I am starting on tamoxifen tomorrow and wonder when it is best to take it morning or evening?
Hi Judy,
This does vary among the ladies I think but I take my tablet in the mornings. When I first started it I thought it made me have hot flushes and cold sweats so I switched to taking it at night. This however made me hot in bed and unable to sleep so I went back to the morning. I guess you will find what is good for you. I have always been a very warm blooded person so I can cope better in the day by wearing my clothes in layers , just like an onion all wrapped up then ready to take the layers off !!
Good Luck with it . I hope you manage okay I found that my body craved the Oestrogen which made me feel very strange , so visit the GP if you have this side affect. Love and big hugs for the start of your Ta Poxy Fen journey today !! Love Tracy xxx
Hi Judy,
As Tracy says there is no hard and fast rule and everyone finds the time that suits them better. When I started taking it, I’d been told that taking it night was helpful in avoiding daytime flushes (the idea being they came soon after taking it) but I found the night sweats horrendous and I had loads of daytime flushes too. I then switched to morning and that made no difference, so I tried splitting the dose half morning, half evening (using a pill cutter was fun!), again it made no difference for me. I have had both Generics and Wockhardt brands with no difference in effects, but for some people a change of brand makes all the difference. Hopefully you will be in the majority for whom flushing is minimal, but it is worth being aware of options so that you can experiment if needed.
A few people find that they feel queasy or nauseous when they take Tamoxifen on its own, so are advised to take it with or after food. I usually take it with my breakfast, which makes it part of my daily routine and less liekly to get missed (I also write the days on the bubbles of each card just in case!!)
Hope you get on well with Tamoxifen and it cuases you no hassle.
Thank you both for your input it looks as though everyone is different I think I will try takng it at night as I have a regular tablet to take then. I must say taking it at breakfast time seems another good option. I will report back when I have taken a few I am quite anxious but it must de done Judy xx
Hello!
Just echoing RevCat - I think it’s a case of seeing what works best for you. I take mine at night, no probs, but if I deviate from my Wockhardt brand I get the flushes and joint pain immediately. But for others Wockhardt does the same to them!
I have had very minimal side effects - nothing more than a few warm moments (not like the hot flushes I got on chemo) and my eyes get a bit dry.
x
That sounds very encouraging Sandytoes xx
I take it at night because I remember to do it as its on my bedside table, in the morning I would forget. I figured that if I was going to get a flush is might pass in my sleep. I have had a couple of sweats but generally that was at the start and now have them very rarely at night( she says with fingers firmly crossed! ) I don’t suffer too bad daytime either but did the first two or three weeks I started it. So far so good, at the moment would prefer to stay on this that move to something else I will be given next year that damages your bones can’t remember what it’s called but I have been told only doing tamoxifen for 2 years. You will find what works for you x
I have been taking Tamoxifen for almost 2 months now and have noticed an increase in facial hair - down the side of my face and neck, top lip and under my chin. Did not have this problem before dx and treatment (surgery, chemo and rads). My Mum commented on it the other day and said it was noticeable.
Has anyone else had this se? Haven’t found anything out about it and not sure if it will stay and I need to get rid of it or what. Any advice gladly received as I have more hair on my face than my 20 year old son!
Helen
Hi helen. i had same growth of hair after starting tamoxifen- managed to grow quite a beard! Arms are quite hairy now as well. I did have my facial hair waxed and touch wood, it hasnt grown back yet- well not to such an extent. Speaking to BCN some women do have excess hair from taking tamoxifen although not sure if anything has been proved that it is def tablets. Bit of a coincidence though!!!All I can say is keep in when there is a full moon
take care.
Frances.
Thanks Frances. I love the image of a werewolf. The way mine is growing, and the ginger colour, means I look like I have the sideburns of Bradley Wiggins!
Helen
Hi, I have been taking Tamoxifen for two months and after the first few weeks started developing a lot of aches and pains. I take it in the morning at breakfast and haven’t really noticed the hot flushes that much. I do wake up sometimes and feel very hot and throw the covers off to cool down again but it really hasn’t been too much of a problem. It is the aches and pains that are getting me down. Some days are worse than others and some nights they wake me up and I can’t sleep and feel terrible the next day. My onc says it is my body getting used to the lack of oestrogen and should ease off but does anyone else feel like this?
Karen
Others have mentioned the face hair, HJU63. I have it too. I always had a bit of a problem with chin hairs, but now I have a fine down across both cheeks. It is grey, so not too noticeable, I hope! I’m on tamoxifen tablets and zoladex (3 - monthly implants), so I’m never sure which causes what SEs.
