Hi everyone
I was diagnosed with BC in May had a lumpectomy and sentinal node biopsy…I have 1 more round of Radiotherapy to go WHOOOOO…Been on Tamoxifen for 3 weeks now and feeling effects of medically being put into menopause.I am all over the place with my moods…happy… sad…exstatic…murderous…tearful…The kids are scared to talk to me…lol…During my rad session this morning out of nowhere I have no idea why, I had a hormone meltdown…its tricky when your arms are above your head and you cant move…they were very lovely and have seen it all before…how embarrasing for me.This Tamoxifen certainly does what it says on the tin…Im hoping it will settle down and Im not going to be like this forever…although I am having a pyscho bitch day today :)be nice to hear from some otherTamoxifen users.
Thankyou
Kate x
Hi where are you from? I start my rads tomorrow!
Hi Kate
You will settle on the tamoxifen, it’s probably not really the side effects of the drug but more your way of dealing with the shock and stress of your situation. You are trying to be normal and continue with the routines you have and put on brave face for family and friends and especially for the kids. It is times when you stop to think ( lying all on your own on the radiation table) is when you let the defences down and start focusing on you and that’s why you were tearful. The effects of tamoxifen may give you hot flushes for a while and then this might regulate itself. Trust me when I say this will get better, it’s ok to cry and let your feelis out and when the treatment ie radiotherapy is complete you will blend by into some sense of normality and soon it will all be a distant nightmare that will only come back when you have to go back to hospital for a check up. I still get anxious and have been back today and had. 3 appointments recently on the back of my 6 month check up so it all came back and I was tearful. That said now 8 months down the line I am back into my routine, my daughter thinks I am fine and work is as demanding of me as before I was diagnosed!
Best of luck and looks like you haven’t got to have chemo so that is a real bonus!
X
Hi Carrie
Thanks for your kind comments…iIts nice to hear from someone further down the line.I think your right with my last treatment looming tomorrow everything has got on top of me…Iv counted the rads and ticked them off each day on a chart we made in the kitchen…Im feeling emotional my treatment is ending (not that I want more) but you know what I mean…I think back and it all been 3 months since I was diagnosed but so much has gone on it seems like 3 years Iv been in this hell Anyway stay positive and all the very best of luck to you Carrie 
Oh and totallyconfused Im Wolverhampton…Hope it all goes well for you…Good Luck
Take Care
Kate x
Hi Kate
I too am on Tamoxifen but behind you only been taking for a week, I am 4 down 16 rads to go … I too had a melt down yesterday I caught a glimpse of myself stretched out on rads table arms in air scars and breast on show and it really caught me !! I have been having hot fkushes since chemo and they seem a little more frequent but it maybe psychological as it seems too soon.
I hope you settle soon I was told first 2 weeks are worse on Tam so hopefully thats true but like all treatments I wont hold my breath
Good luck TC Janice x
I’m now into my third week on tamoxifen and feel absolutely fine - in fact I’m feeling fantastic. The early mild overheating and upset tum has disappeared completely. Doing a REALLY healthy diet (mainly fresh fruit and veg, fish, nuts, seeds and dried fruit as snacks, lots of water and herbal tea, no dairy, no alcohol, no added sugar, no meat, no chocolate, no coffee or tea) and light regular exercise (jogging and yoga) so this may be helping.
I have read this post with interest. I don’t know whether it is something about the radiotherapy as much as the Tamoxifen. I had 20 sessions of reads from May-June last year and during one session had a complete meltdown. The radiographer only told me to make sure that I wore an non wired bra to save my skin and I completely lost it, shouted, screamed the works. Totally lost the plot, seethed all the way home on the train (for no reason whatsoever) and then had a screaming match at home with hubby.
Totally out of character and I can only think that it was the rads as I had finished chemo by then and had had surgery.
But within a couple of weeks after rads I was back to normal and went back to work a couple of weeks after that. Don’t know about the Tam as not taking that.
Well thanks ladies…reading your comment Sam maybe it is the rads…I have my last one tomorrow so will see what the next few weeks bring.I have had a good day today and haven’t cried at all…Keyfeatures I am making a consious effort to eat more green stuff and excercise more…but as I say it’s very early days for me and trying not to be too hard on myself right now.I think mentally when treatment is over I can start to get my head around the other stuff.
Thank you for all your comments…good luck for the rest of your treatment Janice and Take Care everyone
Kate x
It’s early days for me too (I was diagnosed mid May), but I guess we all react differently. I was fairly into healthy eating and exercise before and doing more of it just seems like something I can control. I do understand that others want to treat themselves during a tough time but for me all my old comforts (chocolate and icecream) are too tinged with anxiety to be pleasurable. Also stage 1 (clear nodes and margins) but due to the pesky HER2 I’m facing 6 months of chemo followed by a year of herceptin and then the rads. It’s going to be brutal so I want my body to be as healthy as it can be to get through it, as well as being able to feel as good about it in the circumstances.
Keyfeatures,
I entirely agree with you. I was also stage 1 with no nodes and clear margins but Her2+. I was a healthy eating and exercise freak before and even though I couldn’t keep up the exercise during chemo I carried on with the healthy eating and I really do think that made a difference.
In my case because I was so fit and healthy beforehand it meant I could have chemo every 2 weeks not 3 (dose dense) and I had 1½ dose of Taxol every time, so my lump which was big (45mm) was able to be shrunk to non viable dead cells before surgery which meant a WLE, not MX as originally diagnosed and only day case surgery.
My onc told me that was purely down to being so fit and healthy, so keep up the good work.
Hi Kate, I started taking Tamoxifen of July 1st and have definitely been feeling some mood swings too. But just like you and Janice, I thought I was putting it together quite well until one day on the second week of rads I saw myself reflected in one of the machines in the wall and I felt so sorry for myself I had one of the biggest breakdowns since it all started. Rads might not be as aggresive physically, but when we go through it we have a lot of baggage in our shoulders already, and it is often a transition phase between the hell we’re going through and normal life, so we do have every right to feel down about it “for no reason”. That plus the new drugs in our system = a weird version of us. But I’m sure too very soon we’ll be able to be a new awesome survivor and renovated version of us. Many hugs to you and everyone going through it!
Carmy xxx
Wow Sam, I just read you post and I’m so glad for you. That’s inspiring to read, that of course it does pay off to be fit and take care of yourself as opposed to treat yourself. Hope things are looking up for you now. xx
DRUG TRIAL - Has anyone been asked to try out a new drug/placebo alongside Tamoxifen? I have and have just received a call asking if I am going to do it or not…
totally confused - do you know name of trial or what drug is called at all.