I am up in the middle of the night-insomnia I am sure a side effect of Tamoxifen. I have been on it now for nearly 6 months. I am also seriously thinking of stopping. I am miserable. I have a history of depression, and had been on Valdoxan (melatonin based antidepressant) prior to my diagnosis last year. Even after diagnosis, surgery and treatment-aside from a few post-op complications, I still felt the best I had in a long time.
That was until I started taking tamoxifen. Now I am the most depressed I have ever been! I had previously been on HRT because my menopausal symptoms were dreadful. Of course because my cancer was 100% ER positive, that had to go. Now I think with Tamoxifen blocking the rest of my oestrogen, it is exacerbating those symptoms I have terrible night sweats (4-10/night)and have given up alcohol as that makes it 10 x worse!, hot flushes all day, fatigue, low libido, and the list goes on. I am also sure that for me it causes urinary frequency as it started the minute I started Tamoxifen and when I had a quick 3day trip to NZ recently and forgot to take my Tamoxifen with me that all disappeared. I went from peeing anywhere from 2-4 x a night and approximately 8 x before lunch to 4 x/day and not getting up at night at all! My quality of life is poor, all of the things that give me pleasure, I can either no longer do, or I no longer feel like doing. I am constantly fatigued, I will discuss all of this with my oncologist this month at my next appointment.
I am not suicidal, but I do think, what is the point of taking something to keep me alive if that life I live is spent feeling the worst I ever have?
M
