years. my cholesterol and triglycerides shot up during the last year. My Drs were concerned about the effects on my pancreas. My oncologist stopped tamoxifen. My levels dropped dramatically since stopping tamoxifen. I of course appreciate that tamoxifen is a good treatment after Breast cancer but I think such raised cholesterol and lipid levels very interesting (if frightening) side effect. In addition I have been taking cholesterol shield by go healthy. Also being very careful not to eat saturated fats. Lots of high fibre,vegetables and fruit especially berries.

    27/8/18

    cholesterol 16.6 mil/litre

    Triglycerides 63.3 mil/litre

    Stopped tamoxifen

    19/12/18

    Cholesterol 9.8mil/litre

    Triglycerides 30.3mil/litre

    31/1/19

    Cholesterol 5.4mil/litre

    Triglycerides 5.2mil/litre

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  • tinker-bell
    tinker-bell Member Posts: 62
    edited March 2019

    I’m glad your cholesterol levels have dropped, that’s excellent news! I asked my oncologist about the cholesterol and he said there was ‘no link’ 🤔 I guess I am stuck with tamoxifen for four more years but will continue to monitor. Thanks for the diet tips! What’s cholesterol shield is it a supplement

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  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 3,085
    edited March 2019

    I do not know about this re tamoxifen, specifically as I am HR-. BUT the fasting mimicking diet (or a brief water-only fast) WILL bring down cholesterol and triglycerides. Look up "Dr Valter Longo, USC, fasting". They used people who had horrible diets/bad numbers and had them fast periodically. Even if they went right back to eating bad diets, over the course of time, with regular brief fasts, their numbers trended down. It might not apply to tamoxifen-induced high numbers but it could be worth checking into.

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

    NZM, welcome to Breastcancer.org and thank you for sharing your experiences with tamoxifen and cholesterol! If you need any help from us Mods, please don't hesitate to reach out via private message. We hope to see you again on the boards!

    The Mods

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