Hi, this is for the moderator, is it ok to take evening primrose if your on hormone treatment? nothing yet has helped to rid me of these awful night sweats, have just started arimidex as well, and i can’t see them subsiding that soon, any advice would be good
Alisonxx
Hi Alison,
The first thing for me to say is you are not alone in the symptoms you describe, many women contact Breast Cancer Care asking about ways to reduce impact on their lives of menopausal symptoms.
Whilst there is not one specific thing I can say to do that will stop the hot flushes there are many things you can try to reduce the affect they are having on your sleep and quality of life.
You ask about taking Oil of Evening Primrose, there is no clinical evidence that this will help reduce menopausal symptoms although many women do report that it has helped them. Because there is no clinical evidence available relating to taking Oil of evening primrose whilst taking either Tamoxifen or Arimidex I can’t say if it is ok or not to take the drug, but I would say please do talk this through with your specialist before taking any supplements.
Some people find sleeping with a ‘Chillow’ helpful, it is a pillow filled with cold water that acts with the foam inside it to remain cool, they average around £25 pounds, they can be purchased both online, and in many high street stores.
Also avoiding alcohol just prior to bedtime can sometimes help.
We know that stress exacerbates the symptoms of the menopause and hot flushes in particular, partaking in relaxation techniques can help as can some complementary therapies such as reflexology.
At Breast Cancer Care we would always suggest discussing with your specialist before starting any complementary therapies.
You may also want to consider having a discussion with your specialist and Breast Care Nurse about the symptoms you are experiencing, as they do sometimes recommend medication to help reduce the symptoms.
For more information about coping with menopausal symptoms, you may want to read the factsheet we have written, I have included the direct link to this, and our complementary therapies booklet below.
www.breastcancercare.org.uk/docs/menopausal_symptoms_jun_2006_0.pdf
www.breastcancercare.org.uk/docs/complementary_therapies_aug07_0.pdf
best wishes
Tara
Clinical Nurse Specialist
Hi
I have been using a “Chillow” for about a year and have found it really helpful at night. It does tend to get rather rucked up, though which can be annoying. I have two so I can change them around when one gets too uncomfortable.
Gwyn
I also have a chillow, and find it really helpful. When I wake up in the night I turn it round so my head is on a different part - as you sleep you warm up the bit you are lying on.
Alison,
I am on Tamoxifen and the Onc. suggested I tried taking Evening Primrose Oil (EPO) when hormone treatment started. One thing I did check out though was whether the EPO tablets were coated in a soya product as I had read somewhere that soya contains oestrogen. He said the EPO would take about a month to work itself into the system.
Pauline
thank you all for your comments, i have found them really helpful
Alisonxxxx
Hi, I am taking oil of evening primrose on my specialist’s advice, she also recommended taking vitamin B 12 with it, I have been taking it for about 5 months now and I think it really helps although it did take about 4/5 weeks to start making a difference. Irene xxx
Can i just ask if the evening primrose oil you take is a prescribed one or over the counter. when i had lots of breast probs before my Dx and pain it was recomended i take EPO but one prescribed as a lot of the over the counter ones do not contain the GLA you need and that is what is important.
I have a ‘thing’ about EPO and soya milk as i was having them a year or so before developin BC, have wondered whether they helped or hindered. I wont take them now.
Rx
Hiya - I tried the chillow and hated it because since I tried the cold cap during chemo I can’t stand feeling cold around my head, but I know it can work for other people, just a personal choice. Re Oil of Evening Primrose, my Onc suggested I try taking it to alleviate hot flushes and I can’t remember the dosage now but I had to take it in mega doses for about 2 weeks, then reduce the dosage slightly for another couple of weeks and even after that I had to take it in much higher doses than the one or two a day suggested on the packet. It did help but I just couldn’t bear swallowing the huge capsules so often during the day! Just thought I’d mention it in case anyone wants to try it but I’d suggest speaking to someone first before taking it.
Best regards
xxxx
Hi
Olivia07 has suggested Pro Banthine in the past as really helping her - think she was dripping night ‘n’ day!
I take Clonidine ('bout 16 a day) which helps. Some antidrepessants have been known to help with the hotties. I take EPO but I think it’s a bit useless but probably is okay for the skin and joints! Just make sure that if you are oestrogen+ that you don’t take anything with plant oestrogens e.g. Red Clover, Black Cohosh.
Chillow is good if you can bear it under your head - I can’t but it’s good behind the back when watching telly or whatever, also use it in the office. I also tried Mulla Mulla but it’s expensive and I didn’t think it made a difference. Exercise helps and lots of cold drinks - unfortunately we all crave warming mugs of coffee and the like during this time of year. I avoid hot food in the evening and have a lot of salad - noticed that my teeth are now sticking out and my ears are getting long and floppy …
D
Hello again, I had come on to ask about evening primrose because at my recent appointment with my Onc she said it might help to take it. I’m sure I read somewhere that it may not be safe to take along with Tamoxifen though and that was what I wanted to ask on here, has anyone read that it’s not safe?
