Tamoxifen

bturner · November 2003

I have been on Tamoxifen for 1 year now following 4 chemo treatments and radiation for a ER positvie tumor. My most recent Dr. visit revealed elevated liver function test and I have been experiencing some abdominal pain. I have had a cat scan of the abdomen which was read as negative for mets but showed fatty liver disease. In researching, I found tamoxifen listed as one of the causes. Just wondering if anyone has had this problem or is aware of anyone who has. It's hard not to keep from panicking.

jake10 · November 2003

I am on Arimdex and have recently had a pelvic CT that showed fatty liver. On blood work some of y liver enzymes are up as well.
Spoke with oncologist he spoke with clinical pharmacist and they say Arimidex doesn't cause this???? I do need to loose weight, which is another cause of fatty liver, so am going to weight watchers now. I do not have any other symptoms such as abdominal pain. Good Luck, Beth

krisrey · November 2003

Bturner,
I am sorry I don't have an answer for you, but I do have a question. I have been on tamoxifen for 2 months and I would like to know if I should be getting blood work done to check for anything, such as liver? Or how do I know that the tamoxifen is working, should I be asking for testing, like blood or ct scans?

katepaul · November 2003

I have been on tamoxifen for a year also and am having abdominal discomfort. I was prerscribe 20 mg per day. I tried taking it 10 in the morning and 10 mg in the evening, but still had extreme discomfort. Three months ago I cut back to only 10m mg per day. The discomfort is still there, but not as bad. In addition because my oncologist refused to give me an ovarian cancer test, I went to my gnecologist who did give me the test which came back negative. He also did a biospy of the uterus which contains small tumors. I am a 68 year young woman and this could be normal for my age. He wants to do an ultrasound once per year. Now i am experiencing one bladder infection after another which my family doctor says may come from the estrogen depletion in my body. If this latest antibiotic doesn't work I will be sent to a urologist. Somehow I wonder if taking this tamoxifen is worth all these other problems. My cancer had not spread , but was Grade 3 Stage one estrogen positive.

inkblot · November 2003

Hi:

Sorry to hear you're having these problems.

I wanted to pass along to you that the standard chemotherapy agents used for bc "can" cause fatty liver. Check with your oncologist on this and he/she should be able to elaborate. My onc said that some women develope it to a slight degree from chemo and it usually isn't progressive or bothersome. If your fatty liver is the culprit in the problems you're having, then it would seem that it should be addressed medically and the sooner the better. Please ask your doctor for explanations. It amazes me that your doc would tell you that your scan showed fatty liver disease but not bother discussing it with you at all! He/she should have followed up by telling you something more than just that you have it. No wonder you're feeling panicky.

If this doc can't get about explaining things to you, then you may want to think about getting a new doc.

I don't take aromatase inhibitors but have friends who do and have never heard of Tamoxifen causing abdominal problems or fatty liver. Your oncologist should be able to tell you about any risk of that happening. Also, the package inserts should disclose this info about Tamoxifen, if it is known.

Hope you can get answers soon. In the meantime, you can go to www.merckmanual.com and you should be able to find some helpful info about fatty liver. Hope it's helpful to you. www.nci.nih.gov may also have some info about this
as well, but not sure since I've never researched this topic there. Just click on bc and then treatments and hopefully there's a link for more info on Adriamycin.

Love, light and laughter,
Ink

cinder · November 2003

I was on tamoxifen for 5 years and didn't have any problems with it. Now (10 yrs. after my surgery) my bc has returned and I am on Arimedex and am having no problems with it so far. I am having a lot of back pain but don't think it has anything to do with the meds. Best of luck to you and I think that you should talk to your onc and tell him/her your fears and tell him/her that you need some answers.
Cinder

jeancmici · November 2003

cinder said:
I was on tamoxifen for 5 years and didn't have any problems with it. Now (10 yrs. after my surgery) my bc has returned and I am on Arimedex and am having no problems with it so far. I am having a lot of back pain but don't think it has anything to do with the meds. Best of luck to you and I think that you should talk to your onc and tell him/her your fears and tell him/her that you need some answers.
Cinder

Cinder,
Where did your cancer return? I had a lot of back pain which turned out to be bone mets. Have that pain checked out.

Jean

SusanAnne · November 2003

cinder said:
I was on tamoxifen for 5 years and didn't have any problems with it. Now (10 yrs. after my surgery) my bc has returned and I am on Arimedex and am having no problems with it so far. I am having a lot of back pain but don't think it has anything to do with the meds. Best of luck to you and I think that you should talk to your onc and tell him/her your fears and tell him/her that you need some answers.
Cinder

Hi Cinder,

A friend of mine who was going through bc treatment was having back pain. Made them do a scan which came up negative. Turns out it was anxiety/depression. She went on Zoloft and feels much better. Just wanted to share that with you. Good luck.

Susan

mammoth · November 2003

Hi, I was recently diagnosed, had a lumpectomy, and will begin radiation next week. My liver enzymes are already slightly elevated. Could this have something to do with the cancer? The abdominal CT scan came back ok. Also, did anyone run a continuous low-grade fever? Thanks. Mammoth

bturner · December 2003

krisrey said:
Bturner,
I am sorry I don't have an answer for you, but I do have a question. I have been on tamoxifen for 2 months and I would like to know if I should be getting blood work done to check for anything, such as liver? Or how do I know that the tamoxifen is working, should I be asking for testing, like blood or ct scans?

I see my oncologist every three months and have blood work done, it includes a chem 24 and a complete blood count. I think this is pretty standard. I don't have scans done unless I'm having some problems. Have had a bone scan done and the CT scan in a year and a half. Both of them were done because of some complaints I had.

Tamoxifen

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