How to minimize hot flashes from Tamoxifen?

ender
ender Member Posts: 167
edited February 2023 in Breast Cancer #1
Hi everyone.

I am hoping some of you might have found the best way to minimize suffering from hot flashes. I have tried acupuncture and it worked initially but does not seem to work anymore. I take my tamoxifen at 7.30 pm everyday. During the night, I wake up every two hours like clock work. Is it better to take the pill in the morning? Are there other ways you have found to minimize your hot flashes?

All comments are much appreciated.

Eva
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Comments

  • teresa41
    teresa41 Member Posts: 471
    #2
    i would switch to mornings
    i have been on tamoxifen since 2009 i was taking mine later in the day and was having night sweats i switched to taking it in the morning and the night sweats were gone. we are all different but i havent had the problem with hot flashes since i started taking it.


    good luck to you hope it gets better.

    teresa
  • LoveBabyJesus
    LoveBabyJesus Member Posts: 1,679 Member
    #3
    Tamox
    I take it at night (about to take it now), at 9PM. I stopped having hot flashes last Nov. Started the pill last Aug. I even get my periods now! Since January of this year. Do you take vit D.? I hear it helps, which I find strange. I am taking vit. D. everyday. I hope it gets much better for you soon...
  • epark
    epark Member Posts: 339
    #4
    teresa41 said:

    i would switch to mornings
    i have been on tamoxifen since 2009 i was taking mine later in the day and was having night sweats i switched to taking it in the morning and the night sweats were gone. we are all different but i havent had the problem with hot flashes since i started taking it.


    good luck to you hope it gets better.

    teresa

    Hi eva ... I too get
    Hi eva ... I too get ridiculous night sweat and hot flashes it lasts for a couple of minute but it feel like forever..i take my pill before I go to bed..maybe I should switch it to the morning...

    Good luck
    Eva
  • ender
    ender Member Posts: 167
    #5
    LoveBabyJesus said:

    Tamox
    I take it at night (about to take it now), at 9PM. I stopped having hot flashes last Nov. Started the pill last Aug. I even get my periods now! Since January of this year. Do you take vit D.? I hear it helps, which I find strange. I am taking vit. D. everyday. I hope it gets much better for you soon...

    Thanks for all the comments
    Thanks for all the comments guys! I will try switching to mornings by taking it one hour earlier each day. I do take vitamin D and I have my periods yet still get hot flashes. Was told that hot flashes from tamoxifen are different from those from menopause. Again thanks so much!

    Eva
  • sdukowitz
    sdukowitz Member Posts: 250
    #6
    Try a small table fan on low
    Try a small table fan on low at night and cotton sheets only ..... even in winter this hhas helped me at night If I take the tamoxifin in the morning the hot flashes are really bad while i am teaching soI take it abiut 8 at night and put up with the heat waves
    I am extremeely tired though from waking up in such a sweat during the night but it reminds me that the tamoxifin is doing its job! Best of luck and prayers for your hot flashes .... I understand thoroughly it is the pits though!
  • robang13
    robang13 Member Posts: 333
    #7
    Eva, mine were so bad I was
    Eva, mine were so bad I was put on Effexor. Now they are tolerable. I would walk around with a beat red face and dripping, it was so bad. W/i 2 weeks of Effexor I felt 90% better.

    angela
  • debi.18
    debi.18 Member Posts: 850 Member
    #8
    robang13 said:

    Eva, mine were so bad I was
    Eva, mine were so bad I was put on Effexor. Now they are tolerable. I would walk around with a beat red face and dripping, it was so bad. W/i 2 weeks of Effexor I felt 90% better.

    angela

    Effexor~
    My onc also prescribed Effexor for me. What a miracle! Mine are so mild now I hardly notice them. It started working after just a couple of days!

    Now.....if they would only give me a pill for the weight gain!

    Hugs, Debi
  • Frankie Shannon
    Frankie Shannon Member Posts: 457
    #9
    I started Tamoxifen in
    I started Tamoxifen in Aug.2010 and my onc. put me on gabapentin which helps with the hot flashes they don't go away but are diminished and i sleep all night.I take my Tamoxifen in the morning and 2 gabapentin at lunch and 2 at night which comes to 1200 mg a day.So i never no if i have night sweats or not.Getting a good night sleep is very important for our recovery.
    Hugs Frankie
  • bad121749
    bad121749 Member Posts: 31
    #10
    Arimidex doing the same thing
    I've been on Arimidex close to 1 year and can't sleep for the hot flashes. The oncologist doesn't even want me on any soy products to decrease the flashes. I think I'll ask him about the Effexer. Thanks.
  • mom62
    mom62 Member Posts: 604 Member
    #11
    bad121749 said:

    Arimidex doing the same thing
    I've been on Arimidex close to 1 year and can't sleep for the hot flashes. The oncologist doesn't even want me on any soy products to decrease the flashes. I think I'll ask him about the Effexer. Thanks.

