During my chemo I was on prozac which really helped. I stopped taking it this time last year.
I have been feeling very low recently for no reason really as last check up was fine. I spoke to onc about going back on prozac and he said no as there is eveidence that in some people they intefere with the absorption of tamoxifen.
Apparently the only ones he would perscribe were venlafaxine which I have tried but give me palpatations so stopped.
Has anyone else been told this? DOes anyone take venlafaxine and not have any side effects ?
My consultant has written to my doctor to suggest he gives me venlafaxine for tamoxifen induced hot flushes. I am currently on 10 mg of citalopram a day which I have been taking for a year and they agree with me so I am loathe to change. The only slight side effect I have noticed is a bit of blurred vision now and again but that could be the tamoxifen rather than the anti depressants. I had to beg for help as my doctors won’t prescribe anti depressants. In the end, I was so depressed, a radiographer at one of my rads sessions suggested counselling by a mc millan nurse and she rang the doctors and demanded that they give me some anti depressants.
While I was having chemo I got really low. My poor husband would walk through the door after work and I would just burst into tears. It was suggested twice that I should try anti-depressants. Well after seeing my Mum through 2 nervous breakdowns I wasn’t too keen. Anyway my own GP suggested a low dose of amitriptyline firstly to help with the pain in my arm due to the surgery but also to keep me in a better frame of mind, a bit of a boost. Anyway to cut a long story short that was nearly 4 years ago and I’m still on them and they work for me. I’m back at work in quite a stressful job and and I’ve been on tamoxifen for over 3 years. Apparently they are a drug that has been around for a long time. I am weaning myself off them but when I needed a bit of help they worked for me.