When to take the Tamoxifen?

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lightningblue
lightningblue Member Posts: 33
edited May 2019 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

Does anyone have a recommendation on what time of day to take Tamoxifen?

Is there a benefit to taking it in the morning or at night? Curious what other people's preferences are. I just received my first bottle today and will be starting tomorrow. It may be wishful thinking but if I could take the pill at a certain time of day to have hot flashes only in the night... that'd be pretty appreciated. Thanks for any input!

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  • FindingOptimism
    FindingOptimism Member Posts: 67
    edited May 2019

    I have tried taking it at different times during the day. I have decided I prefer mornings because I have less insomnia and dry eye. Several others suggested evenings to sleep through the side effects. My best recommendation is to keep a log of when you take it and the side effects. This really helps in the discussions with the doctor.

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  • Salamandra
    Salamandra Member Posts: 1,444
    edited May 2019

    I would have preferred evenings but it messed with my sleep too much. I don't think it matters except for how you feel.

    I wish I had taken a page out of the book of some of the women here and started on a low dose and graduated up.

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  • Rah2464
    Rah2464 Member Posts: 1,647
    edited May 2019

    I haven't found morning or night to be necessarily better for me. But I did experiment a little with cutting the 20mg pill in half, taking twice a day. I felt a little better that way but drove myself crazy making sure to take the two pills about 12 hours apart and with food. If my MO keeps me on tamoxifen after my 1 year appointment, I may ask for a scripp for the 10mg pills.

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

    I take it in the morning because if I drink a big glass of water in the evening I will have to get out of bed to pee at midnight. I've never noticed time of day affecting side effects. My side effects are pretty much all day/night long and have built in intensity over the years. It reaches a pretty steady state I think.

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  • Ingerp
    Ingerp Member Posts: 2,624
    edited May 2019

    A lot of women take their Tamoxifen/AI early in the day, with food. Seems to lessen the SEs. A lot of us also started at a half dose or every other day for a few weeks. It was a gentler on-ramp.

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  • lightningblue
    lightningblue Member Posts: 33
    edited May 2019

    Thank you all so much for writing. This is helpful stuff.

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  • Beaverntx
    Beaverntx Member Posts: 3,183
    edited May 2019

    In contrast, my pharmacist recommended taking it with my evening meal. That is what I've done. I've had no trouble sleeping so have not tried other times. With food may be the key?


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