Decided to have a holiday from Tamoxifen over Christmas

https://www.bcna.org.au/media/2220/10-beacon10.pdf

Detail on Tamoxifen

@Joannie I was on rimidex for just over a year, the joint pain was the worst part of it, I never had any problems on tamoxifen for 4yrs but the difference was I was pre menopausal then. My Oncologist switched me to Aromasin this year as sometimes a slight variation in meds can be better, its actually the same lol. Thing is I actually only have panadol osteo now maybe once a week, thats it which is incredible. Apart from joint pain the medication doesnt cause other symptoms for me. I was getting hot flushes before the meds being thrown into menopause unnaturally, it doesnt change on or off the medication. I attribute the rest of my stuff to treatment and I think having trialed off the meds for 6 weeks showed me that it purely was only the joint pain. As Ive had a recurrence already, im sticking to it, I actually dont think about it much now. I think being well enough which has taken 2.5yrs to rehabilitate I am finally ready for full time work up from my 3 days reduced capacity and into a new School and out of a toxic environment. xx M

Great to hear you are having some relief from the side effects. It is lovely not having to take tablets everyday and to be free of these side effects. Once I gave it up I felt less like a patient and that tie to cancer was a bit less.

 The flip side is that you have less certainty about being cancer free. For me the side effects outweighed the benefits and I felt I was pushed into taking them initially, by my oncologist and surgeon at the time. I respect anyone who can last 5, or 10 years on Tamoxifen. I hope that everything settles down for you. For some of us the side effects can be quite difficult to cope with, especially for younger women. 

Thanks ladies. Day 8 off the dreaded stuff.  Brain back to normal.  Yahoo.  Bone aches not gone but reduced by about 50%
Hot flushes down to 3 or 4 a day and much milder.  Just wish I didn't have to go back on it...................

The user and all related content has been deleted.

@kezmusc I actually did a 6 week trial off Arimidex as he said it would take that long to see any changes, which is different to Tamoxifen, it took a few weeks however before I could see any differences. I had to keep a log of everyday, mine was apparent purely for the pain and stiffness it causes. I'm 2.5yrs post chemo now and rarely have brain fog, going back to work has helped immensely but I never found that was attributed to medication. 

I took Tamoxifen for 4yrs and maybe some slight pain but no other side effects that I ever noticed. I guess everyone is different, and it affects everyone differently so have to do what is right for you. M x

Thinking of going off my Tamoxifen for a fortnight after new year so I can have my brain back to do our long overdue tax. It doesn't help that windows 10 and office  seem to have changed everything around again. Too many bells and whistles for me. Why can't they make the extras optional and just leave us old stagers with the basic stuff? I will be getting some much needed exercise to drop a few kgs at the same time as it only goes one way on Tamoxifen and thats ON.

Good on you @kezmusc
You gotta do what is right for you and if you are feeling so much better then good one.
Have a happy and clear festive season !
Summer   :)