Last year she said to try sage then I read that there were doubts about that so didn’t take it. This year she advised the primrose oil and to stop tea and coffee which I have done but since doing that, my night sweats have become twice as bad - the sweats and being unable to sleep are my two main problems.
I have tried Chillows which I have found to be of no real help though they are nice and cool in the summer, I also have a Cobber and although cool, it makes your clothing wet.
Since starting the Zoladex and Tamoxifen about 15 months ago I’ve only been able to sleep about an average of 3 or 4 hours a night
I have found that taking StarFlower Oil Capsules with 220mg of GLA have been an enormous help with regards to hot flushes and night sweats. My BCN recommended them as a far better option than EPO. You won’t notice the benefits of SFO for at least 6-8 weeks.
When I was going through the menopause and it was recommended EPO helped with the hot flushes, I found they did diddly squat for me, whereas SFO has definitely helped.
That’s interesting, but what is GLA?
GLA stands for gamma linolenic acid. My BCN said only to use SFO that has at least a minimum content of 220mg of GLA
I have been on Arimidex for 4½ months now and the hot flushes [15/20+ a day] and night sweats were unbearable as soon as I started on it, eventually I had to go and see my BCN about them as I wasn’t coping with them.
I started on SFO beginning of November and started to notice an improvement after only a few weeks. At the moment I get a max of maybe 6 hot flushes a day, usually less though and night sweats have been a thing of the past since Xmas and I even went to the expense of buying a Chillow to help combat the night sweats, I’ve used it twice!. I still get random days though of suffering from violent chills, where, whatever I do, I just can’t get warm and get bad cold shudders, my skin gets tender to touch and I feel achey, but these chills always disappear as quickly as they came, mostly late afternoon/early evening. Rather bizarre LOL
Hi again
I don’t know if it is coincidence or just nature but my flushes have definately eased right off since using Starflower oil in combination with 9 clonidine a day. I also started them in November, the expensive kind with GLA on a 3 for 2 at boots. You can get them less expensive but you do need to check they contain the GLA. My lefe is so different now without the flushes and sweats, i would have literally tried anything to rid myself of them, and did! Think it is worth giving the Starflower a try. I phoned my ever patient pharmacist asking if it was safe to take with oestrogen positive breast cancer and he trawled through the internet and his medical books for me for half an hour and came back that there was nothing to contraindicate the use in oestrogen positive breast cancer or with Arimidex. I don’t even take a smartie without asking him first.
Hope this helps
suzzanne
and again,
Liverbird, i know what you mean about taking things before diagnosis and i used to be on HRT then read an article in this weeks Express saying it promoted Lobular Breast Cancer, which one of mine was, i also have been drinking soya milk for about 6 years, still do as non dairy, bought a copy of ‘foods to fight cancer’, also mentioned on this site, and it says in there not to drink or consume soya if already diagnosed or in remission from breast cancer! It also mentions Tamoxifen and not advises using soya if you are taking this drug. I am on Arimidex but never the less it has made me rethink the whole soya thing.
There are so many phyto oestrogens in everything we consume it would be nigh on impossible to avoid them altogether so the nightmare goes on…
What i meant to say was that i thought the Starflower oil capsules were expensive, i was horrified when i saw a months supply for £12.99 but used the 3 for 2 offer to buy them, still nearly £26 is an awful lot of money, so out popped my credit card, at this rate i will be bankrupt with all i have spent in various things to relieve the flushes!!
Suzzanne
Thanks.
Does anyone know if you can get starflower oil capsules on prescription?
For anyone interested in getting SFO cheap, I went to Holland and Barrett and there is 75% off at the moment so I got 100 1000mg SFO capsules with 220mg of GLA for £3.75. Original price was £15! I bought three jars so they will last 300 days as it’s one a day. Also available from their website but will be a delivery charge probably.
I went to Boots but couldn’t find Starflower Oil at all. They had some in Superdrug, 30 for £3.99 and it’s buy1 get 1 free but H&B works out much cheaper
Suzzanne… get them from where Anne61 says, I stocked up earlier this week with SFO from H&B but ordered them online, plus some Glucosamine/Chondroitin for me and my dog to share and some other supplements for the dog. The sale prices at the moment are truly amazing!
Hi there
Typical i missed all the fantastic bargains and paid a fortune, it always happens to me!!! Will go in next week and see if i can get some from holland and barrett and hope the offer is still on.
Suzzanne