No side effects while on Tamoxifen

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bkim_1974
bkim_1974 Member Posts: 2
edited October 2021 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

Hi,

I'm newly diagnosed with invasive lobular breast cancer and taking Tamoxifen 20mg. I have had zero side effects and was curious if anyone else has been lucky enough to have zero side effects? I am nervous that the medication is not working since I have had zero side effects and have been taking it for 3 weeks now. Was hoping there are other people out there that are taking Tamoxifen with zero side effects.

Thanks!

Brenda.

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  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited October 2021

    bkim,

    I have not taken tamoxifen but would like to point out that NOT having side effects from a medication does not mean it’s not working. Side effects are something that might happen to some people but lack of side effects doesn’t mean anything. I think that it’s great and hope you continue to have a side effect free run. Take care.

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited October 2021

    Welcome, bkim_1974! We're so sorry you find yourself here but we hope you find this to be a supportive community. We echo what exbrnxgrl shared - a lack of side effects doesn't indicate the treatment isn't working as it is supposed to work; breast cancer treatments have a vast spectrum of side effects, and some people may experience all, some, or none at all. They're possible, but not guaranteed. We hope your treatment continues to go well!

    The Mods

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  • bkim_1974
    bkim_1974 Member Posts: 2
    edited October 2021

    Thank you exbrnxgrl and The Mods.

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  • Rah2464
    Rah2464 Member Posts: 1,647
    edited October 2021

    I am thrilled you are not having side effects from the medication, how wonderful! While a lot of us do, you never know until you try it. If you are interested, there is a test to see how well you metabolize Tamoxifen. I had mine done through my oncologist - from OneOme. I think the metabolic pathway is CYP2D6. However, some insurance plans may not cover the testing so you would want to know that up front.

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  • ShetlandPony
    ShetlandPony Member Posts: 4,924
    edited October 2021

    https://www.verywellhealth.com/hot-flashes-linked-with-less-risk-better-breast-cancer-survival-4120964
    “A 2013 study looked at over 9,000 women who were treated with either tamoxifen or exemestane. Those who had hot flashes had better disease-free survival (by 27 percent), overall survival (45 percent higher) and fewer distant metastases (19 percent less chance that their breast cancers would spread to distant organs such as the brain, lungs, liver, or bones.)1 “

    From BCO’s page on Tamoxifen:

    “Hot flashes or night sweats from taking tamoxifen can be troubling. But a 2008 British studysuggests that women who experienced hot flashes and night sweats while taking hormonal therapy medicine were less likely to have the breast cancer come back (recur)“

    Maybe ask your oncologist what the most current evidence says about this.

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  • datagirl
    datagirl Member Posts: 7
    edited October 2021

    I’ve been taking it for a year and haven’t really had any side effects except some annoying hot flashes. Those could just be from menopause though. It seems to be working so far. My last manmogram was all good

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  • TwoForOneSpecial
    TwoForOneSpecial Member Posts: 41
    edited October 2021

    I've also had minimal side effects from Tamoxifen. I've been on it for about 9 months. I have what I refer to as "warm flashes" - they're a little annoying, but are generally controlled by pushing off the blankets in the middle of the night, and then pulling them back on 5 minutes later. I do not get the full blown night sweats.

    I don't remember exactly, but I think it may have taken more than 3 weeks for even those mini-hot flashes to start once I started on Tamoxifen, so you may still have some side effects coming (for better or for worse).

    Good luck!

    Rachel

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