Breast Cancer Now Forum

Thank you Clare for helping many of us see life in a different way over the last 6 months. Love to all this wonderful lady's family. From another lurker x ... View more

Hi Karen, I am on tamoxifen and have been taking sage for the last 6 months. It has been a God send re: the hot flushes and night sweats. I have sage in the garden and have been making sage tea or just chewing a handful of leaves through the summer! It's dying back now so have just been out to buy sage tablets - hope they work as well. Evening primrose did nothing for me. Hope this help ... View more

Hi JL, I had to come off femara because of very bad s.e's. Joint pain is recognised as a sympton in a lot of women. I am now on tamoxifen - same s.e's but not nearly as bad. My onc has put me on a very low dose of amytripteline - apparently very good for nerve end pain. I was sceptical at first - but it does seem to work. Take care. ... View more

hi, i started taking letrozole approx 6 months ago and the side effects were horrendous, almost from the off. i purposefully didn't read the leaflet - so that i wouldn't get 'imagined' side effects! i'm a little toughie and am prepared to put up with a lot - especially in our situation - but unfortunately the side effects for me were so bad that my onc took me off them hoping that my symptoms would disappear. although my joint pain has eased it is still quite bad so i have been referred to a rheumatologist. although i am post menopausal, my onc has put me on tamoxifen. although this is not ideal - i have to say i have been fine on it - even my hot flushes have lessened. the idea is that i see rheumatologist and go from there with regard to going back on to letrozole. to be honest, it wasn't until i stopped taking it that i realised how ill i felt on the letrozole - not just the joint and muscle pain - but my general health. i have a good prognosis and don't want to go back to feeling like crap - so i am going to have to have a long hard think about going back on it. regards gill ... View more

hi kris, i have just had the same experience. started back to the gym last week and was very gentle with myself but went yesterday and today deciding to give myself a proper workout and both times my heart rate went shooting up. it got up to 215 and was flashing red on the machine! i also had the strange flush feeling. i too am worried as i have had a lot of fluid retention lately and have put it down to the hormone therapy as it is not something i have ever suffered with before. now i am panicking that it may be a heart problem! i go to see my onc on monday so will have to discuss it with him. i agree it was not a nice feeling. best wishes gill ... View more

hi ladies, i have been on letrozole(femara) since january. i have had really bad se's. i have had horrendous joint pain from shoulders to toe - even in my tail bone making sitting uncomfortable! also have the same symptoms as laurasue - ht flushes i have now are far worse than when i was going through the menopause. i have been so fed up as i am not a whinger but my quality of life is being affected. the se's are getting worse not better. i saw my onc yesterday and have been given a 'treatment holiday' of one month. he is convinced that it is a side effect of the medication and will review after one month. he said that my cancer type made me low risk to bone mets. like some of you i was wle and rads - no chemo and felt perfectly well up to my diagnosis. i did discuss the possibility of coming off treatment if the benefits of staying on it were minimal - but he was non - commital and just said let's wait and see. i cannot imagine feeling like this for the next four and a half years. i just hope that the pain goes now i am off them. gill ... View more

when i started the menopause way before my b.c. diagnosis, i went to my g.p. to discuss alternatives to h.r.t. as at the time there was a big thing in australia about eating 'bergen bread' to help menopause symptoms as it contained high levels of plant oestrogens from it's soya content. she told me that i would have to eat the equivalent of the produce of a small country everyday to gain any benefit:-) ! thus the content must be tiny. i too am totally confused as i thought that we were ok with the phytoestrogens. gill x ... View more

thanks for your reply elsk. gill x ... View more

hi kaiden, i was told that i would have to cover the treated area in total sunblock - but the rest of me would be ok with a 15+ factor. have a great holiday 🙂 gill x ... View more

p.s. i have the brain thing too - probably from the low oestrogen and i need my brain for my job 🙂 i couldn't even concentrate to read a chat magazine in the waiting room the other day 😞 gill x ... View more

hi ladies, i'm reading this thread with great interest as although i am on letrozole not tamoxifen - i have the same sort of symptoms. i also have horrific joint pain and get really bad pins and needles in my arms. my g.p. has put me on a high strength anti inflammatory for a month to see if that helps. i have been on letrozole for almost 5 months now and was really hoping the symptoms would lessen. i have a good prognosis but when i told onc and g.p. that i was considering coming off it - they threw their hands up in horror! i really feel that my quality of life is compromised - prior to b.c. i was fit and active - now i feel like an old cronk! i feel that it is stopping me moving on from b.c. and getting my life back. gill x ... View more

hi purplelady, the scared feeling is awful isn't it? i can only say that you will feel better once you have your treatment plan - it will give you something to focus on and you will feel that you have some control back. you are given so much information - try to take some one with you for each consult - i always forgot half of what was said. good luck for thursday. gill x ... View more

Hi Linda, don't be scared of rads, most people don't get bad side effects, some people are just unlucky :-(. i got a bit red and itchy but made sure i kept using the aqueous cream regularly and kept some pure aloe gel in the fridge for when things warmed up! the worst for me was that i wasn't prepared for just how tired i would be and it didn't kick in until the last week of rads. two weeks after finishing, i am still tired but getting better. i made sure i had a snack before i went, nothing too heavy, plus a rumbling tum on the bed was a bit embarrassing 🙂 drink plenty too. good luck, you will be surprised how quickly it goes. treat yourself kindly, gill x ... View more

I'm glad i found this thread too. I finished rads on 25th Feb, everything went o.k. a bit sore and not too tired. Then last week the tiredness hit me like a brick! I feel really down and guilty because I'm not feeling happy that it's 'all over'. I'm normally a very happy go lucky person and am annoyed with myself for feeling like this. I am starting back to work next week on a staged return and am getting a bit concerned that I'll be too knackered 🙂 although I know they will be very understanding. It was my choice to go back as I felt I needed to get back to normality. I've got the '2 people' feeling too. I also feel guilty about being short with the people who tell me how 'lucky' I am - grrr! Let's hope we all start feeling brighter soon 🙂 gill x ... View more

hi anne, i had the lymph area done but no problem. i don't think the bionsen would be any good for the summer either - but it worked for me during my rads. gill ... View more

i stopped using the aqueous cream yesterday as i don't feel it is helping my skin at all and strangely enough re: tina's post - i itch more after i have put it on 😞 - maybe that's why. i am post rads now so shall carry on with the aloe gel straight from the fridge...bliss. gill ... View more

hi lizieloo, can't add anything to what the other lovely ladies have said here, other than if it's possible, take someone with you on monday. it helps to have company while waiting for your appointment and also four ears are often better than two 🙂 good luck for monday gill x ... View more

hello ladies, i finished my rads today - woo-hoo! - thought it would never end 🙂 feeling very tired this week and skin a bit hot and itchy but am slapping the aloe vera gel on straight from the fridge and it's working it's magic. can't stand the smell of the aqueous cream 😞 am taking the next 2 weeks off work and then returning on reduced hours. can't wait to get back to some normality. good luck to all of you waiting to be or still being zapped. gill x ... View more