Losing Weight on Tamoxifen
Hi Girls, its been awhile. I was diagnosed in 2013, had chemo and four operations and was left with not much confidence in my body which I'd treated pretty well, I thought, only to be betrayed by ...
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My experience was that I gained 7 kg during chemo and then with a determined effort with my diet and exercise (mainly walking 6-10 km per day) I lost 8 kg during my first 6 months of Tamoxifen and was stable at that weight for 18 months. Losing weight while on Tamoxifen was certainly more difficult than previously but not impossible. I was lucky with Tamoxifen as my side effects were quite minor and easily managed. I regularly joked that my Tamoxifen experience was better than some of my friends' so called "normal" menopause experiences. Until it was discovered that I was one of those who experienced endometrial thickening from the Tamoxifen.
So at my 2 year check up I was switched to Arimidex...
Sadly the bone and joint pain side effects from Arimidex for me were immediate and horrible. This meant that my walking program vanished - it was worse than chemo - some days I could barely get out of bed. Without exercise I started gaining about 1kg per month and then I also hit the jackpot when I became depressed which led to even more weight gain. However every cloud has a silver lining and depression meant that I was referred to a wonderful psychologist who recommended that I find a personal trainer. I had my first session in July and by August I had committed to 2 sessions per week. This has helped both with the depression and I've also lost 3 kg but most importantly - I absolutely love it!
I'm currently thinking of increasing my sessions to 3 per week (I'd actually like to do 6 but simply can't afford that!) as I still struggle to exercise by myself. My hope is that will change soon as I long to return to the wonderful walks I used to enjoy so much.
Good luck chibipink - I really enjoyed reading your blog. It was quite entertaining!
So at my 2 year check up I was switched to Arimidex...
Sadly the bone and joint pain side effects from Arimidex for me were immediate and horrible. This meant that my walking program vanished - it was worse than chemo - some days I could barely get out of bed. Without exercise I started gaining about 1kg per month and then I also hit the jackpot when I became depressed which led to even more weight gain. However every cloud has a silver lining and depression meant that I was referred to a wonderful psychologist who recommended that I find a personal trainer. I had my first session in July and by August I had committed to 2 sessions per week. This has helped both with the depression and I've also lost 3 kg but most importantly - I absolutely love it!
I'm currently thinking of increasing my sessions to 3 per week (I'd actually like to do 6 but simply can't afford that!) as I still struggle to exercise by myself. My hope is that will change soon as I long to return to the wonderful walks I used to enjoy so much.
Good luck chibipink - I really enjoyed reading your blog. It was quite entertaining!