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Tamoxifen side effects are worrying. Read this study

Posted by brightside21 @brightside21, May 26, 2024

I'm on Tamoxifen for 10yrs as I've osteoporosis I can't swap to AIs.
My concerns are my long term brain health.
I've daily have severe headaches, poor concentration, all the usual side effects & none have diminished.

Tamoxifen and mental health

I wish to know what other women feel about this drug & if there are other recent 2024 study reports. Does this drug cause harm to our bodies whilst protecting us from the recurrant cancer? such side-effects of tamoxifen are very concerning when taking for 10yrs.
Please comment , thank you
The link below is of another study & also highlights the problems & issues of Tamoxifen saying "Tamoxifen is
shown to decrease performance on visuospatial, visual, and verbal memory tasks".

Please read below link
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11010888/

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gracierose | @gracierose | May 24 8:30pm

I felt as bad on tamoxifen as I felt when getting IV chemo. Dr. kept swapping meds when I told her how bad I felt. I forget how long I struggled taking them after the chemo and mastectomy and was so relieved when dr. said I could stop. That was 9 years ago. Still, with these implants and having had such a history with cancer drugs, I’m grateful to still be here-but still struggling with extreme fatigue, brain fog and generally feel achey and worn out all the time…as well as with these heavy implants that just keep getting heavier…it’s like hard work to dig in garden or take a simple walk! Thanks for letting me whine….

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ksh659 | @ksh659 | May 30 9:24am
In reply to @triciaot "While I don’t like the side effects, so many drugs cause similar issues (memory issues, headache,..." + (show)
Profile picture for Rubyslippers @triciaot

While I don’t like the side effects, so many drugs cause similar issues (memory issues, headache, brain function), like statins, yet people keep taking those!
I found tamoxifen side effects to be dose dependent. I had headaches and brain fog at 20 mg. Very tolerable level at 5 mg.
There are benefits to tamoxifen, as well. It provides some protection to heart & bones. It does not damage collagen. For me, it has reversed GSM (vaginal atrophy and dryness). My skin looks better on tamoxifen - most likely because of the estrogen like behavior. If I were around 55 yr old and postmenopausal I’d be eager to try tamoxifen because of research showing how estrogen is beneficial if started shortly after menopause- and tamoxifen is an estrogen agonist in most areas of the body but blocks receptors in the breasts. But I started tamoxifen at 19 years post menopause- so a bit unknown.
It can be a problem for those who are higher risks for thrombosis and endometrial cancer, though.

I’m still working through the headache issue, I’ve had mild intermittent headaches on 5 mg. I started using a nasal antihistamine spray (vasoconstrictor) in March and do not have headaches. There was some indication that I was having sinus pressure (not in my cheek/eye area, and no nasal congestion) - so maybe the recent onset of headaches was only pressure. But tamoxifen is a vasodilator and vasodilation can cause headaches - my theory is the antihistamine is modulating the tamoxifen headache. But that’s probably a leap - and difficult to prove even if it were true.

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@triciaot
Hello.
I was prescribed 5mg every other day for a month to start. I take it at night about an hour before I take my blood pressure meds. The first week was a little tough with headaches and a bit of insomnia, some joint pain. I got used to it though and eventually the headaches went away. Fatigue is there still but no problem.
Then, the oncologist upped the dose to 10mg every other day. HUGE difference and I have to get in touch with them to take it back to the 5mg.
I felt like I had a large dose of nitrous oxide with added side effects of dizziness, brain fog and knock out anesthesia! Yikes. My husbAlso, my breasts were feeling super sore within an hour of taking the 10mg. My husband was clearly concerned with how I was acting so that tells me I wasn't imagining it.
Its interesting that you mention an antihistamine. I too felt a little better after taking a 10mg Claritin -and it was for allergy but seemed to help with the sinus pressure from the Tamoxifen as well.
Definitely NOT going back to the 10mg.
Thank you to everyone for posting their experiences - it really helps to know what others are going through!

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