Sometimes I'm feeling fine & then I get a funny panicky feeling in my head which makes me feel completely unable to cope. Then a moment later I get really warm and have to take a layer of clothes off. I guess this is a hot flush? Luckily it passes fairly quickly but I hate the bad feeling I get in my head. Do other people have that? I am on triporelin which has shut down my ovaries (last period was in November) & I started on tamoxifen last week.

I'm on Tamoxifen and I get hot flushes.They're not as bad since starting endep which is an antidepressant that counteracts hot flushes.When I get one my pulse races and I can feel abit frantic and I can't concentrate till it's over.It only lasts for a minute or so-but VERY annoying! Tonya xx

Side effect of chemo, when it was happening to me, like chemo menopause. It did past after the treatment was over and months later I got my period cycle back, mojo back too.

Hi Tonya, I have now started on Tamoxifen and getting hot flushes. What is endep? and what rate are you on?

If you have only just started Tamoxifen then give it a few months as the flushes might settle down.There are a few drugs that may help with the hot flushes.I take Endep 10mg which is an antidepressant but a very low dose. It helps with sleep,mood and hot flushes.It doesn't take them away entirely though.Talk to your doctor about your options cos those flushes are a real pain. Tonya xx

hot flushes | BCNA Online Network

19 Replies

jo1234
Member
14 years ago
Oh! you are so sexist, oh well to bad because you are right. Men do not understand. My ex Hubby use to say (relating to when he got a pain in the stomach) that he new exactly how labor feels.Hu..... no idea. Cheers Jo xx
Genetten
Member
14 years ago
Hi all,

Looks like I started something. I am 52 this month and has surgery -partial nearly 1 year ago. Since then Chemo & radiotherepy and anti-hormone treatment in the form of arimidex (I was tested as post menopausal. I had hysterectomy when I was 49). I was also advised that aromitase inhibitors are better for you once post. Unfortunately I could not handle the Arimidex after trying for 3 months. I too had severe joint pains in knees, ankles and hands. my hands were the worst as I could not grip or undo anything or write properly etc. I had trigger finger in my thumb and 3 other fingers (which I still get mainly mornings and during the night). Not to mention hot flushes. The oncologist agreed to allow me to swap to Tamoxifen and I have found the joint pain has improved somewhat. I can at least use my hands more. I still have pain in my thumb joints but tend to think I now have arthritis. Has anyone else got arthritis since having chemo etc??

Overall, it would a good move to change medication because my quality of lifewas severly affected on Arimidex. Tamoxifen has been used for years and is also known to be affective so at least I had a choice. Hot flushes are worse on this medication but better than the joint pain.

I have my first mammogram next week since treatment so am nervous and interested at same time. I obviously am hoping that all will be clear but anxious that it may not be. I am keeping my fingers crossed-at least the ones that don't have trigger finger.

Cheers to all and hope to us all in 2012.
jillden
Member
14 years ago
My oncologist also said that aromitase inhibitors are better once you are post menopausal. I was on tamoxifen after finishing my chemo in March 2009. I took it for a year( my oncologist said 1 year without a period) then they did a hormone blood test and found that i was post menopausal so I changed to Femara. Apparently Femara works to block the estrogen that comes from the liver. In August 2010 my hot flushes stopped suddenly, I then got a period after 18 months. I had an internal ultrasound as tamoxifen can cause thickening in the uterus lining and was sent to a gyne who did a D & C and found something( a big long name) that was not cancer related that could cause bleeding. It was queried as to whether or not i should have a hysterectomy but Drs decided not to. Since then i have had no further probs. However the hot flushes did return and are still with me today but they have improved over the last few months.

Take care, Jill xx
jillden
Member
14 years ago
Hi Chris, I am sorry but i found your comments so amusing. My husband came to see what i was laughing about. What you describe with the stiffness, getting up and down, in and out of the car, the trigger fingers, etc is exactly what i am experiencing too. My trigger fingers are my middle fingers next to peter pointer, first thing in the morning. When i first started Femara in February 2010, I found the first few steps in the morning very painful but that has improved over time. I am still stiff when i first hop up but have been walking first thing in the morning for 30 minutes and that seems to have alleviated the stiffness during the day. I must say i feel much better when i am on my feet rather than sitting around. Bone density!! I had a test before starting and i was told i had the bones of a young adult. Now 18 months on i take caltrate to try to avoid osteoporosis. My Mum is 85 and has good bones!! Definately the Femara has done this and it is a side effect but i am hoping to halt the decline with the caltrate. My D levels are ok (at present!!) My GP says I may be able to regain a little with exercise and caltrate. Another test in 2 years, by that time i will only have about 6 months left on Femara. Take care, Jill xx
TonyaM
Member
14 years ago
I'm 56 years old and I've been going 9yrs with these hot flushes-on and off in severity.My oncologist told me he likes you to be 2 years without a period(that's me) before he swaps over to an aromitase inhibitor.They all seem to have different ideas.I'll be seeing him this month for a checkup so I really hope he doesn't swap me over because I'm sort of tolerating Tamoxifen and don't want to rock the boat.I sure don't like the sounds of Femara.

