Anyone else dealing with tamoxifen weight issues?

I've been on tamoxifen since December 2011 and I'm trying to control my weight with the 5:2 diet. It's pretty miserable to be starving myself two days a week, keeping up my running regime and sticking to a sensible low-ish carb diet and still seeing the scales creeping very slowly upwards.

I'm now using MFP to monitor how many calories I can eat on non-fast days without gaining. I think it's about 1500. :grumble:

We should get some kind of award!

I guess we should just think ourselves lucky that we have the Tamoxifen. I read something recently about how much better the outcome is for women who stick to the five years. Apparently it's not uncommon to stop taking it.

Same issue here...I've been on tamoxifen since July 2011 and I just can't get the weight off (~7-10 lbs). I normally have to go pretty low on the calorie count to lose weight, regardless of the tamoxifen, that's just how I'm built. But even with exercise and low calorie count with high protein/low carbs, the weight just hangs on. I told my doctor I was considering going off the tamoxifen for a few months just to prove that it was causing the weight gain (because they deny it, of course), and she freaked out a little. So I am still compliant, but it's really bugging me. On the other hand, wouldn't I look stupid if the cancer came back because I wanted to lose 10 pounds? But still...wish we could find a solution.

Hi All
So Glad I found this thread. Yes me too. Been on T since May 2012 and have gained about a pound a month since. Could have stood to lose 20 to boot so its really ticking me off. I'm about to start shopping plastic surgeons to do my reconstruction and I know the extra weight will be an issue. I do admit however that this summer I kind of through caution out the window with the wine and the ice cream LOL. I'm going to totally track every single calorie that I take in, been walking 30 minutes a day, yoga once a week and some strength training at home. I even started a morning smoothie (Vega One) as I haven't been very good about eating breakfast. With Almond Milk its only 200 calories and half of all of the daily requirements for vitamins and minerals, greens and fruits.

I'm curious to see what happens in a month. I'd be delighted with a pound a week gone. I don't care about being skinny, just want to be comfortable in my clothes.

I am very glad I found this thread, I will be looking at it more in-depth when time permits. I am getting so frustrated, have been on tamoxifen about 1.5 years. No other noticeable side effects, just the difficulty in losing the extra 7-10 pounds that before "the big C" I could get rid of within a week or two of healthier eating. I am pretty active, on my feet at work, fitbit records close to 1500 steps each day. In addition I jog/walk 3x per week, and try to do toning or weights 2x week. A brutal winter is not helping with extra activity, and being so strict with food in is really a bore. I am grateful for the drug, as I am not about to get b.c. again. Just got energy back within past 6 months after the chemo and a year of herceptin. I miss my old body, though. Oncologist says it is much harder to lose the weight on tamoxifen after you gain it. Yep! He also says I have to exercise more and eat less. Fun fun! Any other experiences like mine? This is interesting stuff, no?

Good for you, Teddy....I have decided to be patient with myself. It is not going to be a fast process (as I am discovering) to lose while I take this drug. So, I am going to eat as healthfully as I can, but I am not going to go "balls to the wall" all the time, as I am not going to suck the joy out of living. Do your best, forget the rest...that is my motto!