Tamoxifen

TraciInLA said:

Janice,
The most important thing I always want to tell women starting Tamoxifen is that there are several options for how and when to take it to help minimize any side effects you may have.

Tamoxifen comes in 20-mg and 10-mg pills. Some women take 1 20-mg pill in the morning, some in the evening, and some take a 10-mg pill twice a day.

My doctor had me start with a 20-mg pill at bedtime. By the 2nd night, I was awake every 2 hours with hot flashes. But I wasn't having them during the day, so he told me to switch to taking it in the morning instead, which really helped. I always take it with some food, and haven't had any problem at all with it upsetting my stomach.

Hot flashes have been the major side effect for me -- and, now that I've been on it for 9 months, my periods are starting to be a little less regular, and I'm having minor issues with dryness in the "southern region."

You just have to start somewhere -- but, if you do have side effects, just know that you do have options for how/when you take it.

Hope that helps,

Traci

sal314 said:

Good Luck...
I can just talk about my experience. Getting started was hard. The first go-around (back in March of "02) I started and stopped after 6 weeks because I felt like I was "losing my mind"! Hot flashes came and I had ovarian cysts that started developing. I also was VERY moody and my emotions where all over the place. I decided I couldn't live like I was so I quit it and my oncologist was none too pleased. I didn't try again until '05 after being hounded by my oncologist that it would really be in my best interest to try again. He wore me down and I tried again. Second time around was about the same, though I pushed through it. Seems once I got over the 3 or 4 month mark it was much more manageable. Hot flashes would come, but go away for awhile (months) and come back. The hot flashes haven't been that bad up until the past 6 months! They've gotten a lot worse and more often.

It did make me a little depressed. My oncologist put me on Effexor(sp?) because it was shown to help with hot flashes AND depression. I do think it helped with the hot flashes somewhat. For the depression...not so sure. I've also had trouble with painful ovarian cysts. My gyne just keeps an eye on them and I just take Tylenol when they get really uncomfortable. They should go away when I end Tamoxifen. And my oncologist reassured me that the cysts won't turn into cancer or anything serious. Just another annoying side effect. About the only thing that has been "good" is the not having periods! I really don't miss them. I'd have maybe two to three a year. NOT looking forward to having them again!:(

Gosh...hope this doesn't scare you to death! LOL. Remember, everyone is different in how their body responds. Just because I had a difficult time with it, doesn't mean you will have all of the same problems. I'd say just try to push through it when you start feeling "out of sorts". It does get better after awhile.

I'm so excited...I end my 5 year journey at the end of August. 10 more days! I can hardly stand it!

OH...and like Traci said, there are several ways to take it. I'm pretty sure 20-mg a day is the standard for most women. I started taking both 10-mg. tablets at once. NOT good. Then my doctor told me to try one in the morning and one at night. That worked MUCH better. The dose is spread out over the 24-hours so it's more consistent in your body and it really made a difference for me.

Best of luck. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask! Though you'll probably think twice before asking me, huh??! LOL.

Blessings,
Sally

P.S.-OH! The past year I have noticed joint aches and pains which I think (or at least hope) is somewhat a common side effect. Ugh.