Hey all, haven’t been on here for a while as 4 years down the line ~I thought i was finally putting CA behind me.
Anyway… after being on Tamoxifen for 3 years and still having regular periods onc has decided its not working properly and to now also give me Zoladex.
I had the first one last Thursday and was wondering how long it take before you start getting side effects. The last couple of days I have been getting extremely down, snapping at my hubby and daughter and have been getting very hot and sweaty at times.
I don’t know what to do, i’m being so nasty to everyone close to me but just can’t help it. Surely it can’t be Zoladex already ?
Does anyone have any tips on how to get through this.
Sorry Mandy but it will be the zoladex!!! It can change your personality completely…and very quickly.
I’ve been on it for 2.5 yrs after switching from tamoxifen to arimidex but have to have the zoladex alongside. Thought it might have less side effects than tamox but no. I was so bad I was snapping at my OH if he asked me whether I wanted a cup of tea, was liable to flip at the slightest thing, had to walk out of shops before I lost it, couldn’t sleep at night with the sweats, became anxious and stressed. In the end I was in floods of tears at a checkup with the onc’s registrar cos I’d had enough (not like me at all) and I ended up with prozac. Went against the grain but I’ve had it for 18 months now and it makes me more ‘normal’ - hasn’t got rid of all the side effects but makes them more manageable. You can’t have tamox with prozac but you can have similar other things with tamox so I would say ask sooner rather than later.
There are quite a lot of us having zoladex and loads of us say the same thing about the side effects so you are not alone. Get a chillow pillow if you are hot at night - they’re fab, not cheap but worth every penny.