Tamoxifen Blues

Tamoxifen is prescribed for premenopausal women, when the breast cancer is determined to be estrogen receptor positive. It is to be taken for 5 long years (or longer, if newer studies are to be believed).

Every morning I look at the little white pill and have to remind myself of the abundant scientific evidence from the last 30 years to prevent recurrence, so that I work up the will to take it. But I resent the side effects that accompanies this medication. Five years of diminished quality of life.
There is a whole host of side effects: https://www.drugs.com/sfx/tamoxifen-side-effects.html Side effects that I experience are

• brain fog/memory lapses. Reduction in cognitive function is very disturbing! Sometimes this may lead to forgetting to take the little white pill.
• red face. I mean really red. Chin and up red, throat and down white. Heat, cold, stress, thinking thoughts that make me tense, and more, can bring it on. This is really weird at the work place.
• depression
• dry skin and dry, itchy eyes (terrible in my job having to work on a computer a lot)

I must admit that in the beginning I skipped some doses, and then for a while I took only half the dose (10mg). It is a long acting drug, and will stay in the body for months after stopping, so it is not terrible to skip a day. 

What may help to prevent such side effects:

• relaxation (to remove stress)
• plenty of water (2.5 liters a day, red face points to inflammation processes)
• lots and lots of exercise (it is always better afterwards even if only for a little while)
• some women swear by supplements: vitamin D3, vitamin B12, magnesium (I don't know, but I take it anyway)

For somebody who has never used supplements or avoided putting foreign substances such as medications in my body, this is a downer. The alternative is to take more drugs to combat the side effects.  Another drug is Aromatose inhibitors (AIs) prescribed for postmenopausal women but comes with its own side effects. Common is the drastic reduction in bone mineral density. I am weightlifter! This activity might make fractures more likely when taking AIs. And switching medication will require another application to the US Anti Doping Agency and a lengthy process to get a Therapeutic Use Exemption. These drugs do nothing for performance enhancements, but are on the forbidden list because they mask side effects of steroid use in men.

The side effects are supposed to get better the longer one takes the drug. Let's hope!