I was taken off tamoxifen on 1st Dec due the probs I was having. My oestrogen levels were going very high. When I stopped it I was fine for 3 weeks and then I became very low, this depression is not going and i am fed up of it. It makes everything so hard and i cry alot. My joints are now more painful than they were.
Nobody can decide if my ovaries need to come out or if i need some other meds. If my oestrogen goes high still then I am scared that the cancer will come back. Getting on with life is not easy as I still have side effects from the chemo even though it was 5yrs ago. My memory is very bad as are fingers due to the nerve damage so I drop stuff all the time and my hair has never really grown back , what bit there is is very thin
Miaow, happy cat.
If you’re still having trouble with depression, see if you can speak to your GP or BCN about it. There is no shame in getting a bit of chemical assistance and anti-depressants have come on in leaps and bounds recently. I’ve used them in the past and they were literally a life-saver. If you have a cancer support centre near you, you might also be able to get some help with talking therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural therapy (CBT) which some people find really helps a great deal. Having both talking therapies and anti-depressants is fine. You’ve having a really tough time so take what help you need and don’t beat yourself up about it.
Lots of hugs, and a little scratch behind the left ear to make you purr.
CM
x
(My user name is in memory of my two cats, both no longer with us thanks to a car and a fox, and I hope you can be more like your user name very soon.)
Hi, CM
thanks for your reply. I have been on anti-depressant in the past at the moment I am having counselling at my local mcmilan center and am going for hypnotherapy in a few weeks. I just want to feel like I use to before BC.
I work in cat rescue at at the moment have 20 cats at home
happy cat
Hi ladies I know what you mean about “just wanting to feel like I did before BC” The fact that I didn’t has had a major impact on my mental health. However therapy at the Haven in Leeds is making me realise that I am normal, it’s just a new normal. Five years on Occupational Therapy are going to do a medical assesment and decide which parts of my job I should avoid and which bits I shouldn’t do. Maybe I wouldn’t have been in this state if this had been offered just after treatment.
I will accept that I’ll never be the same again. Afterall never expected nether regions to be the same after the children!!!
Lots of love
Chinook
Hi
I have been going to the Haven in leeds too also go to the Robert Ogden Centre
I now do a different job as my memory is so bad. I work just 15 hours a week now so I can spend time at home and get the rest I seem to need
xx
Hi i am sorry that your so low , at the moment im on tamoxifen and i feel like giving up cos the pains in my legs is unbearable . i had chemo radio and mastectomy all when i was 41 im 43 and i agree the pain is so hard but one thing , i can say , is we are the lucky ones , we can still breath the fantastic air and see our wonderful sky , if you need to talk anytime please contact me , im very low maybe we could hel each other , all my best wishes xx anita
Hi, I had to come off of Tamoxifen back in November because the SEs were too bad. I was on the drug for 7 months. I had a few flushes and problems sleeping but that was bearable. What wasn’t bearable was the sudden onset in October of severe nausea, headaches, severe joint stiffness and a brain which felt like it was racing - scary stuff. I stopped taking it and within a few days I felt back to the ‘old me’ again. However, the joint pain didn’t go until really recently. In fact I’d expected that to be something I would have to live with but it has certainly improved and the pain in my knees, elbows, back and neck has now gone, which is wonderful! My oncologist, whilst hardly delighted that I was refusing to continue on Tamoxifen and also refusing to go on anything that might be worse, did agree that quality of life was important. There is no quality of life in feeling depressed, exhausted and in constant pain all of the time.
Take care,
Val x