I was on tamoxifen for 5 months and it was the most miserable time of my life in the end i got so low i considered ending my life. I had an appointment with my oncologist and told her what had happened and my treatment was changed to zoladex ive had one injection next one is due on the 22nd. Im tired and grumpy but emotionally not as low as i was im just over a year post surgery and i like to think ive kicked cancer in the nuts and give it what it deserves.
Sorry to hear you felt as bad as I did on tamoxifen. I took me a hile to persuade the oncologist, well basically I refused to take it any more, and now am struggling with side effects of letrozole - not as bad, but fed up with feeling ill and tired all the time. My work colleagues are fed up with me being irritable. I’ll have to speak to docs when I see them next month.
Good luck.
HI just read your comments on tamoxifen, iam 2nd tablet in, want to know how long did the side effects take to kick in, just so that i know what to expect.nice to know there are alternatives if i need them.
ta very much
yvonne
I’ve been on tamoxifen for 3 weeks now and fingers crossed have been okay. All i’ve really noticed is that my hot flushes are slightly worse but don’t really bother me that much - wake me up but then I go back to sleep after, hope it continues this way
hi kinsse
did u have hot flushes before tamox, cuz i have never had any before, so will i be getting them?
yvonne xx
Unfortunately there’s no way to tell what sort of side-effects you’ll get, if any. Some people have horrendous soggy hot flushes, others get mild warmings, others don’t have any at all. Some people have really tough mood problems, others feel a bit grumpy sometimes and others don’t notice anything at all.
The only way to find out what happens for you is to give it a go, but do remember that most people who post on forums like this do so only when they have problems, so there’s always going to be a skewed sample - those who breeze through it don’t feel the need to post!
Keep an open mind, don’t EXPECT to get all the listed side-effects (have you SEEN the possible side-effects for aspirin, they’re really scary!) and see how you go. And if you do have some problems, some of them can be solved with something as simple as changing brand.
Best of luck.
I’m sorry that you’ve had such a wretched time.
Just to say that not everyone gets bad SEs from Tamoxifen. I’ve been on it since August and I haven’t had a single hot flush.
I think I’ve got a few more aches and pains - but that could be from the chemo and that I’m not getting any younger! They aren’t enough to stop me doing anything - horse riding, zumba, etc.
I haven’t put on any weight either - finding it difficult to lose my chemo pounds, but it is coming off very gradually.
Good luck to starting out on it.
Dx
Hi Yvonne,
I think Choccie puts it all very well.
My side effects kicked in after three months on Tamoxifen. I really did struggle and even thought of coming off the drug but my onc. told me that it can take a year for things to settle down and they did.
I have the odd hot flush but nothing I can’t cope with.
Good Luck
Tina
x