Doctors....would YOU take Tamoxifen?

[Raider Fan]

Doctors,

I went to an endocrinologist last week and he gave me a 2 month prescription for Tamoxifen because of the pain I'm having in my left breast.  It's been going on for a little over 4 months now.  He was surprised the pain has lasted that long.

I know this drug has been shown to help the pain and tenderness of gynecomastia in the early stages.  However, I have many reservations about taking it because of a variety of known side effects associated with the drug.  Like all side effects, they aren't necessarily frequent, but they ARE major.....if you happen to have them. 

One of the most significant side effects is deep vein thrombosis.  He told me to stop taking it immediately if my legs or feet began to hurt.  Other known side effects include the increased possibility of stroke, cataracts and nausea.  It is also known to cause cancer in rats. Some doctors question the use of Tamoxifen as a medical therapy for gyne because they don't believe the carcinogenic effects of the drug in humans have been studied adequately.  Other noteworthy side effects include increased cholesterol (I already have very high cholesterol) and hair loss. I also read one report that stated that doctors don't really know the long term effects from taking Tamoxifen.  That's not too comforting. 

In light of all this, my question is......do you think I should still give it a try?  And if it were you, would YOU take it?  I almost feel like I'm playing roulette when I take drugs such as this.  This is a cancer drug.  They don't even know how/why it works for gyne, nor do they know what kind of problems it may lead to 20 years down the road.  What have all of you heard about the drug?  Is it usually beneficial, or no? 

I wish I had a crystal ball to know how long I'm going to have severe pain from my gynecomastia.  But I don't have that.  If I knew it wouldn't last too much longer, I would definitely pass on the Tamoxifen.  I can stand the increased size of my left breast, but I can't stand the pain from it. With pain, there is worry, and I can't stop worrying about it. 

Any insight you can give me to help me make a decision would be appreciated. 

[Raider Fan]

No one wants to weigh in on this question?  Surely you have an opinion about Tamoxifen.  Have you known many that took it?  Have you heard of problems associated with it?  Have you heard it usually works well, doesn't do much?  If you had painful gyne, would YOU use it?  Anyone?