Forum Discussion

antoinette's avatar
antoinette
Member
13 years ago

Tamoxifen side effects

Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed with breast cancer last October, I had a mammagram with my Mum as I have been having one since I turned 40 years old. I am now 48. I was lucky , it was early stages I had a lumpceptomy and then had radiation treatment for seven weeks.

I coped very well through it all I had a lot of support from family, friends and work. Im a personal trainer , an aerobic instructor and a hairdresser. I do lead a very healthy and active lifestyle which I continued to work through my radiation treatment. I have been taking Tamoxifen since last November and after having blood test I was told that I am post menapause. For the last 3 months I have been having lots of hot flushes through the day up to 10 times a day and up to 3 night sweats a night that wake me up, its terrible I havent menstruated for around 4 months. The flushes are driving me crazy!

I brought it up with my oncologist which i dont think il ever go back to him. I asked him what are my other options instead of taking tamoxifen he said chemotherapy or go on anti depressons to help with the hot flushes! Or go off tamoxifen and maybe I will be ok or it could come back , I asked what about alfernative medicine) naturalpath, He said they are witch doctors and il be wasting my money as it dosnt work. Well i walked out of his room feeling so down. Im over it and im thinking of getting off the tamoxifen because not only am i so uncomfortable with tha night sweats which are the worst, forget about sex there is nothing left at all no feelings and very dry vagina. I know I hate talking about this part but before all this sex was great. My husband isnt coping very well in this department.I read about Idole 3 and i will look into this and also will go see my naturalpath.I started going organic in fresh foods and slowly with all foods. Also gone organic in products, shampoo, soap, toothpaste etc. The number one thing is all cleaning products iv gone organic there as well. I started takind my natural supplements, Super Greens, vitamin c and im looking at Ambrotose (mannetak) i think thats how you spell it. Is there any one else out there with any answers as the doctors are so narrow minded.and dont have the time to really explain how breast cancer treatment can make you feel. and in the long run are we really safe by being on Tamoxifen with all these other side effects????

2 Replies

  • Nicca_Grant's avatar
    Nicca_Grant
    Member
    13 years ago

    Hi antoinette

    I am so sorry to hear about the rough time you are having on tamoxifen.  We often hear from women in a similar boat - you may like to read a previous blog post that has attracted a lot of comments from other women sharing their stories with tamoxifen.

    If you haven't already seen it, we also have a booklet available called Sexual Wellbeing and Breast Cancer that addresses many of the issues you've raised, including hot flushes and sexual wellbeing. 

    It's probably also worth mentioning that if you do decide to take any additional supplements or herbal remedies, talk to your specialist (you may like to see another doctor if you don't think your current specialist will be helpful!) beforehand.  Some herbs interact with tamoxifen and make it less effective unfortunately, so it's always a good idea to check with your doctor to make sure any complementary therapies are OK to take.

    Wishing you all the best antoinette, and good luck!

     

  • Nicca_Grant's avatar
    Nicca_Grant
    Member
    13 years ago

    Hi antoinette

    I am so sorry to hear about the rough time you are having on tamoxifen.  We often hear from women in a similar boat - you may like to read a previous blog post that has attracted a lot of comments from other women sharing their stories with tamoxifen.

    If you haven't already seen it, we also have a booklet available called Sexual Wellbeing and Breast Cancer that addresses many of the issues you've raised, including hot flushes and sexual wellbeing. 

    It's probably also worth mentioning that if you do decide to take any additional supplements or herbal remedies, talk to your specialist (you may like to see another doctor if you don't think your current specialist will be helpful!) beforehand.  Some herbs interact with tamoxifen and make it less effective unfortunately, so it's always a good idea to check with your doctor to make sure any complementary therapies are OK to take.

    Wishing you all the best antoinette, and good luck!