Ladies,
There seem to be so many of us affected by the recent withdrawal from the market of Nolvadex-D, that are now having to try different brands and causing our bodies to suffer even more SEs.
I just wondered what it would take to get this drug back on our lovely pharmacist’s shelves seeing as I don’t think it was the cost that caused it to be withdrawn but the licence expiring?
Would we stand a cat in hell’s chance if we raised our voices together?
Please let me know what you think! Bella x
An interesting point in all this is that I live in the Middle East (Oman) and we can ONLY get Nolvadex - tamoxifen is not available in any other form… and we buy it over the counter without prescription!
J x
Who should I make a cheque payable to!!!
How are you doing? It’s been a year since rads began! I hope you’re well and having a good time. B xx
Hi Julie & Bella,
Yes, it is a year today since my first rads - can’t quite believe it! How are you both doing?
I understand they discontinued Nolvadex in the US some years ago so I assume they are gradually stopping in those places where the sales are lower as generics take a large share of the market.
Eliza xx
Great idea I would support this. I would love for Nolvadex D to come back it is brilliant. I bet they still have it in countries like France and Germany!
Best wishes.
Nicola
I would definitely support it - how could we go about it? Just got my 2nd prescrit of Wockhardt and my skin’s worse and I’m getting muscle cramps and aches.
Jx
I suspect we stand no chance of getting Astra Zeneca to resume manufacture here so perhaps we need to explore the possibility of our pharmacists getting it from somewhere else in Europe.
Julie, where is your Nolvadex made, does it say on the box?
Eliza xx
I’ve been on Nolvadex D for a while now and was shocked when my pharmicist told me 2 weeks ago that they were stopping manufacture in this country. I pleaded with her, and told her about the side effects from generic Tamoxifen (the tiring night sweats etc) and she has managed to get me a supply from Spain. She got 6 boxes so that she can supply me over the next 6 months. I’ve got 2 more years to go so I am hoping she will be able to keep the supply going!
Jan
I bought 6 boxes of 60 in Spain last week at a cost of 58 euros, as long s you have an English prescription any Spanish pharmacist will order it for you.
My GP raised the matter with my pharmacist, and he sourced supplies of Nolvadex D for the entire duration of my course of treatment. I stockpiled about a year’s supply before this happened. Your GP CAN help, and so can your pharmacist…Astra Zeneca’s decision is purely commercial, and nothing is going to change that unfortunately.
Thanks WestsideSue.
I’ve asked my pharmacy to look into this. For a little effort it could really improve our quality of life.
As for me, my skin’s worse too and my flushes are back. I’m having acupuncture to try to reduce them.
Bring back Nolvadex - we need it!!!
Hi,
I visited my chemist and my stockpile of nolvadex is almost gone, just a few more months of tablets. I asked about the Spanish tablets and he said chemists here can still get Spanish nolvadex but not for too much longer. That is going to be discontinued too so you need to stock up if you want to stay on them. I had already had some of them I found out and didn’t realise. Apparently astra zeneca have withdrawn from about 8 big areas of health that they don’t feel make enough profit for them and so a lot of people will lose their usual tablets. Did you also see in the news that they are shutting UK sections of astra?
Good luck on your tablets everyone
Lily
Hi all
the wholesaler that my pharmacist uses has found a source in Germany but I have been waiting 6 weeks for this and have now run out of my stock. back on generics and like the rest of you have gotten back all the old SE’s. The pharmacist also mentioned that they might not get paid for their trouble in sourcing it therefore would not get it in again. Can’t win. Why can’t the health care professionals and charities like this one make a stand for all us women who depend on the drug. At the end of the day it is going to cost the NHS more as we will need other meds to help with the SEs. It seems we have to battle for so much. I had to battle to get the nolvadex, I had to battle to get physio and for me this is just adding to all the stress that goes along with having a cancer dx and personally I feel it was stress that caused it in the first place. Sorry for the rant 
Hi All,
This is so wrong, I am dreading running out of Nolvadex-D and the side effects I will experience again taking generic tamoxifen. I really wish there was something we could do to at least ensure all patients using this drug could at least be provided with sufficient to cover their 5 year prescription. Any ideas anyone?
Hi,I wrote to AstraZeneca this week, the manufacturer of Nolvadex D, Hope to hear from them soon,. But I was speaking to my breastcare nurse today and she had rung AstraZeneca when this issue first came up. They told her there was not a big enough demand for the Nolvadex D, She told them half of us at Blackpool that is on it, was on it because of problems caused by the generic stuff, but according to them there is not a sufficient demand. But I have been told there is a liquid form of tamoxifen, with no active ingrediants in it, but the problem is it is £60 a month, so unless you have a good gp ot pct, there is only a small chance you can get it. It is called soltamax I think not quite sure on spelling.
May be if we all write to AstraZeneca maybe they will rethink and reproduce it.
hope this helps
Hi,
your chemist can still get the spanish nolvadex. Mine looked it up on the computer and it still shows as available but won’t be for much longer he says.
lily
Hi Im 45 taken Tamoxifen for 4 years I have tried every brand going including Nolvadex and eventually settled on Soltamox Solution which is Tamoxifen in liquid form think it made in UK. I found this to be the one with the least side effects and wouldnt change it. I know it is quite expensive but it is available on prescription but you do have to ask your GP to specify it.
Hi sydney1
Thanks for that information. I’m just getting to the end of the packs of Nolvadex D that my pharmacist managed to get me back in January. The generic tamox tablets gave me bad side effects so I don’t fancy going back onto them. I’ll ask the doc for some Soltamox and see how I go with that.
Jan xxx
It took me ages to work out that the different brands were what caused me to have awful side effects I think Iv had all of them hot flush, stiff joints, depression so bad would sob for hours. I personally think it is the base the drug is put in that causes these horrid side effects although my oncologist didnt agree! I eventually worked out the real cheap brands gave the worse effects and if you didnt specify a brand the cheapest would be prescribed. I was delighted to discover Soltomox solution I have had no side effects I hope you find the same
It was my BCN who put me on to Nolvadex D. The onc didn’t know that it was better on side effects.
I was told that it’s probably the coating on tablets but that Nolvadex D was slow release into your system whereas the generic tamox dumps it all in one go.
I have noticed that I’ve had more side effects from Nolvadex as time has gone on but nothing like the side effects from the generic tamox.
Like you sidney1 it made me very depressed. So much so that I was unable to get out of bed. Just wasn’t anything worth bothering about enough to get up for!!! I certainly don;t want to go back to that.