Hi All,
Has anyone been prescribed Clonidine for the hot flushes from Tamoxifen? I have been on Tamox since middle December and the flushes seem to be getting worse and sleep has become a couple of hours, wake up, back to sleep for a couple of hours, wake up etc etc,So GP has suggested I try Clonidine 2 x twice a day. Has anyone else had any success or failure with this?
Regards, Sue
Hi, let me know how you get on with this - I am suffering with severe hot flushes night and day which get worse every day, I’ve been on tamoxifen 6 weeks and just want to stop taking it. I’m trying venlafaxine and every complementary therapy allowed and they all make no difference.
thanks
Helen.
Will do , spose i gotta give it a couple of weeks, the GP did mention venlafaxine as another alternative so glad you said about it , these hot flushes are no joke eh!
My GP has prescribed Clonidine, but I haven’t had the guts to start taking it yet!!! Been on tamox since Jan and night sweats are horrendous. If I get a solid 3 hours without waking I am doing well. Let me know how you get on with them. I suppose I will just give in, but there is a part of me that thinks I can crack it myself - maybe not as its been 3 months now!
Jx
I have been taking clonidine since last summer, after I had been on tamoxifen for about 18 months or so. I had tried lots of different things, some of which seemed to work for a while and then stop working & I’d be back to square one, which was hot flushes every 40 minutes around the clock. Awful.
Since being on the clonidine, everything had calmed down hugely. The flushes still wax & wane over time, but at a much lower level than before. My worst days are now better then my best days were previously.
I was told to start off on two tablets twice a day, but that I could increase to three twice a day after a couple of weeks. I have stuck with two, as I found that if I went up to three my eyes would get very tired and sore by the evening (dry eyes being a side effect) and I had trouble sleeping (another side effect) but if I stick at two tablets there is no problem.
Give the clonidine a try - you have nothing to lose.
Hi Roadrunner, your post is really encouraging. Do you avoid alcohol? I don’t drink excessively, but do enjoy the odd G&T. I read in the contracindications that alcohol should be avoided whilst on Clonidone and you shouldn’t stop taking the tabs once you have started because of blood pressure problems?
J
Yes I drink alcohol, and have had no problems. I don’t drink very much, two glasses of wine at most, but have noticed no ill effects. I think a lot of medicines have the same warning, don’t they?
As for stopping taking the tablets, I am just assuming that you need to come off them slowly rather than suddenly stop completely one day. When it comes to it, I will check with my GP - I guess it will be a case of cutting out one tablet a day for a while, then another until all stopped.
thanks for this road runner. I am taking my first 2 tabs tonight, cos I am at my wits end now and just so exhausted. How long did it take before you noticed any improvement? Only managed 3 hours sleep last night. Let’s see how it goes.
J
Hi All,
I am on day 3 of Clonidine and I have noticed a difference already, the hot flushes have NOT gone but the are less vicious and dont last so long,and I think they are more spaced out , so therefore less, I actually managed 5 hours unbroken sleep last night yes thats 5 hours!!! not achieved since start of tamox, so I am very pleased so far its early days yet but looking good and certainly worth a try like the others say , what have you got to loose.
Regards to all Sue X
Hi
This is interesting as my consultant prescribed venlafaxine and I was all excited until I read the side effects one being nausea yuk and sleeplessness!!!So they are in the packet until I find something better.
Teresa
well, I think I am a week in now, taking 4 a day and last night there was a breakthough - I only had 2 night sweats! Getting back off again wasn’t quick, but I’m hoping this will improve. Fingers crossed - they make me a feel a bit drousy though (pity they won’t knock me out for 8 hours!!!).
Teresa - I have heard about the drug that your GP has suggested. Give it a go and see how you do. The SEs from clonidone sounded horrendous, but so far so good.
Teresa,
Please remember that the side effects detailed on the leaflets are all the possibles ones, and that most people will get none or just one or two. So please give your tablets a go - what have you got to lose? If you have unacceptable side effects you can stop.
HI Theresa
I take venlafaxine and don’t get many of the loads of listed side effects - never seen such a long list! I have to make sure I take the tablet in the middle of a meal or I feel sick, and they have made me throw up twice, but generally it is controllable. They give me a dry mouth which is unpleasant, but don’t cause sleeplessness. One listed side effect is weight loss which I was really looking forward to, but I haven’t had that side effect, unfortunately!
I really don’t know if they reduce the hot flushes or not, I suspect they have no effect, but everyone is different, so hopefully they will work for you.
Helen.
Hi All,
2 weeks in with the Clonidine, hot sweats during the day still there but no where near as bad they pass really quickly too, the nights sweats have reduced dramatically I only have 2 per night on average now and can quickly go back to sleep, 2 is too many of course but better than every hour, I have not had any SE so far except dry mouth but I can live with that, I am going to try taking 2 at lunch time as well just to see how that goes , so I’ll keep you all updated. There has been a bonus for me taking Clonidine in that my frequent headaches seem to have gone .So thats a good SE.
Anyway onwards and upwards Ladies.
Regards to all Sue X
Hi all
Thanks for encouragement.Tried venlaxafine this morning and feel really off.I am prone to nausea with any meds so Iam not a good candidate for most solutions that are oral meds.I have tried losec in past throughout my chemo and didnt help!!!Iam exploring alternative meds for flushes and tried valeria root the other night for sleeplessness but they smell horrendous and I did struggle to swallow just one.God its a pity food doesnt have the same effect on my stomach as I would be about 4 stone lighter!!! I have faith that I will hit the jackpot with a solution and once I do you will be the first to know.
Lol teresa
Now nearly a month in on the clonidine and I think my HF have definitely improved. Strangely, was on hol for 2 weeks in St Lucia and didn’t get any!!! So work that one out. Was it because my body temperature was hotter anyway??? Solid 6/7 hours sleep - sheer bliss. I also spoke to my Onc re Venaflaxane and he advised that there has been a recent study carried out comparing venaflexane with accupuncture for hot flushes and accupuncture was more beneficial. He’s not so keen on venaflexane but didn’t say why. Something to think about!
Good luck all
xxx