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Has anyone else found fever stops tamoxifen hot flushes?

Diagnosedat35
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I've been on tamoxifen for nearly 3 years now, after being diagnosed with breast cancer aged 35. I've suffered a lot with tamoxifen-induced hot flushes, but lifestyle changes and taking clonidine twice daily (50 micrograms AM, 75 micrograms PM) has made them more manageable. They are much less frequent, less intense, and don't last for as long as before. I still get 20 or more a day during the 'peak oestrous' window of my menstrual cycle, but the week or so before my period and during my period I may only get one or two each day.

One thing I have noticed over the years is that if I get a fever (from flu, a tummy bug or ear infection, etc) I get no more hot flushes for the rest of that menstrual cycle. This has happened to me four or five times now and I wondered if anyone else has experienced this phenomenon? I'd be really interested to hear from you if so. I can't seem to find anything about this online, but if others have experienced this, it could perhaps be an area for future research into the causes of hot flushes. And maybe even an effective non-hormonal treatment for them!

Thanks,

Abi

  • Hi Abi, 

    Thanks for your post. It's certainly an interesting phenomenon that you describe. I can't find any mentions on the forum of anyone else having experienced the same. Have you mentioned it to your Oncologist or GP? It may be something that they've come across before. 

    I'm glad to hear that you've found things more manageable with life style changes and clonidine. I hope that things continue to improve for you! 

    Best wishes, 
    Jenn
    Cancer Chat moderator

  • Offline in reply to Moderator Jenn

    Thanks Jenn!

    I did mention it to my oncologist last year, but I think she misunderstood what I was trying to say (the chat was only very brief). She seemed to think I was implying gut bacteria were involved, which of course they may be, but that wasn't the hypothesis I was proposing! I think she just heard 'tummy bug' and tuned out after that! I'll try again this year and see what she says :-) I'll also mention it to my GP, who is super lovely and a bit better at listening.

    Hopefully someone will reply soon as I'm sure I can't be the only one who has experienced this. However, because most people probably don't experience fever very often, it may be some time before anyone who has a) read the post and b) had hot flushes then c) gets an infection and then d) reports back!

    Thanks again for the suggestion and taking the time to reply,

    Abi

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