Hi,
anyone taking vitamins and/or supplements after active treatment and alongside Tamoxifen? What are you taking? Does your Onc know/approve? I have heard that Vitamin D is important - but BCN unaware of this and any interaction with Tam. Met some ladies at a Haven event who had been told by their Onc not to take any supplements alongside Tam - get the impression that different Oncs have different rules. Any advice?
Helen
What is safe to take for achey joints?
Do you have a breast care nurse or help line at your hospital? They should advise you. Are you having chemo still? If si you need to avoid paracetemol , aspirin ibuprofen. I got prescribed codeine for achy joints. Cant take tramadol . HTh
Hi Helen
My Onc specifically advised me that I could take vitamin D, and fish oil supplements, as we were talking about bone health and Tamoxifen. (Although she did also say Tamoxifen does not have much effect on the bones??).
I have also heard that vitamin D3 is now being thought to be increasingly important in protecting against BC. Suprised your BCN has not heard of this.
I would check with your Onc about supplements as they may/may not be advised in your individual circumstances.
My Oncologist also prescribed Vitamin D3 with Calcium- ADCAL. I take 2 a day and have done for the last 4 years alongside Tamoxifen.
Hi Helen,
I am in the small minoirty of people who have severe joint pain (small joint arthralgia) with Tamoxifen and take the following on the advice of my breast team…
Boots jointcare max strength fish oil (4800mg or some such) with vitamin D; two tsps a day. This is much higher dose than any capsules I have found, but tastes foul so I mix it with orange juice. I was told to get the highest strength I could find.
Glucosamine 1500mg a day (I take the veggie stuff as I am shellfish intolerant); it is OK to take the stuff that contains chrondroitin (not fuond any veggie version that does)
Starflower oil capsules (500mg I think) one a day availalbe from Boots, Holland & Barrett
What you should not take are phyto-oestrgen supplements such a soy, sage, black cohosh or red clover, as they may interfer with the Tamopxifen and/or redcue its efficacy. So things like Menopace are out. That might be what other ladies are referring to.
Hope that helps and that you find your way forward! Always check with your team before adding new supplements.
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Hi
I take cod liver oil and a standard multi vitamin - its only the high dose mulit vitamins that you have to watch, any standard off the shelf multi vit is fine.
Used to take glucosamine and chondroitin for joint pain (doc okayed these) but given them up as don’t think they were doing me anygood. Likewise doc was suggesing high dose vit D but decided against taking this as I feel like I’m on too many tablets already and my bone scan was fine - no sign of osteporosis. Might change my mind in couple of years but for now am ok.
Painkillers - have taken & been perscribed the whole lot while on tamoxifen - paracetamol, codine, tramadol, ibuprofen, etc, Don’t think there are any conflicts.
I think the only think that the only big no-no is St Johns wort - which has been shown to interfere with tamoxifen. Have a look on the info section of this website - there is a leaflet on tamoxifen, which gives more info on what you can/can’t take,
PS my onc cheerly informed me that the latest research was now showing that rather than 5 years we are likely to be advised to take for 10 years…
Vicky x
VJ: Aggh!! Was comforting myself only 4 1/2 more years of the joys of Tamoxifen…sincerely hope will not be 9 1/2…X
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Hi I take fish oil, adcal with vit D3. Q10, tumeric, a high quality probiotic and I also have wheatgrass juice and chorella. Not had any effects with tamoxifen if anything it seems to be keeping the hot flushes and other side effects at the moment to a minimum and hoping this stays the same as I have to take it for a few years. My onc is somewhana limited in knowledge of supplements when I asked what I should and should not take. She offered no help and clearly looked like I had out her on the spot. Other onc’s from what women in here suggest are more aware of this issue. I think mine is very much traditional medicine only and that is all she is prepared to talk to me about.
Hi.
ive been on Tamoxifen for 18 months and have suffered lower back and hip pain since my Taxotere, so not sure which has caused the pain! I don’t take any supplements for this but I do take other “supplements”.
i take Turmeric capsules, 1 twice a day (from Holland and Barratt) as I’ve read a lot of reports that Turmeric/cumin is highly cancer preventing. I also take a 75mg aspirin every other day, as I’ve read reports about taking it 3-5 times a week helps reduce the chances of the breast cancer returning. I eat a handful of walnuts every day and 1 dessert spoon of flaxseed in my cereal every day (again from Holland and Barratt).
A website I find really useful and informative is Foodforbreastcancer.com. It’s American but still very good. Not only is there a list of recommended and highly recommended foods, and the reasons why, but there is also news articles about the latest findings about different foods and breast cancer.
Mandy xx
I have a friend who is a 2 time breast cancer warrior and is also in tamoxifen and her oncologist said not to take turrmic because it interferries with it.
I find it very confusing & worrying when you get different advice because you don’t know what to believe, l wish we could get clear guidelines
Dianne
I’m on Letrozole not Tamoxifen and take quite a few supplements which my Oncologist is aware of. That said when I took them in to ask her she just looked as a I took them out of the bag, said they look as if they’re very good quality ones, she trusted I would’ve done my research, and I probably knew more about them than she did! Then added that she didn’t have a problem with supplements so I think it probably does depend on the Oncologist. Unless it’s something that says to check if you’re taking medication, I take it if I feel it will help me, and if it does say that I tend to consult a pharmacist first. When I first got my diagnosis, straight to stage 4 almost 3 years ago, I wouldn’t take any but over time my opinion changed and now believe they, along with dietary and some other lifestyle changes, have really helped me, and I get very few side effects from my Letrozole. Kxx