Forum Discussion

Lisa50's avatar
Lisa50
Member
8 years ago

Tamoxifen-hormonal hair loss, ovarian cysts?

Hi lovely ladies! Happy New Year to you all!
It's been a while. I've had 2 x wide local excision (Jan 2017), radiotherapy (April 2017) for Invasive lobular carcinoma. I am now on Tamoxifen (started June 2017) My question is, has anyone suffered with thinning hair, especially above temple areas? I believe it hormonal related. Has anyone used products such as regain for women and has it worked? 
Also, lower abdo pain followed by pelvic ultrasound showed several ovarian cysts. Anyone else had this happen. Im now off to see a gynecologist  :(
Also, how long does the effected breast stay sore? Mine is still painful to touch, seat belt irritates (I use cushion). It is lumpy as well. Ultrasound showed enlarged lymph nodes, My surgeon says this is normal? 
I am due for more tests end of January.
Sorry for all the questions, would just be great to hear from any other with similar issues.
BC just seems to be the gift that keeps on giving!  :# haha...
Thanks  <3
side-effects
tamoxifen

7 Replies

  • Patzy's avatar
    Patzy
    Member
    8 years ago
    Hi lovely, Have been on Tamoxifen for 12 mths now and can confirm from my own experience, that my hair loss is mainly at the front ( temples, forehead ) I also have very thin brows and lashes now. Unfortunately it hasn't regrown but I get eyelash extensions now to make me feel better. Changed hairstyle as well. As for the pain, I can only say that mine is still there, after treatment and radiation. I am still on Oxy as my spinal fusion to remove tumors and repair the broken bits (haha) has left lots of nastiness.  The breast definitely still hurts and apparently it is only time that makes it different (so my Oncol. tells me).  Good luck, hope you can get some relief and success with what is 'the new normal'
  • Jandy232's avatar
    Jandy232
    Member
    8 years ago
    I had quite thick hair before chemo. My hair has grown back of course and it is ok, covers my head adequately, but it is not as thick and lustrous as it once was. My hairdresser suggested that it might be due to the tamoxifen rather than chemo. I've recently stopped taking it after reaching the 5 year mark so I will be interested to see whether my hair gets any better. It's only been a few weeks and I haven't noticed any difference yet. I'm not really expecting miracles though being that much older now and post-menopause. Can't remember exactly how long my breast stayed sore but I definitely not a whole year. It is still more sensitive/uncomfortable than the other when examined but certainly not sore. 
  • Sister's avatar
    Sister
    Member
    8 years ago
    I don't know too much about treatments but I can tell you that thinning hair and changes in texture can be a natural part of menopause. I've noticed this over the last year going through perimenopause. I assume that anything that puts you into a menopausal state would have the same symptoms.
  • socoda's avatar
    socoda
    Member
    8 years ago
    Hey @Lisa50, I initially had hair loss after my surgery and was told it would have been due to the radioactive dye from the sentinel node biopsy. I them have been on Tamoxifen and suffered hair thinning (itchy scalp, shedding etc). That seemed to have stopped but I have noticed that I am again growing a fringe so have had another bout of hair loss. I have noticed that my hair is thinner , most noticeably when it is wet. I was going through phases of abdo pain and pressure on the lower back, front of pelvis but that seems to have stopped and I have had tests that confirm I am now menopausal. As for the breast I'm sorry but I had a mastectomy so can't help with that. Hoping that you can get some of these issues sorted. Xx Cath
  • primek's avatar
    primek
    Member
    8 years ago
    Unrelated to my cancer I had awful stress and thinned on my temples. My hairdresser noticed the regrowing hair. It happened again just after diagnosis and this time I noticed I was rubbing my temples a lot and inadvertently causing excess shedding. Now I'm aware of tbis stress habit it has stopped. My hair there is finer anyways and was the last to grow back after chemo. I did use a L'Oréal Hair regrowth product with great success after chemo and I swear you could watch it growing. But I think it's very obvious when you've been bald.  Kath x
  • Milly21's avatar
    Milly21
    Member
    8 years ago
    Hi 
    i had a wide incision last December2016 and still get pain on operation site,sometimes worse than others,especially if some pushes on it,I have asked my doctor and they say that is perfectly normal as the operation and radiation can cause that. I lost hair while getting radiation but I think that was stress as I had bad anxiety,I take tamoxifen and I think my hair has thinned abit above forehead but nothing anyone else would notice and the hair loss has settled now not losing more .i had radiation in march 2016. I was quite concerned at the time too.
  • Afraser's avatar
    Afraser
    Member
    8 years ago

    I had a small panic about thinning hair about 2 years after diagnosos (so all chemo well and tuly finshed and was on femara not tamoxifen). Started seeing a lot more on my brush than normal and there seemed to be some evidence of thinning on he crown (no patches though). It settled down after a few weeks - no clear reason for what caused it but my own view is that the impact of chemo sometimes can take a long time to fully overcome and hormonal treatment can have some effect too so it may be cumulative. The dermatologist I saw felt that my normal shedding pattern (hardly any at all prior to chemo) had changed, and apparently this can happen for no very clear reason. It may change again. The main things is that it has settled and my hair is normal.  My understanding is that Regaine is mainly for hereditary hair loss such as female baldness pattern - so may not help if that's not what you have,. If you can,  I would suggest it's worth getting some specialist advice first.

    Can't help you with the others, sorry, I had a mastectomy and so far no problem with cysts!  Best wishes, hope it all improves soon.