tamoxifen anyone on this drug?

miraclemom · April 2003

After I finished my chemo treatments started taking tamoxifen because my cancer is hormone fed and they had to regulate my system with this drug.After taking it only 2 months I started to bleed and i hadnt had a period in over 8 months.I called my doctor who took me off the tamoxifen but by the next day I was in the emergency room bleeding so heavy my blood count dropped from 14 to 10 within an hour.My doctor came in and did surgery to remove all my female organs.They found a tumor which had grown because of the tamoxifen-this tumor was feeding of this drug which caused my bleeding.After all this I was informed that it was a risk of taking the tamoxifen.I would like to know if anyone has experienced any side effects from taking this drug.I am back on this drug,told I have to be so my breast cancer doesnt return.Any feed back would be helpful.Also having problems with hot flashes which are really bad at night,I dont want to take any more drugs from the doctor so anyone have some helpful ideas?

cruf · April 2003

Hi! I've been on Tamoxifen for 2 1/2 years and the only side effects I have are HOT FLASHES and Night sweats! They don't seem to be letting up at all. I've been taking vitamin E 800IU's all along but it doesn't seem to help although I'm afraid to stop in case it's helping a little. I tried Paxil as well as neurontin but had side effects from both so I decided to put up with the hot flashes. I guess I've lasted this long so being cancer free is worth hot flashes. Good luck! I hope you aren't too uncomfortable!There are many herbal remedies but check with your MD before taking any of these.Keep in touch. HUGS!! Cathy

PennyL · April 2003

Hi, again. I also have really bad hot flashes from the tamoxifen. My doctor prescribed Bellamine. About an hour or so after taking it I have a gigantic hot flash. But when I recover from that, I sleep really well for about 7 or 8 hours. It can only be taken once in 24 hours, but at least there is relief for awhile and I am a much nicer person if I can sleep every night. Penny

hummingbyrd · April 2003

No way do you have to be on tamoxifen m-mom! It's really becoming 'outdated' in the treatment for ER+ tumors. The better choice in most cases is Arimidex or Aromasin. Check these out on cancer.gov and ask your doc about them. I think if he switches meds you'll notice a significant improvement. If it were me I'd certainly be questioning my MD about the safety of Tamoxifen with you. It's obvious it had negative side effects on your uterus, logically speaking I'd be concerned about other side effects elsewhere. This may be your body's way of saying 'this is not good'! BUT do not stop it on your own. I am not recommending that. I would call MD and ask him about switching meds. Hope this helps! God bless. hummingbyrd

debl · April 2003

hi!i am new to this posting stuff, so i hope you get this message. i had a reocurrance in may2000, i then had a mast.& immediate reconstruction.in oct. It was then that they put me on tamoxifin. I really didn't expect any side effects because mom was on it for 5 yrs & did well. i was getting bad stomach pain so they ran tests& found that i had a thickening of the uterus& a sizable cyst. which they drained(OUCH!) and did a biopsy which came back negative!!(thank God!!) Although this happened, it never affected otherwise.. My dr. did determine that the cause was the meds&changed me to a new one which he says is as effective in treating bc patientsas tamoxifin. it is called Arimidex. The first ime i had cancer' (in94) it put me through menopause which made me think i was nuts because i couldn't tell what symptoms were chemo. and what was menopause. now with the new meds i too, have them all over again. what ive read on the net seems to be what my friends are saying works& that is black cohash& evening primrose .i havn't tried it yet,but my friends seem to be happier! hope this may help some! deb L

Survior · April 2003

PennyL said:
Hi, again. I also have really bad hot flashes from the tamoxifen. My doctor prescribed Bellamine. About an hour or so after taking it I have a gigantic hot flash. But when I recover from that, I sleep really well for about 7 or 8 hours. It can only be taken once in 24 hours, but at least there is relief for awhile and I am a much nicer person if I can sleep every night. Penny

I have been on tamoxifen for 3 1/2 years. I also take the Bellamine. I was told by my doctor I could take it twice a day, but I only take it at night. Still have a few night sweats, but not as bad as if I don't take the meds. I find that tamoxifen also puts weight on you. Did or do you have that problem?

nasa2537 · April 2003

Hi...I've been on the tamoxifen for 16 months now, and had no problems except hot flashes and night sweats. My hubby read in Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book to try 800 IU of Vitamin E daily. I have been taking it for about 6 months, and only get hot flashes around my period now. Other than that, I've had no problems with it. I was kind of hoping it would throw me into false menopause so I wouldn't have to deal with the periods any more...LOL!! Oh well...it has lengthened my cycle from 28 to 30 days, and the periods are lighter. I figured that I would rather put up with the risks from the tamoxifen than have the cancer come back, so I just try not to think about side effects. Good luck to you. Hugs, Cyndi

BFortner · April 2003

My breast cancer is also estrogen positive and I've taken Tamoxifen for 17 years, just recently discontinuing it. I have never had any problems with Tamoxifen, praise the Lord, and view it as a miracle drug - for as you know without it we would have had to have a hysterectomy. Only recently have I had some bleeding and have had to have endo biopsies, but this is due to my being 50 years old and starting to go through the change.

May God richly bless you.

Bonnie

j300 · April 2003

I was on tamoxifen for almost a year, but became so depressed that my doctor took me off it. I did gain some weight and had hot flashes while on it. That was almost 7 years ago and mild hot flashes have started in the last year. Some friends who have never had cancer say that they think hot flashes, in some degree, continue forever. I hope not. I never found anything that helped very much, but just spraying yourself with water sometimes will cool you off enought to go back to sleep.

tamoxifen anyone on this drug?

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