I’ve been taking Tamoxifen since January of this year. I’m 50 now so was probably approaching menopause at my dx in March 2009, and haven’t had a period since my 2nd chemo session in July last year. Anyhoo, I’ve had a throaty thing going on for the past 3 or 4 months which my GP is investigating (not sore, just feels inflamed). He put me on Paroxetine as a “diagnostic tool” to see if it was being caused by anxiety. I’d been on it for two and a half weeks when someone at a breast cancer care info session just happened to mention that it stops Tamoxifen working, so I came straight off it (about 5 weeks ago). I’m sure it had interfered with the Tam, because when I stopped taking the Paroxetine it was just like starting Tam all over again, nausea, constipation etc. What is worrying me now is that I’ve recently started experiencing symptoms that I used to get when I was still getting periods - discomfort around the area where the ovaries are, itching in the neck area below the ears - I’ve always linked these symptoms with hormones and am wondering if the Tam is still working ok. Just wondered if anyone else had any similar experience? (Sorry if this is a bit rambly!)
Hi Squirrel
It doesn’t matter if you still have periods whilst taking tamoxifen, it doesn’t mean the Tam is not working. My understanding is that the tamoxifen binds to the hormone receptors on the outside of any stray BC cells that might be lurking. This can have the effect of lowering hormone levels in the body hence flushes etc but not everyone experiences this. I was 38 when I started taking Tam and continued to have periods all the way through. Some oncs go one level further and prescribe treatment to actively shut down the ovaries but I think this is again dependant upon the presence of certain characteristics in the original tuomour as not everyone has this treatment as well.
The only thing I would question with your treatment is that I believe once you are post menopausal then the tamoxifen is switched to another medicine that is more effective in post meno women. Therefore as you are in that “cusp” age group it might be worth asking your GP for a blood test to verify whether you are menopausal or not.
Hope this helps xxx
Thanks for your reply. I had assumed I wasn’t getting periods because of the chemo and then the Tam, so I’ll ask about this next time I see my onc. Since stopping chemo/rads, I seem to have one niggling symptom after another, but I guess this is just a combination of Tam and my age! Take care, Squirrel
Has any one of you here has used Generic for Nolvadex (Tamoxifen)http://www.internationaldrugmart.com/nolvadex.html