Yesterday, I had my second check-up after starting on my meds. I’m on my third Zoladex, have gobbled 57 Tamoxifen as well a numerous amount of Paracet, Imovane, Xylimelt, Dentipro and Xerodent. Side effects are seemingly stable and the tumour has not only decreased in size (it’s now 7 cm * 6,5 cm) but the loss in density has amazed even my oncologist.
The stronger the medication, the greater the risk of annoying side effects. I should be relieved that mine are as mild as they are. That being said, mine are pretty annoying, expensive and make my body even less co-operative than normal.
Hot flashes – boy, am I getting them, and mostly when I don’t need them. They tend to be worst when I’m sleeping and most nights I wake up at least once covered in sweat as if I’d just had a really bad nightmare. I’ve started taking the Tamoxifen at 11 am rather than 9 pm to see if that will help. I hope so. My grouchy back needs sleep to function (as well as it can) and these rapid wake-ups don’t do any good.
Worse than waking up in sweats is not being able to fall sleep. I can lie awake for hours, yawning till tears start running, dead tired, but I just can’t sleep. My onco was very clear from the start – take the pills you need to alleviate the side effects you experience – you don’t need more hassle than you already have! And I do occasionally have sleep problems, so I have Imovane to help me fall asleep.
The main problem with Imovane is that my sleep is not high in quality and I feel sluggish and off-beat the following day. So, I can choose between not enough sleep or crappy sleep – both giving me a really bad next day. An average “sleep disturbance cycle” for me is two- four nights of lying awake for 2-4 hours before falling asleep. In those cases, I only need one (in bad cases, two) nights with Imovane and I’m back to falling asleep rapidly. But this time – I’m now on my third week of sleep problems. I got a different prescription from my onco – Stilnoct – hopfully they will do the job.
I’m used to having headaches from time to time, but the ones I’ve had now have been pressure headaches that spread down into my neck – rendering me pretty useless and grumpy. Luckily they don’t occur every day, and get better after five cups of coffee and a Paracet, but if they manage to sneak down into my neck my whole back goes ka-boom. Ruins my entire day.
Dryness of mouth – that’s an interesting one. Doubly problematic because the lack of saliva is really bad for my periodontitis so I have to be extra careful. I was recommended Xylimelt and Xerodent. Xylimelt has a long-term effect. You stick it on your gums and it lasts for about 2-5 hours. I was sceptical at first but it’s easy to get used to, works quite well, and doesn’t disappear down your throat whilst sleeping.
The problem with most saliva-stimulants is that they are also great laxatives. Xerodent is a complete and utter waste of money. The (weak) effect lasts as long as the lozenge – approximately 5 minutes – and if you take more than six, you need to stay close to a bathroom. However, Dentipro (generic brand from Swedish pharmacy Apoteket) is amazing. They have a strawberry-flavoured jellies that taste delicious, have a longer-lasting saliva-stimulating effect but aren’t laxatives!
All in all, not a bad bunch of side effects (and I haven’t even said a word about how amazing it is that my period is gone) – but they’re all rather expensive!!! (that was my complaint of the day).