Tamoxifen & sage supplements

Hi Resolute, the general info I got was that it is best NOT to take sage while on Tamoxifen but I sympathise with you re hot flushes !! I thought I was only going to be on Tamoxifen for a period of 5 years ( Am nearly 4 years in) but Oncologist now tells me it's better to stay on for 10 years !!! Yikes !! I was taking the Tamox version of it for several years with very little side effects but it's now unavailable and the chemist has changed my brand and I am having more side effects. Has that ever happened to you ?
Best Regards
Positive Girl

Hi there Positive Girl!
Yes I have read somewhere about the new recommendation of 10 years .. I guess like you'll I'll take it for as long as I have to but flushes are genuinely making my life a misery

I am on the Nolvadex brand, I've only ever been on this one and hadn't thought that there might be a difference between brands? I have tried the 'magnet' which was absolutely useless in my case And I've also been on Clonidine which worked but made me somewhat of a 'zombie' and that was as bad as the flushes.. I just wish there was some other option out there that would help us
I hope that your flushes don't get too bad as you've been very lucky to escape the 4 years with little side effects .. Fingers crossed
Resolute x

I have been on Tamoxifen nearly two years now. The new recommendation is 10 years, so a long and hot road ahead of me! . I am also on Venlafaxine and it really has helped not just by reducing hot flashes but also my joints aren't as stiff as they where before. My oncologist recommedend to take 10mg of Tamoxifen in the morning and 10mg in the evening. This has also reduced hot flashes.
I had double mastectomy done and breast reconstruction started in November and I was off from Tamoxifen for 3 weeks. Side effects stopped instantly, but unfortunately started straightaway when I started to take it again.
Hot flushes still drive me mad, but what can you do? Unfortunately I have got the BRCA2 cancer gene, so can't take any risks. Giving up Tamoxifen is not an option - unfortunately.

Hi Pollymolly!
Thank you for taking the time to respond & I am sorry to hear of the tough road you've been down but hope that all your worries are now sorted & behind you I have never heard of Venlafaxine?? Can it be prescribed for hot flushes?
Like you though no matter how bad the flushes get, not taking tamoxifen is NOT an option
Take care
Resolute

Hi Resolute,

My oncologist put me on Venlafaxine to reduse hot flashes. It is an antidepressant, but seems to work for hot flashes as well! http://www.drugs.com/comments/venlafaxi ... ashes.html Itake two tables per day, one in the morning and one in the evening. It works well for me, so perheaps you should try it as well. I also tried acupuncture, but unfortunately it didn't help. I still have hot flashes , but not as often as before. They are SO irritating! Ps. Red wine is no no these days.

Pollymolly - red wine is a flush trigger for me too. Add chocolate to the mix and boy I am steaming! Luckily enough white wine is not as bad....

Although I was not on tamox, rather I was on a clinical trial using ovarian suppression and examesthane (Aromastin), I was plunged into menopause (again post chemo) in 2010 . After two years the amount of hot flushes diminished. I still have the odd few, but not as intense.

Waiting to see if at 46 I am still in menopause - have blood tests at the end of the month. No periods back and I don't feel any different despite being drug free since end Jan - so I assume I am.

LindyLu

Hi
Cant believe I just saw you post about tamox brand giving less side effects. I have just realised that NolvadexD makes all the effects much worse than tamox-tamoxifen. I am now going to try to get tamox, but the pharmacists have always insisted there was no difference between the different brands. Recently I met a new pharmacist who said it was known that there can be quite a difference between brands and I wasn't 'going mad'!

Hi
I also found a difference with brands of tamoxifen. NolvadexD really made all the side effects much worse! I can still get the tamox brand and find it much easier - still hot sweats but not as bad