Final chemo!!!!

Posted by melp27 on 06 Jan 2012, 08:51PM

had last chemo today! went really good. need some suggestions for natural remidies for hot flashes too.

Am seeing the Onc for a final appointment in three weeks where he is going to give me a script for tamoxifen. have heard few bad reports about it though so i'm a bit apprehensive. It can cause hot flashes so i may need to get a lot of good medicine to alleviate them if i get another lot of flushes when i start taking it.

im so relieved that the hardest part of the journey is now over!

Comments

WELL DONE

moira1's picture

The final one over yehhaaaa, congratulations. I am not on Tamoxifen, but am on Arimidex, i was one of the lucky ones i think, as i had no menopause side effects after finishing treatment, but am sure lot of ladies on here will have lots of remidies for the hot flushes. good luck and keep comming back. And you're right you've done the hard part, so keep on at it now..... Regards Moira

Nasty Tamoxefin

jo1234's picture

Well done on completing your chemo. It takes a brave woman to go through chemo with all its nasty's. As for Tamoxifen you may be one of the lucky ones who doesn't suffer from the side effects.There is not much you can do to get rid of the flushes but you can reduce a bit of the intensity. I have been on them since August along with Zoladex injections and the hot sweats and hot/cold flushes are just the pits. I was getting them every 10-20 mins full on  and waking up several times throughout the night in a pool of water at the beginning but i have been taking gabapentin and although i still am getting them it  has reduced the intensity. You build up the quantity until the effects die down. I am on 4 per day but need to still have more yet. There is another one people have commented on and thats Endep . It is a anti-depressant.   Good luck with the rest of your journey and have a happy and healthy New Year....  Cheers Jo xx

remifem

melp27's picture

My Oncolgist suggested remifem. he thinks i may be going through early menopause. I may not be but he said he doesnt see a problem with me trying it to reduce the hot flushes.

Effixor for me

Sarah 51's picture

Hi

I am taking a very small dose of effixor (37.5mg) to tackle the tamoxifen flushes and sweats. It is much improved I would say I only get 2 hot flushes a day now instead of the 4 an hour and I still have some sweating but it's just bad at work as it's so hot! I avoid hot drinks before I go to work as it makes it worse and alcohol will give me a sweat if I am somewhere not well ventilated. The interersting thing is though that I can do 2 hours of traning in a Dragon boat and don't have one flush  just a bit of normal physical sweating and can happily drink a hot coffee after without problems! The body is a strange creature after BC. I sleep really well need the ceiling fan now it's summer in QLD occaisionally I take  "Sleep" tablet by Suisse which helps to calm the mind and it works well for me. Don't feel you have to suffer the flushes and sweats I did for nearly six months and it was terrible much better now and it's the hot weather roll on winter i should be good  ha ha.

If you are ER+ there is not much in the natural remedies well in fact nothing you can take as there seems to be phyto - oestrogens in lots of menopausal things. I have thought about acupuncture as my next thing will check with my onco when I see him next month.

Good luck

Sarah x


melp27

Profile

  • Marital status:  Single

My diagnosis

  • Breast cancer experience: 
    I have been diagnosed with breast cancer
  • Diagnosis date:  24/07/2011

Interests

  • Breast cancer-related interests: 
    Impact on relationships, Young women issues

Main Navigation