I am a 74 yr old healthy before breast cancer (Stage 1B Invasive Lobular) 3 years ago. On AIs I had severe GI problems- abdominal pain, reflux, intractable diarrhea, nausea. I did 4 trials with 2 different AIs and I was so miserable and incapacitated with no quality of life. Given my age I decided to take my chances with the cancer recurring. After stopping the AIs it took several weeks before it cleared out of my system and the symptoms abated. I returned to good health and active life for a year, then my oncologist convinced me to try baby Tam-- 5 mg. I lasted a month and then got all the same reactions, even worse. It has been over 3 months since I went off the Tamoxifen and am still dealing with severe GI issues. I just consulted gastroenterologist who did a lot of testing that all came out negative, then did a colonoscopy even though I had one 3 years ago that showed no problems except mild asymptomatic diverticulosis (common at my age). Now he found my diverticulosis was much worse, and that I have what he called tortuous colon. This can be congenital but I never had it before and it can also be caused by prolonged constipation. I am sure that the AIs and the Tamoxifen are the cause. I am waiting to find out what recovery from this will entail and am very worried. At no point did my oncologist offer me any support for managing my GI side effect, just kept telling me that this was not a side effect that she had seen and was not usual. It may not be the most common side effect, but everyone is different and it was definitely a side effect for me. I started looking it up online and found that many women do have serious GI issues on these drugs., especially post-menopausal women. But estrogen blockers are all doctors have to reduce the chances of recurrence and they just look at the statistics. I do now live with the reality that my cancer may metastasize or recur in my remaining breast, but I feel that on the drugs life was not worth living. A younger woman might make a different calculus. I am doing all the alternative/ healthy active lifestyle and diet that I can and hope I can have a few more good years with my husband and to see my granddaughters grow up and finish my creative projects.