    Effexor
    Hi,

    I also was put on effexor for the hot flashes. I was on tamoxafin and now on Arimidex. It does help.

    Terry
  • DebbyB
    DebbyB Member Posts: 86
    #12
    Peppermint Oil
    A friend turned me on to peppermint oil Saturday morning. I rolled my eyes a bit, but tried it over the weekend. This is heaven sent! Put a few drops of peppermint oil on the back of your neck. Honestly, I didn't think it would work, but it does.
  • Battscave
    Battscave Member Posts: 14
    #13
    DebbyB said:

    Peppermint Oil
    A friend turned me on to peppermint oil Saturday morning. I rolled my eyes a bit, but tried it over the weekend. This is heaven sent! Put a few drops of peppermint oil on the back of your neck. Honestly, I didn't think it would work, but it does.

    I was told to try black
    I was told to try black cohosh from the local health food store. I take Effexor too to try and calm down the hot flashes, and this seems to be working for me. Thank God
  • Battscave
    Battscave Member Posts: 14
    #14
    DebbyB said:

    Peppermint Oil
    A friend turned me on to peppermint oil Saturday morning. I rolled my eyes a bit, but tried it over the weekend. This is heaven sent! Put a few drops of peppermint oil on the back of your neck. Honestly, I didn't think it would work, but it does.

    I was told to try black
    I was told to try black cohosh from the local health food store. I take Effexor too to try and calm down the hot flashes, and this seems to be working for me. Thank God
  • Battscave
    Battscave Member Posts: 14
    #15
    DebbyB said:

    Peppermint Oil
    A friend turned me on to peppermint oil Saturday morning. I rolled my eyes a bit, but tried it over the weekend. This is heaven sent! Put a few drops of peppermint oil on the back of your neck. Honestly, I didn't think it would work, but it does.

    I was told to try black
    I was told to try black cohosh from the local health food store. I take Effexor too to try and calm down the hot flashes, and this seems to be working for me. Thank God
  • DebbyB
    DebbyB Member Posts: 86
    #16
    Battscave said:

    I was told to try black
    I was told to try black cohosh from the local health food store. I take Effexor too to try and calm down the hot flashes, and this seems to be working for me. Thank God

    black cohosh
    My Dr told me not to take black cohosh. He also said herbal medicines can interfere with breast cancer treatments, so I run everything past him first.
  • disneyfan2008
    disneyfan2008 Member Posts: 6,583 Member
    #17
    through meno and on
    through meno and on tamoxifen I have very mild hot flashes is you want to call them that..compared to other discriptions. I had hysterectomy in May due to tamoxifen and still not bad afterwards. (I had thickening of uterus)

    Denise
  • CypressCynthia
    CypressCynthia Member Posts: 4,014 Member
    #18
    Back before antidepressants
    Back before antidepressants were used for menopausal symptoms (yes I am that old of a survivor!), I was put on an old drug called Bellergal-S. It is a little this and a little that. It has an ergot for headaches, a small amount of phenobarbital and belladonna. Sounds like witchcraft, but it saved me. It can be addicting (low potential), but I had no problem at all weaning off after perimenopause. I think it is still around, but not used much?
  • Heatherbelle
    Heatherbelle Member Posts: 1,226 Member
    #19
    Hi Eva :) per my
    Hi Eva :) per my oncologist's suggestion I started taking vitamin e daily to help with the hot flashes. I'm no longer on tamoxifen, but since I had a hysterectomy last year i still get the hot flashes & night sweats - the vitamin e helps tremendously with those, and my hot flashes are less frequent and less intense, and the night sweats have all but disappeared!
    *hugs*
    heather
  • JuJuBeez
    JuJuBeez Member Posts: 332
    #20
    I'm 2 1/2 years in with
    I'm 2 1/2 years in with Tamoxifen. My hot flashes have reached Global Warming these past couple of weeks. I told my gyno today, and he prescribed Clonodine. I already use 75 mg of Effexor, taken as 37.5 mg 2x/day. I will report how it works after I've taken it for a while. If it works, he's my new BFF.

    I am def going to get some Peppermint oil. I used that on the back of my neck once last summer, and it was soothing.

    I'm thinking of making gel inserts for bras that go in the freezer and pop in for relief. Or make bras themselves that can go in the freezer. LOL. I'm getting desperate.
  • RozHopkins
    RozHopkins Member Posts: 578 Member
    #21
    Tamoxifen
    Yes, terrible hot flashes. No matter when I take it I personally still get flashes through the night countless times. The ceiling fan we had put up is a godsend. Wear mainly or only cotton, bedding too as previously mentioned. Fan at work on your desk would be a good idea, if you have a desk, and a hand held fan in your purse. Effexor I use too and it does help some but they are still frequent and uncomfortable to say the least. Avoid if you can, spicy foods, hot drinks and alcohol. It's just not fare is it..................... Like one other lady mentions at least I know it is working. Good luck.

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