Tamoxifen Cured My Migraines

I just started Tamoxifen 10 days ago after lumpectomy and radiation for ER+. Breast cancer. Clear margins, sentinel node negative. My oncologist recommended radiation and IV chemo for one year. I agreed to radiation, refused chemo. Arimidex recommended, I agreed and started taking as soon as I finished 6 weeks of radiation. I was unable to tolerate the joint pain and bone aches, and the very frequent and severe hot flashes so I stopped Arimidex after 3 months.
That was 3 years ago. At my last oncology visit, my doctor recommended I start Tamoxifen just to be safe, as I have no signs or symptoms of recurrence. I reluctantly agreed to give it a try and started it 10 days ago. The amazing thing about starting tamoxifen is that my almost daily migraines have suddenly stopped. I have had severe migraines since puberty, and they have gotten worse and more frequent in the last few years. I have been under the care of a neurologist, and have taken Imitrex (sumatriptan) since it was first introduced. Nothing has ever before stopped my frequent migraine headaches, ever!
I fear this is too good to be true, and it is a short time to draw a conclusion, but I am hopeful.
Just wanted to share this observation, also I have noticed a little word-searching in my speech for last couple of days. Is this a possible side effect? I note that mental confusion has been mentioned as a possible side effect of tamoxifen.
I once took Topimax for a brief time for migraine relief and experienced decreased cognition and aphasia-type word searching which stopped immediately when Topimax was stopped, so I am extra-sensitive to this situation. It would be a deal-breaker if the cognition impairment is related, but it is too soon to tell. Incidentally,I had a hysterectomy-oopherectomy 20 years ago.

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Hello, Carolina! How are you? I'm very glad that you've beaten cancer and your headaches! That's awesome!

There could be an explanation for this, your headaches may have been caused by estrogen. Tamoxifen actually blocks its action, which is why its used to treat or prevent recurrence of hormone-receptor positive cancers.

Many women do experience hormonal headaches, so the doctors might not have looked for the proper cause of yours. It's happened many times that a woman has suffered migraines for most of her life, only to have them go away, after menopause, when the amount of estrogen in her body drops.

Other side effects to Tamoxifen, as listed by the FDA, may possibly include nausea, blurred vision, unusual vaginal discharge, change in menstrual cycle and weight loss.

Is there anything I can help with?

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I am having mixed results with the tamoxifen with regard to complete migraine cessation. I am having about 90% fewer headaches, and the ones I do have are less severe. I was told I just had medication overuse headaches (MOH) . I really felt that the physicians blamed me for my frequent headaches. Since starting tamoxifen, I may go 10 days without a headache and it feels like A miracle!! I'm sure all of you who have chronic migraines know how debilitating the condition can be.
Interestingly, the arimidex did not provide any headache relief at all, and I thought it was an estrogen blocker as well.
My conclusion, from this experience, and from a thorough review of the literature, is that migraines are still not well understood, even by experts. Every treatment is still experimental, it's "try this, it might work", and when it doesn't work, it's as if you, the patient, have failed.
I hope this information is helpful to someone out there who is suffering. Pray for a cure!

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There are many medical conditions that we still don't completely understand. It's sad, but true.

In many cases, we can't even explain why a certain medication works to alleviate a certain condition, or to relieve its symptoms.

For instance, my fiancé started having focal seizures last year. After a lot of testing and scans, they still can't completely explain why, other than to say that something is imbalanced in his brain chemicals.

Like most other sciences, not everything in medicine is precise.

Are you still doing well?

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