The zoladex is intended to induce menopause so that in a couple of years, I can switch to aromatase inhibitors - which apparently have less long term effects, but will be yet another lot of SEs to look forward to?
When I first took my ta’poxy’fen it gave me awful indigestion day and night, so someone suggested taking it at night with a little food or milk. I tried this and the stomach pains went (but my body may have just got used to taking it?) so I carried on taking it at night. I no longer need to take food with it. I keep them on my bedside table, so I see them as I go to bed and remember to take them.
I also have to take an anti-inflammatory or placebo (don’t know which - REACT trial) with food, so I have those at dinner - I keep them on the dining table, and I take calcium and cod liver oil supplements with my breakfast to combat the side effects of the T & Z combo (crumbling nails) and the dodgy knees I’ve had for years.
My doctor gave me excellent advice: “Don’t LOOK for side effects, because you may be one of the many who do not have any!”
I’ve certainly noticed man increase in facial hair too. Together with the now steel grey hair that has sprouted instead of my pre chemo chestnut locks I feel I’m beginning to look more like my mother as each day passes! On another note, has anyone experienced mood swings since starting tamoxifen. I can’t decide whether its the post treatment crash that some people seem to experience or whether its all down to the fluctuating hormones but I have felt pretty low these last few weeks. I consider myself to be a cheery Sort of person generally but at the moment Im quite tearful feel sometimes feel overwhelmed with anxiety. It’s not worry about the cancer coming back but more to do with getting my life back on track. I seem to have lost confidence in my ability to go back to work. My temporary contract wasn’t renewed whilst I was having chemo and I’m starting a new job next week. It feels so scary! Sorry to sound sound so self pitying but I would love to hear how others got through thprofit st six months following primary treatment.
Feel the need to comment on here as tamoxifen has been a nightmare for me but think I am in a minority group my SE’s were so bad after only 3 months of being on tabs they have stopped them and as yet not replaced them with anything else but when taking them found it easier to take in the morning so by the time it came to bedtime I was flushed out pretty much so slept more than when I took them at night hope you find what works for you xxx
Hi…I have found tam a nightmare to deal with…it has given me mood swings…feelings of anxiety that I can’t pin down what I am anxious about!!!..night sweats and flushes…day sweats and flushes…tiredness…broken sleep…4am wakeup call (flushes)…I am taking low dose citalipram to combat depression…I’ve never been depressed in my life…GP says tam can induce this…but…the alternative is not taking anything and that would really give me panic attacks…I take it at teatime after my meal so that when I go to bed I am not too hot…well I go to bed in the hope of sleeping…whether it happens or not is a lottery…I’ve never spent so much time in the dark on the sofa!!!..I am prepared to put up with anything if it means there’s less chance of my gremlin taking up residence again…not got any facial hair though so that’s a plus!!!..best wishes apple
Of course you feel anxious, Mateface. Starting a new job is stressful enough without everything else. I found it hard thinking about going back to a job I knew, with people I knew would be understanding and supportive. It was easier than I thought it would be, although I did get very tired and was glad I had a phased return.
When you actually get started, you’ll probably be fine. Just take it steady. Do your new employers know about your BC?
You are NOT self-pitying, just going through the anxieties we all face as treatment ends and we try to ease ourselves back to normality, but you’ve got the added stress of a new job too!
Good luck. I hope it goes well, and Let us know how you get on.
A PS to my previous post about WHEN to take Tamoxifen - although I take it as I go to bed, my worst flushes are in the evening - so 20 hours after taking it! I think the best advice is to experiment and see when is best for you. 
just wanted to add…the central heating is a nightmare for me…as soon as it goes on I start to flush…if I lived on my own I’d save a fortune but my OH and YD need to be kept warm…not to mention my cat…
Thank you all for your input I will let you know how I get on. Judy xx
Hi Helen + Francis, heres another furry face,ive been on tamoxifen now for 8/9 weeks and since then have got quite a bit of downy hair,but wait for it,its on my temples + forehead, conjures up all sorts of images doesnt it! i thought that there would be an increase since being put into menopause but not on my blumming forehead!!! have you seen the no~no hair removal machine? I have one + and find it helps,cant imagine what i would look like if it broke down on me,probably like a furby!!! 
Anyway as i look at it with what weve been through whats a bit of facial hair,eh!
bye,Tina
just a quick note as I said I would report back. Inhave taken tamoxifen for two weeks now and I am pleased to report that so far everything seems fine. I do seem to be having a bit of a problem with my bowels but that could be the INS that I have Judy xx