Hi all, first time poster here. I started on 20 mg Tamoxifen two weeks ago and have been finding it a little hard to take. Stiff fingers and knees, dodgy sleep and my hair seems to be thinning. No hot flushes yet - more like 'warm flushes'. So I saw an oncologist today and after reading my histopathology report, she said I can drop it to 10 mg. I'm just wondering if anyone can share their experiences of being on 10 mg Tamoxifen and whether side effects improved at that dose? I'm hopeful the side effects will drop off a bit but I don't know anyone in this situation. Thanks :)

I had a review with my breast surgeon yesterday and had a good discussion about Tamoxifen side effects and taking a lower dose. He is very compassionate and agreed with me that quality of life has to be one of the priorities in my life. I simply cannot tolerate even a half dose (10 mg). My muscles are still and aching and my joints and ligaments hurt 24/7. With my doctor's blessing, I will from today take 5 mg daily and hope that I can stay on that for the next 4 years. I know that this increases my risk of a recurrency to some degree, but I have to live with that. I will have yearly mammograms and six monthly check ups and I will try to live as full a life as I can and not worry about the future too much. I feel better now that I have made this decision wlhich was not easy.Best wishes.

I know overseas in some countries the norm is only 10mg. The tabs to buy though are more expensive so halving the 20mg ones is cheaper.

When I was on Tamoxifen I found that one brand caused me worse side effects than others. It'll be different for everyone, but it could be worth asking if they have a different brand to see if that helps you.Also, I was told to take mine before bed so that the side effects were worse while I was sleeping.

When I was on tamoxifen I took it at lunch time and found that along with a couple of glasses of water early afternoon helped.

I am in the same boat as you. I was diagnosed a year ago, took 20 mg Tamoxifen for a few months but my osteoarthritis (fingers and feet) worsened consderably. I also suffered from low grade nausea most of the time and as I am also suffering from fibromyalgia, the tightness in my muscles worsened resulting in painful nocturnal calf and quad cramps. I then dropped the dose to 10 mg/day, but the side effects were still so hard to deal with. I am currently on 10 mg every second day and I have got a review with my specialist scheduled on 21/10. The nausea has finally eased and I am enjoying my food again, but I am still struggling with painful joints and at the same time I am scared about a recurrence of the cancer taking a reduced dose. The muscle cramps only occur now and again which is a great relief. My specialist told me right at the start that quality of life is very important. This is such a difficult situation to deal with. I do also get hot flushes but they are not too bad although I think I will struggle more in the warm weather to come.

Low dose tamoxifen | BCNA Online Network

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Marg75
Member
6 years ago
I am in the same boat as you. I was diagnosed a year ago, took 20 mg Tamoxifen for a few months but my osteoarthritis (fingers and feet) worsened consderably. I also suffered from low grade nausea most of the time and as I am also suffering from fibromyalgia, the tightness in my muscles worsened resulting in painful nocturnal calf and quad cramps. I then dropped the dose to 10 mg/day, but the side effects were still so hard to deal with. I am currently on 10 mg every second day and I have got a review with my specialist scheduled on 21/10. The nausea has finally eased and I am enjoying my food again, but I am still struggling with painful joints and at the same time I am scared about a recurrence of the cancer taking a reduced dose. The muscle cramps only occur now and again which is a great relief. My specialist told me right at the start that quality of life is very important. This is such a difficult situation to deal with. I do also get hot flushes but they are not too bad although I think I will struggle more in the warm weather to come.

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Low dose tamoxifen

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