Sleep

I never had trouble sleeping even through menopause but this Tamoxifen keeps me awake nightly. I’m taking it earlier in the day but it doesn’t help much. I exercise lots daily too. Don’t want to take sleeping pills. Ugh, 5 years of this it’s hard to imagine. News article after news article indicates that sleep deprivation is harmful to our health.

I am the same way, no sleep on this tamoxifen. I will either wake several times a night, with or without a hot flash, or I will only sleep about 4 hours and that is it. I tried switching from night time to taking it earlier in the day, but as time goes on it doesn't seem to make a difference. I am with you Veeder, 5 years of this really seems hard to imagine.

Hi!

I used to have awful insomnia, and the Aromasin didn't help. While I was doing chemo, my oncologist prescribed me a number of meds that helped me sleep, especially when I'd had steroids. But, after chemo, she cut me off, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I am now able to sleep without Avitan, Xanax, or Ambien. I now rely on melatonin, and it really does the trick. Once I'm asleep, I'm asleep.

Being able to fall asleep fast and stay asleep used to be my superpower. I had a rough several months after starting the meds, but now I'm back to being a good sleeper. My hot flashes have subsided a lot since the first time after I started on letrozole, and I think that helped a lot. They were awful when I first started, now I'm down to 5-8 a day and maybe 1-2 a night.

The only problem is sometimes I have a harder time falling asleep than before (I may need 30-40 min rather than 5-10). I sometimes take melatonin 15-20 minutes before I want to be asleep (3-5 mg), and it helps a lot. The most important thing is to be ready and in bed by the time melatonin starts to act. I was once woken up right after melatonin hit me, and I couldn't fall asleep for hours!

Also made my bedroom very dark with blackout curtains and no lights like clock display. I noticed that even hallway light that seeps under the door presents a problem. When I get up to go to the bathroom (a lot more often than before) I don't turn the light on - this helps me fall back asleep right away.