Tamoxifen side effects?

Some great suggestions here thanks ladies, to improve our health and survival! I've switched to buying organic fruit and vegetables. I get a fortnightly delivery which is lovely and fresh, and lasts well. It is dearer though. Woolworths also has a nice range of organic produce, grocery lines and meat. I found its made a difference to how I feel - really healthy inside! My daughter's skin has cleared and we all have more energy. It's worth the $s. All the best to us in good health! <3

Some great suggestions here thanks ladies, to improve our health and survival! I've switched to buying organic fruit and vegetables. I get a fortnightly delivery which is lovely and fresh, and lasts well. It is dearer though. Woolworths also has a nice range of organic produce, grocery lines and meat. I found its made a difference to how I feel - really healthy inside! My daughter's skin has cleared and we all have more energy. It's worth the $s. All the best to us in good health! <3

Hi Deeay,

I had aching legs esp at night, which only occurred in my second year of tamoxifen. After some pondering and thinking what changed (was it me exercising?), I discovered that when I moved house and went to a different pharmacy I was given a different brand of tamoxifen. You might need to try a few, there is Nolvadex, Tamosin and another. I found Nolvadex the best. It might be the filler the pharmaceutical company uses. Some other ladies had the same issues.Some ladies also take 10 mg or 20 mg and fluctuate between the two after discussion with their oncologist, depending on how they tolerate the drug. Hope this helps.

Regards, Julie

Christine, many thanks for your informative & comprehensive reply. I'm inspired. I'm working my way through "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer" so I'm coming to grips with why the hormone saliva testing is a good idea. I'm also taking Coenzyme Q 10 as recommended by the naturopath to provide heart protection from Herceptin. A lot of the naturopathic help I have received has been around supporting the liver which I really needed after chemo and want to continue with for oestrogen processing.

We were in the process of changing diets anyway as my husband has recently recognised his gluten intolerance so I'm doing a lot of reading, researching, thinking & working out how to incorporate all these changes.

I'm feeling fairly positive about changing the way we live. They are not radical changes for us but even small changes take an effort. However we have the best possible reason for wanting to change.

Best wishes.

As my very supportive GP says: our bodies do not produce oestrogen to give us breast cancer! We need oestrogen to function fully at many levels, including cardiovascular health, brain function, etc  

After surgery for breast cancer 19 months ago, I have (with guidance of my GP) the following regime: I do a hormone saliva test every 6 months, which provides us with an exact "picture" of my oestrogen levels and whether my liver is in fact metabolising the oestrogen to be effectively utilised in my body. The day an oncologist offers to actually monitor my oestrogen levels and recognises the role of the liver in oestrogen metabolism, is when I will give any attention to aromatase inhibitors. I ensure that my liver is functioning well and to that effect do a regular liver detox.

Further I take I-3-C, Resveratol, Coenzyme Q 10, Quercetin, Vit C, Vit D, Vit B and some mineral supplements (monitored by hair mineral analysis). I also take calcium as I have eliminated cow's dairy from my diet (due to hormones in it) except for some occasional organic dairy treats. Also only meat which is organic and free range and which I know where it comes from. I have also greatly reduced my sugar and alcohol intake, with only occasional treats and try to generally follow an alkaline diet. Nothing extreme, just a healthy balanced approach.

Furthermore, I have completely eliminated any cosmetic and other products containing parabens and a number of other petrochemicals (e.g. in sorbalene) and harmful ingredients. I also do not drink water from clear commercial plastic bottles (only BPA free plastic) even the pink Mnt Franklin ones "supporting" breast cancer. I am taking the precautionary principle on this and accept the growing evidence that many plastic materials contain xenoestrogens which introduces foreign mimicking oestrogens into our bodies. Why take an aromatase inhibitor, when you are not eliminating other bad oestrogens from your environment and body?

I am feeling better than ever before and although nothing can remove the fear of metastasis from my life, I at least feel I am giving it my best shot with my own efforts.

