I think life after Breast Cancer treatment is strictly trial and error. There are so many variables, so many options, etc. At times I feel we are all just human lab rats and those "in control" tweet this and tweek that hoping to both pacify our insecurities and problems and to improve our quality of life. It's a balancing act for sure....I feel our safety net is mybcteam.com.....having each other is the best thing that has happened to us...in my opinion. Most doctors have no real-time experience as a cancer survivor so what they have is based on knowledge and others. (Just added a little soap-box as a free bonus today).

I will be on the look out for feet/ankle swelling. Certainly don't need fluid retention to increase my blood pressure since I already take meds for that. I must say that I am hopeful for relief from the night sweats, as after only taking Gabapentin for 2 nights I have been able to have 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep! This basically means only 1 nightsweating episode/night. Quite an improvement!!!

I am bipolar and was already taking Divalproex so we added Cymbalta and Melatonin and I keep cold water by my bed to sip through the nights. I think the flashes have slowed down now that I've been off estrogen for 4 years. I take anaestrozole.

Just this weekend, a friend told me about magnesium citrate for hot flashes. I will be calling my doctor to ask about it.

From the research I have done and can speak personally about - Venlafaxine XR 150mg. Only at 150mg does it become effect for hot flashes. I had hot flashes that were basically taking over my life and within a week I was feeling much better.