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Estrogen blockers: Is there anything that helps with brain fog?
Breast Cancer | Last Active: Feb 23 12:01pm | Replies (15)Comment receiving replies
I recently 1/26/26 starting taking 20mg Tamoxifen. I seem to have a little trouble focusing and initially thought it was the combined events of downsizing, moving across country, lumpectomy in November, 5 treatments of radiation, the holidays, and accounting projects.
Wondering if anyone is taking supplements like B12 or Magnesium? Or other tricks.
Replies to "I recently 1/26/26 starting taking 20mg Tamoxifen. I seem to have a little trouble focusing and..."
I’ve been taking Tamoxifen for over a year now- it took about 6 months for the moodiness and brain fog to improve. What helped- walking every day, get outside, yoga, getting quality sleep, infrared sauna with a cold shower after, eating nutritionally dense whole food and limited sugar, and seeking support/ counseling.
@kathy913wi, I hope you saw the helpful posts you received from @triciaot and @mcallaham71. I moved your post to this related discussion so you can see more helpful tips:
- Estrogen blockers: Is there anything that helps with brain fog?https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/oestrigen-blockers-brain-fog/
You might also be interested in this discussion:
- Cancer Related Brain Fog: How do you cope with it?https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/cancer-related-brain-fog/
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I too had brain fog on 20 mg of tamoxifen. I found the effects keep changing somewhat, warm flashes gone, moodiness up, until about 3 months after starting. I was functioning okay, but not initiating anything new - not making new plans or starting new projects.
I think there is probably some settling in that happens, so your brain fog may lift.
I ended up seeing an oncology neurologist at the cancer center. After looking at my bloodwork, she said I could take B12 if I wanted to but for no longer than 6 months. She said I should not take B6 as I was high enough and it’s a problem to take too much, so if I was taking B12 to not take a B complex pill. She was okay with magnesium, but it was not something she felt would make a difference for me. Guess taking the supplementals would depend on what level you're at now.
The conclusion, for me, was that the tamoxifen was causing the headaches I had. I tried a 30 day holiday, then back to 20, then 10 mg, now on 5. It was this experience that made me realize how the drug effects changed over time, and that at 3 months seemed to be the length of time it took for side effects to stabilize.
Many women do okay on 10 or 20. There are studies that show that 5 mg should be enough, but not that many. Usually guidelines and protocols are not adopted unless there are multiple studies that can replicate the findings - that prove that the original study wasn’t a fluke.
I’m hoping that 5 is enough. There is no drug manufacturer that makes a 5 mg pill - which makes me think they are not going to invest their money into providing a pill that hasn’t been proven yet.
I’ve been taking tamoxifen 3 years. Last year a CT scan picked up small pancreatic cysts, now being watched at the cancer center. There is some current research being done on tamoxifen and PC, as it is believed that it weakens the surrounding tumor environment for adenocarcinoma. So it could be that the tamoxifen is helping me in multiple ways.