As my very supportive GP says: our bodies do not produce oestrogen to give us breast cancer! We need oestrogen to function fully at many levels, including cardiovascular health, brain function, etc  

After surgery for breast cancer 19 months ago, I have (with guidance of my GP) the following regime: I do a hormone saliva test every 6 months, which provides us with an exact "picture" of my oestrogen levels and whether my liver is in fact metabolising the oestrogen to be effectively utilised in my body. The day an oncologist offers to actually monitor my oestrogen levels and recognises the role of the liver in oestrogen metabolism, is when I will give any attention to aromatase inhibitors. I ensure that my liver is functioning well and to that effect do a regular liver detox.

Further I take I-3-C, Resveratol, Coenzyme Q 10, Quercetin, Vit C, Vit D, Vit B and some mineral supplements (monitored by hair mineral analysis). I also take calcium as I have eliminated cow's dairy from my diet (due to hormones in it) except for some occasional organic dairy treats. Also only meat which is organic and free range and which I know where it comes from. I have also greatly reduced my sugar and alcohol intake, with only occasional treats and try to generally follow an alkaline diet. Nothing extreme, just a healthy balanced approach.

Furthermore, I have completely eliminated any cosmetic and other products containing parabens and a number of other petrochemicals (e.g. in sorbalene) and harmful ingredients. I also do not drink water from clear commercial plastic bottles (only BPA free plastic) even the pink Mnt Franklin ones "supporting" breast cancer. I am taking the precautionary principle on this and accept the growing evidence that many plastic materials contain xenoestrogens which introduces foreign mimicking oestrogens into our bodies. Why take an aromatase inhibitor, when you are not eliminating other bad oestrogens from your environment and body?

I am feeling better than ever before and although nothing can remove the fear of metastasis from my life, I at least feel I am giving it my best shot with my own efforts.

I did a liver detox after chemo & it was great! Herbalist recommends every few months or so. From reading this blog it seems that weight gain on Tamoxifen could be related to our bodies trying to store oestrogen ie. in body fat! Sounds logical. I've recently discovered kale & all it's health benefits. If it can process oestrogen, even better! Rather not take any more drugs but I'll look at the web sites mentioned here. Elisa-I'm wondering why you can't have reconstruction? Did the hysterectomy scar prevent you having a DIEP or Tram flap done? Keep on sweating it out girls! :)

I did a liver detox after chemo & it was great! Herbalist recommends every few months or so. From reading this blog it seems that weight gain on Tamoxifen could be related to our bodies trying to store oestrogen ie. in body fat! Sounds logical. I've recently discovered kale & all it's health benefits. If it can process oestrogen, even better! Rather not take any more drugs but I'll look at the web sites mentioned here. Elisa-I'm wondering why you can't have reconstruction? Did the hysterectomy scar prevent you having a DIEP or Tram flap done? Keep on sweating it out girls! :)

Hi All

I have found more information about I-3-C (Indole-3-Carbinol) on GoogleScholar but it is technical / medical research so pretty hard to understand for the lay person. It is supposed to assist the body to process & eliminate oestrogen more effectively.

Its hard work isn't it? Trying to eat well, exercise well, recover well & to keep trying to understand how you want to deal with treatment and all the options.

Regards to all

Jan

Hi Diane,

It's not an easy task to stop a med that is supposed to save my life but I can't go on with the med. I'm oestrogen receptive but progesteron negative. I've bought a book by Doctor John R Lee: "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Breast Cancer" , I've not received the book yet but I can't wait to read it. I have not started on my progesteron cream yet, then again can't wait to start. Talking about weight gain on tamoxifen, I've put on more than 10kg over 2 years on it.

I'll keep you all posted about my condition after tamoxifen

PS: 2 weeks without tamoxifen and I feel much better, no more swollen ankles, less wood swings. I still suffer from night sweats and hot flushes.

As females, oestrogen are the essence of who we are and trying to remove it competely from our bobies is creating other problems. We need these hormones in our bodies in order to live quality of life. Our doctors only see the disease, they don't have a holistic approach to the disease, they often compromise our quality of life and create a fear approach, what if the cancer comes back....

As cancer patients, we have to keep ourselves informed ot what else there is out there so we can make informed decisions when it comes to our health and wellbeing.

Kind regards.