@A MyBCTeam Member - I was on tamoxifen for 3 years, and had terrible hot flashes (every 2 hours, more or less). I was in the lucky 5% of women who get them so frequently, apparently. Last year my onc suggested adding Effexor, going from 37.5 to 75 mg/day. No uncomfortable side effects, though I know others who had problems with it. But no help with the flashes, either. :( Aaargh!!

In June, my onc recommended trying an AI since I'm probably post-menopausal. It's been less than 6 months, and until recently I would have said that the hot flashes were no better. But just recently...I think there's hope after all. I can't get through a day without several, but that's a bit of a decrease. I've weaned down to 37.5 mg of Effexor, and may drop off entirely. Will be tracking the hot flashes over the next few months, and hoping that they will ease. On the flip side, yes, I'm dealing with joint pain from the AI. But I think I can handle that for 2 years, and then I should be done with hormone blockers.

I hope this helps - at the very least, it's a little more info to add to the picture. :)

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A MyBCTea...

Hi, I took all those meds too last summer and I started sleeping much better after I finished herceptin. i am still on the tamoxifen, but stopped taking the Effexor as I stopped having hot flashes about 2 months ago when my cycle returned.

I opted to ditch the Effexor, and no hormone blockers as I am er/pr negative, but did notice that the Herceptin ending helped along with the "chillow" lol its a cold pack that slips in your pillow and stays cold all night. is my best friend as all the chemo threw me into early menopause at first dose age 40. :) Herceptin was supposed to be a year but I halted it 3 months early because research showed other than the USA very country statistics read that 6 months vs 1 year showed the same response. I was one of the few the heceptin was making me sick. im sure chemo contributed as well but enough was enough. <3 guess we each have to weigh pros n cons and decide when we are ready to make changes. I do take busiprine an antianxiety med now, eases the panic attacks that popped up outa the blue with cancer dx. HUGS!!!!

I started taking 37.5 mg Effexor midway during radiation. My ONC suggested it due to some mild anxiety I was having. She also said it would be better to start the Effexor at that time, rather than at the same time I started the hormone blocker . In a sense, it would be easier to determine which med was causing what.

When I first started the Effexor, I didn't like how it made me feel. It made me feel sort of numb, emotionally. Things that normally made me cry, didn't. I didn't like that, and actually considered going off of it. Then a good friend pointed out " do you really need to be crying about some of the things you used to cry about about?" Wow! That really hit me!! Yes, we do need to feel all the emotions, but maybe crying was an emotion I didn't need to be stuck on. After that conversation, I had a bit of an attitude adjustment, and from that point, I started being able to feel all the emotions again. I recall a week after that, listening to a sad song and crying. Yippee, I really could cry! But more importantly, I was crying when it was important to cry!

I started the hormone blocker Femara/Letrozole in October, about a month after starting Effexor . (And after the above realizations).

After about two weeks on Femara, I started having sleep issues. My care team suggested 2 mg melatonin. Uggg! For me, that actually enhanced the hot flashes.

My therapist suggested some relaxation tapes and deep breathing for sleep! Ughghhhh! That caused me more anxiety- and I was ready to find another therapist! But the next week,,we talked about my frustrations and that was very freeing! We talked about other things I could do to decompress before bed: shutting down electronic, including social media, tv, etc, at least a half hour before bed. Guess what? That has helped!!

I am sure it is a combination of the Effexor and an "attitude adjustment" !

Oh my! I just rambled forever! Remember: we get to decide how to do this journey ! Wishing you sweet, restful sleep! Roxanne

I take all my meds in the morning. Effexor and Femara and my Vitamins.

Seems to work for me.