Tamoxifen Side Effects

[Paula O]

Good mornin'!

Anybody else getting massive leg cramps on Tamoxefen? Mine come mostly but not exclusively at night while sleeping and last night was the worst--they were horrendous and from thighs down to calves over and over. Hope nothing like the cramps that hit me last night ever return again while I'm driving or in a public place, or swimming in the ocean ! Yikesaroozie. Guess I'll have to be extra careful next time I go tightrope walking from skyscraper to sky scraper. JK.

When I asked the nurse about the leg cramps at the oncologist's office about 6 months ago she said they had nothing to do with Tamoxifen but I met up with another lady on Tamoxifen who had them too. The pharmacist I asked said it's possibly related. I walk them out when they happen but would like to nip those bad dudes in the bud and work on prevention and elimination if I can. My electrolytes were fine last checked so i don't hink that's the problem. Anybody have them/know what to do about them? I've heard of an old time treatment of OTC quinine for cramps--anybody tried that? I'm already on calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D3 for osteopenia that came after chemo.

How about the endometrial thickening aspect attriibuted by Tamoxifen? If you have/had it, did the Dr just keep an eye on it or want to do a hysterectomy or what? I have a past history of minor uterine dysplasia and a complex ovarian cyst my GYN doc has been watching a couple of years. I wonder if hormonal imbalance evidenced by the dysfunctional uterine bleeding I had years ago made me more suseptible to breast cancer. The cyst was gone on the ultrasound this time but my uterine lining thicker than ideal. I'm having a hysteroscopy/endometrial biopsy next week. I hate taking a drug that can give me blood clots and uterine cancer but we all do what we gotta do to prevent reoccurence, and the risk iof Tamoxifen is supposedly low. I'm 54 and was premenopausal before diagnosed with breast cancer almost two years ago.

Thanks for any input,

Paula

[Jackie07]

Paula,

My husband used to get leg cramps quite a bit because he would over exercise and not getting enough rest. He used to drink a lot of Dr. Pepper and was not aware of the dehydrating effect of soft drinks.

Below is the abstract of an article related to the subject. I'd had thickenings of the uterine linings - hyperplesia was confirmed during my prophylactic hysterectomy/oophorectomy (because of family cancer history - HNPCC and 3 uterine fibroids caused by infertility treatment) from taking Tamoxifen for almost five years. I'm still taking it now because research has shown small benefit to continue after five years.

J Foot Ankle Res. 2012 Mar 15;5:7.
Unknotting night-time muscle cramp: a survey of patient experience, help-seeking behaviour and perceived treatment effectiveness.

Blyton F, Chuter V, Burns J.
Source

The University of Sydney Medical School/School of Health Sciences, The University of Newcastle, PO Box 127, Ourimbah 2258 NSW, Australia. Fiona.Blyton@newcastle.edu.au.

Abstract

ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND:

Night-time calf cramping affects approximately 1 in 3 adults. The aim of this study was to explore the experience of night-time calf cramp; if and where people seek treatment advice; and perceived treatment effectiveness.
METHODS:

80 adults who experienced night-time calf cramp at least once per week were recruited from the Hunter region, NSW, Australia through newspaper, radio and television advertisements. All participants completed a pilot-tested survey about muscle cramp. Quantitative data were analysed with independent-sample t-tests, Chi square tests and Fisher's tests. Qualitative data were transcribed and sorted into categories to identify themes.
RESULTS:

Median recalled age of first night-time calf cramp was 50 years. Most participants recalled being awoken from sleep by cramping, and experiencing cramping of either calf muscle, calf-muscle soreness in the days following cramp and cramping during day-time. Despite current therapies, mean usual pain intensity was 66 mm on a 100 mm visual analogue scale. Participants described their cramps as being 'unbearable', 'unmanageable' and 'cruel'. One participant stated that 'sometimes I just wish I could cut my legs open' and another reported 'getting about 2 h sleep a night due to cramps'. Most participants had sought advice about their night-time calf cramps from a health professional. Participants identified 49 different interventions used to prevent night-time calf cramp. Of all treatment ratings, 68% described the intervention used to prevent cramp as being 'useless' or of 'a little help'. Of 14 participants who provided additional information regarding their use of quinine, eight had a current prescription of quinine for muscle cramp at the time of the survey. None had been asked by their prescribing doctor to stop using quinine.
CONCLUSION:

Night time calf cramps typically woke sufferers from sleep, affected either leg and caused ongoing pain. Most participants experienced little or no relief with current therapies used to prevent muscle cramp. Most people who were taking quinine for muscle cramp were unaware that the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration withdrew support of quinine for muscle cramp in 2004 due to the risk of thrombocytopaenia. Case-control studies are required to identify therapeutic targets so that clinical trials can evaluate safe interventions to prevent recurrent cramp.

[Paula O]

Thanks for the helpful info, Jackie.

Paula

[Kellennea]

I did! Horrible! I would stretch in my sleep and be woken up by cramping.