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Did you gain weight on Tamoxifen? What helps?
Breast Cancer | Last Active: Jan 10 6:23pm | Replies (50)Comment receiving replies
Thank you for your sensitive and thoughtful response. I appreciate it.
I have been on Tamoxifen for four years -- with at least 6 to go. I had a very aggressive triple positive tumor -- thankfully caught early. I was very healthy then and able to tolerate high doses of chemo and lots of radiation. After four years on tamoxifen I am like an 85 year old version of myself at 50.
I know what you are saying and I do try to have perspective but some days I wonder what I am fighting for when I have so much difficulty tolerating Tamoxifen. I did ask the head of endocrinology and my oncologist and they were not able to recommend anything different.
It isn't just weight gain, it is devastating hot flashes and sweats and nausea and fatigue. I am in constant pain and I have lost my vitality. It is not a life I recognize. I was a runner. I ran 10 kms every day. I was fit and health and trim. I was strong physically and I worked hard to take care of myself with good healthy food and health supporting habits. I am not even remotely that person any longer and I cannot even look in a mirror. It is devastating.
Replies to "Thank you for your sensitive and thoughtful response. I appreciate it. I have been on Tamoxifen..."
I'm so sorry for how hard that must be. I have just started taking Tamoxifen and have mild side effects- mild hot flashes and tiredness but I don't know if the tiredness is from life or the Tamoxifen? So far I haven't gained weight yet but I am trying to watch it. This cancer journey is hard and no one tells you about how the journey just keeps going well after the initial treatment. Hang in there!
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You might need to see a different doctor, get a second opinion. There are too many choices for you to not have even one other try.
Especially if you are 50 and have been on it four years. This is the first choice for premenopausal women, but I would ponder if you were still truly premenopausal.
I had my ovaries removed and then took tamoxifen for 5 and anastrazole for 10. I was 38 at diagnosis. I will tell you the last 19 years have not been easy, but I like to focus on the good things in my life.
I sweat like an ice bucket on a hot day, and feel like someone set my head on fire most of the time, but I keep paper fans close by and have small rechargeable fans around my living space.
If I have a choice between dusting the house and tacking up for a ride. I will take the ride every time.
There are hardships in survivorship, there will be things we grieve in survivorship. I miss my 155lb body, but I love the years I have been able to spend with my husband whom I found too late in life. I love all the time I have spent making sure every member of my family has had the care they deserved. Most of all I love being able to look back on 19 years and say, yep, I did that. I feel like if I can do that (chemo, radiation, 7 surgeries, more chemo, and let’s not forget all that endocrine therapy) I can now take anything life throws my way.
It might be hard but…………..you got this❣️