Tamoxifen and Leg Cramps~ what have you done about it???? OUCH!!!!

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  • huntbake
    huntbake Member Posts: 2
    #82
    ladybroc said:

    LEG CRAMPS FROM TAMOXIFEN
    Hi--I have been on tamoxifen since May 2011 and have severe leg camps almost every night.
    I , too tried the soap under the sheet trick-it worked for awhile and then didn't. I eat at least 1/2 a banana every day but do not drink milk!! I had a scan and have no blood clots, thank Goodness!! Any other ideas our there???? ANNE

    LEG CRAMPS

    HI LADYBROC

    OMG I'VE BEEN ON TAMOXIFEN ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME YOU HAVE SINCE 2011 BUT JUST RECENTLY BEEN GETTING THE WORSE CHARLIE HORSES AND LEG CRAMPS EVER!!! THEY R THE MOST PAIN EVER AT NIGHT. SO MY FEAR IS BLOOD CLOTS ALSO. IM SO GOING TO GET A SCAN FOR CLOTS NOW.  IM GOING TO TRY THIS SOAP THAT IS CRAZY. IM DESPERATE

  • burcu123
    burcu123 Member Posts: 66
    #83
    chenheart said:

    Yes, I have had charlie
    Yes, I have had charlie horses in my life ,maybe 2 or 3 ever, but now, since taking Tamoxifen I get them every week In both legs!! 5 weeks of Tamoxifen and 3 weeks of charlie horses~ It can't be coincidental! I am not sure what to do~ as I already do the things you have suggested! We eat bananas everyday, and I eat avocados even more often than bananas, which have an even higher potassium count. I drink water by the gallon; it is my all time favorite go-to drink, Reggie and I both drink Kefir or eat yogurt, and I exercise~ all things recommended. I read that a tablespoon of French's mustard (the yellow stuff my dad always called Barn Paint) before bed helps, as does upping calcium and even drinking quinine water. I just wondered if anyone else had this side effect from taking Tamoxifen, as opposed to the "regular" reasons we get charlie horses....

    Grrrrrrr! LOL

    your physician can give meds for it

    your physician can prescribe meds for it. Also yuo can drink soda club water It has quinine in it and helps cramps, meds like sinemet and quinine helps leg cramps

  • desertgirl947
    desertgirl947 Member Posts: 653 Member
    #84
    Interesting to Read

    Makes me wonder.  I started tamoxifen in August.  It seems to me that I have been plagued with arch/toe cramps for which I have no answer.  It's not that I have wiggled my toes weirdly; usually my arch cramps are due to my feet being cold.  That's not been the case here.  I just "gut it out."  On a rare occasion I get a cramp in my leg.

    These cramps are not a daily occurrence, but they seem to be at least weekly.

    e

  • peanutcat
    peanutcat Member Posts: 104
    #85
    Leg Cramps

    Laughingchenheart,

    My primary told me to take Mag Ox it really wors. Ask you oncologist or primary if you can takr it. It take about 2 weeks but it works.

    peanutcat

  • KathyLQ
    KathyLQ Member Posts: 100
    #86
    Drugs have bad side effects... is it worth it?

    Well, I just spent a horrible night waking every hour with leg cramps... and I'm suspecting the Tamoxifen.   And I know about taking potassium, magnesium, calcium, I take them regularly, and I drink lots of milk.  None of those stopped the cramps, that's evident.  They've just been getting worse.   I'll go back and tell the doc but I suspect I'll have to make my own decision to stop.

    These drugs they give you have bad side effects.  Is it worth it?  I was on Arimidex for 2 years... had progressinly worse joint issues... ended up with a severe left hip/SI joint/leg pain, the docs just gave me pain meds.  Then a MRI and other tests.  They found a buldging disk touching my nerve going to the left leg. Pain doc said I'd have it the rest of my life.  It was so dibilitating, I couldn't sit to work, I started working at home in my recliner, on my computer.   On Tramadol constantly and laid around a lot to get pressure off the back.   Had physical therapy, made it worse.  Couldn't lift anything.   Then, I decided to stop the Arimidex, just had a gut feeling.  And guess what?   2 months later, most of the back/leg pain is gone.  No more serious pain meds.  $10,000 in charges to the insurance and none of them figured it out.  I had to figure it out myself.  So they switched me to Tamoxifen... and now I'm dealing with bad leg pain.  And they keep warning me there is a risk of blood clots in the leg. 

    So I guess I have to make a decision.  Quit or not?   What is quality of life?

     

     

  • disneyfan2008
    disneyfan2008 Member Posts: 6,583 Member
    #87
    magnesium helps me..
     
    i just

    magnesium helps me..

     

    i just stopped tomixifen this month-after years of conmmenting on TERRIBLE painful cramps at night (while sleeping) finally Onocologist office NP suggests magnesium-and for months now only 1-2 in past ongoing 4-5 weekly

    Denise

  • Austinjewlz
    Austinjewlz Member Posts: 1
    edited November 2017 #88
    I started having leg cramps

    I started having leg cramps about the time itching started.  I have been on tam for 3.5 years and the itching had gradually gotten worse over the past few months.  Ended up it was tied to the BRAND of Tam, not the med itself.  I switched brands and the itching went away.  The cramping is way better...i am not having leg cramos nightly anymore but i am getting toe cramps on occasion.  It may not even be related tho.  Point is- tryjng a different brand may work for you...it sure did for me.  My onc supported me and my pharmacist tracked down the new brand for me. (CVS).  HOPE THIS HELPS.

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