menopause and tamoxifen

hi,
last year i had lumpectomy,chemo and rads then discovered i had the brca 1 gene so recently had ovaries removed and double mx with ld recon.because of the ovaries being removed I have been thrust into menopause(i`m 50) so now as well as recovering from the mast and recon i am also having hot flushes and night sweats really quite severely,i am also on tamoxifen.Does anyone have any tips on what I can take to reduce the effects of menopause and hopefully get a decents nights sleep???

There are all sorts of things you can try:

  1. A chillow - I have two so I can swap them over in the middle of the night
  2. Menopace - as long as you are taking tamoxifen this is considered safe
  3. You can try splitting the tamoxifen dose - half at night and half in the morning (you can get it prescribed in 10mg tablets)
  4. Try a different brand of tamoxifen - you may find one brand gives you fewer side effects than another - this is trial & error
  5. Acupuncture - works for some, not for others
  6. There are various drugs you can get on prescription, it’s a bit of trial and error to see what works for you. So far I have taken Clonidine - it worked brilliantly for six months then stopped working for me, amytriptiline made the flushes worse, and I am currently taking citalopram, which again worked brilliantly for a few months but seems to be wearing off at the moment.

For me the last four years have been a constant battle against the hot flushes. I still have a year of tamoxifen to go, and am hoping to stay the course, but there have been moments when I could happily throw the tablets away.

thanx for that roadrunner,4YRS!!!I assumed that the flushes were entirely due to menopause,before my ovaries were taken out I was on tamoxifen for about 6mths without any real problems,the occasional hot flush and sleepless night but the last 6 wks have been much,much worse so i blame it on the menopause.
will try anything tho so thanx,
Di.x

Roadrunner… am taking amitriptyline at night as I have shingles - and I see you mentioned them . I’ve been suffering the hot sweats through the night - I’m on Tam too - but noticed since I’ve had shingles these haven’t been nearly so bad … in fact, almost non-existent. Now I know why!!

Di,
everyone is so different in their responses that it’s hard to know what to attribute the flushes to - tamoxifen? menopause?

In my case chemo catapulted me into early menopause (at 44) but as the flushes have been going on for so long now I assume it is the tamoxifen. If you read the leaflet that comes with the tamoxifen, it says that it may cause moderate/severe hot flushes, that in most cases these will disappear after a while, but for some they will continue throught the course of tamoxifen. I seem to be one of the unlucky ones who gets severe hot flushes that haven’t gone away.

dib

im brca 2 and had breast cancer 3 times now and had my ovaries and full hyst last year… plunged into the menopause at 42… i havent had had double mastectomy but was on the waiting list when i got this current recurrence. breast surgeon and oncologist are happy for me to have HRT after double Mx as the risk of BC is then so low.

might be worthwhile speaking to your oncologist… you could always change from tamox onto and AI like letrozole or anastrazole but no guarantees your symptoms would go away… things like caffiene, alcohol, hot drinks, spicy food etc all make you more prone to hot flushes.

i have been on tamoxifen for 5 years and the flushes on that were no where near as bad as those on chemo which werent as bad as the ones i get now… i have my own quilt so i can turn it over in the night… its also a double so i can usually find a cool part and a couple of spare pillows down the side of the bed so i can always find a cold side… and i have been known to take a damp cloth to bed with me lol.

Lulu xxx

i just figure they are annoying but not life threatening so just wear lots of layers and am always going from too hot to too cold… i love my fan!

thanx for the suggestions everyone,will certainly give some of them a try.
Di