When one thinks of a "hormone blocker", one generally assumes it would block hormone production. In a way, this is so with the group of blockers for post-meno women, aromatase inhibitors, or AI's for short. Tamoxifen doesn't fenagle your estrogen output at all, though, and is more directly dealing with the cancer cells themselves. Think of it this way: cancer cells that are receptor positive have what might equate to a lock on it, ready and waiting to have a key inserted. If it's an estrogen receptor, it will most happily and greedily accept an estrogen "key", gobble it Up and proliferate. Enter Tamoxafin...it LOOKS for all the world like an estrogen "key" and the stupid cancer snaps it up and locks it in. Trouble is, there's no estrogen associated with it after all, and the cell is starved. Oversimplification, for sure, but it paints a clearer picture, I think. So, now that it's clear your estrogen is NOT involved in this process ( the entire point) you'll understand that your estrogen is just a freely moving about your body doing its thing...in this case, producing your cycle right on schedule. The majority of women go nearly head first into chemo, which usually brings menus to a screeching halt temporarily, if not forever-the younger one is the more likely it will gimp back into production. Neoadjuvent Tamoxafin permits the flow ( pardon the pun!) of your mensus to remain unaffected until further notice.

It's worth mentioning that, at some point, your Onco may recommend ovary ablation and a switch to an AI down the road. Tamoxafin is the only blocker (that I know) that doesn't rape your bones and fast track you to osteopenia; the younger one is, the more likely an Onco is to lean on Tam for blocking purposes for this very reason. They really, really, REALLY want to preserve your bones to as close to your natural age of menopause for this reason, barring other factors that would preclude it's continuation.

I'm a windbag- sue me! 😉😉😉

((Hug))

((Hug))

Have a Pharacogenomic test done for CYP2D6 gene. If your are a poor metaboliser for this gene your tamoxifen may not be converting to the active drug endoxifen. i.e. not getting any effect, may as well take a jelly bean....

Mine stopped straight away but my oncologist says Tamoxifen isn't responsible for that. I'm not convinced....

My period stopped for three months, then started and I got one every three weeks, then stopped for three months and I was pretty sure I was in menopause, then started again last week. I have given up trying to predict what will happen. I had a friend who was on tamoxifen and never stopped getting her period. She was in her thirties then so, younger than I am now. I am going to be 50 at the end of the year, so getting close to menopause anyway. I think this is truly different for everyone and I would say that, while being put into menopause is a potential side effect, it is not a guarantee. One of the uses for tamoxifen was for fertility so that contradicts the whole menopause thing anyway.

Hi I got told to stop 2 weeks prior to surgery. I also am so glad as I had also just been to get an ultra sound as I was also suffering from stomach cramps and result was thickening of the uterus and fibroids which was also a result of tamoxifen xxx Megace has been prescribed but again not able to take anything before surgery xx