love Tonya xx
Chris
Member
14 years ago
Hi Kathy, Thanks for your advice. I do take the fish oil, but not a huge dose, and I have currently stopped it due to surgery in 10 days. This is like a blood thinner, and after my massive haematoma last time, I decided to stop this 2.5 weeks before surgery this time, and not the 10 days recommended. When I see the oncologist in February, I'm going to ask him about fish oil doses, and maybe even something for the hot flushes and poor sleep. Every once in a while I do think the hot flushes are lessening, and then I will have a run of them, like what is happening at present, when I have so many in a 24 hour period, that I lose count. I think, that after 7 or 8 years, they should be going away now, as I am well and truely over them. I'm thinking about trying to do more constructive exercise this year. I do walk the dog daily, and I know this helps. I will go back to yoga and the breast surgery gym at the hospital. Both of these I have not done this last 3 months due to a second mastectomy and the start of reconstructive surgery. My next surgery for exchange will be pretty straight forward, so I should be ready to rejoin these classes, when they start again for the new year. Wishing you a very happy and healthy new year. Love Chris xx
Chris
Member
14 years ago
Hi Tonya, I started treatment with tamoxifen, until it was definite that I was post menopausal. Because I had had some break through bleeding during my 3 months on HRT, the onologist couldn't be sure it wasn't menstral. A hormone blood test showed that I was almost menopausal, but not completely. I had to take the tamoxifen until it was definite that I was through the change. That was in August last year, and so I was then changed over. My oncologist reckons that the aromotase inhibitors are the best option once menopause has been reached, prior to that, tamoxifen is best. Having said that, tamoxifen is tried and true and still a good drug, which has been used successfully for many more years than these newer drugs. I think that they swap you back to tamoxifen if side effects are too bad, or there are problems with bone density. I don't recall having side effects from tamoxifen. My hotflushes changed a bit, but I have been having them for so many years, that it was hardly noticed. Love Chris xx
TonyaM
Member
14 years ago
You seem to be suffering alot of joint pain you poor thing.Femara really shouldn't be so hard on you.I have an aquaintance who got all the symptoms you describe.She's off it now and all has improved.How come you were swapped from Tamoxifen after 4 months?I walk like an old lady too,due to my ex broken ankle.Most mornings I wake up wondering what's going to be wrong with me today.I have a head cold for the new year so feeling sorry for myself today.My husband is pretty understanding most of the time but I'm sure they must get "compassion fatigue".I know he is so over my hot flushes.He has the exact same logic as your husband Chris- you wear a shirt/top and take a cardigan with you-what's the problem?I don't know how to answer that-except that I like to somewhat , co ordinate my clothes/shoes.If I'm going to be walking more than an hour or so then I have to wear joggers so then I dress from the feet up.I wish it was as easy as men say but I know you girls"get it".

Tonya xx
Chris
Member
14 years ago
Hi Jill, The bone density issues with femara concern me greatly, as I was already osteopenic before starting it. I was never great at exercising when younger, big mistake, and I have a light frame, so my starting spot is not great. I have however been taking caltrate and vitamin D for several years now, so hope my bone density won't drop too quickly. I have only been on this drug for 4 months, after 4 months on tamoxifen. Are you getting side effects from this drug? I thought I was missing out, but now I'm having a few. My hips and knees get stiff, so my first few steps after getting up are like that of an old lady, not a 53 year old. I also find it next to impossible to get up again if I crouch right down. Getting out of the car is also proving difficult, but not imposdible. Just also wondering about fingers, as mine have have become very stiff, especially first thing in the morning. I find it difficult to make a fist. There is no pain while my fingers are out stretched, but closing my fist feels weird. It feels like I am developing some trigger fingers, as they sort of click in segments when I close my fist in the morning. Sorry, I sound like a whinger as I re read this. My husband doesn't want to know , but doesn't like me to walk like an old lady. As if I would do that on purpose. He would like me to be over cancer now, and to get on with my life. I would like this too, but it isn't as easy as he thinks it is .Love Chris xx
Chris
Member
14 years ago
Hi Tonya, my husband also complains about my temperature meter. I need to have layers, and hate being cold as much as being too hot. My husband doesn't get it. He thinks you wear a shirt all summer, and in winter you wear a shirt and put on a light jumper if you feel cold. He does however notice the hotflushes, should we be cuddling, as they radiate right through me into him. I have asked myself the question about HRT many times, but no one will say it has caused my cancer. It certainly fed it as my tumour is about 90% ER and PR positive. In one respect it may have saved me, as there was abit of anxiety about using HRT, so I became a bit fussy about my swollen breasts. As this went down, I started to think about this old lump, which proved to be normal. I doubt I would have been at all concerned if I hadn't been on the HRT, because, I did have a normal mammogram just prior to starting. As my oncologist said, when I asked him about this, " we would be having a very different conversation and treatment," if I had waited till my next mammogram was due, still 9 months from now. Love Chris xx