Topic: Arimidex & Femara

I have a success story to share and hope it will be encouraging to others.  In October 2008 I was put on Arimidex. It wasn't long before I began experiencing joint & bone pain.  Started off mild and over weeks & months became very difficult to manage.  Fatigue had me in bed every afternoon as soon as I got home from work.  I missed a lot of days and went home early quite a bit.  My emotions were raw and I actually began to understand the "quality of life" decision.  To sum it all up, my experience with Arimidex was NOT good!!  Over time I was advised by several to change to Femara, but I was afraid to make the change.  It took me three months to finally give in and that only happened because I was told by four doctors in the same week that it would be okay for me to change.  Apparently I had it in my head that Arimidex was given to me first because that's what I was supposed to be on and any variation from that would open the door to recurrence.  Crazy, I know, but that's where I was emotionally at the time. Somehow I was convinced that not taking Arimidex would allow a FLUSH of estrogen to come in a feed all of those little hidden cancer cells missed by chemo.  In August 08 I gained enough courage (& trust) to stop Arimidex for two weeks and start Femara.  Oh my gosh!!!  My life has taken a total 180!  Occasional joint pain in my hands, but goes away once I start moving.  I can stay up until 11 p.m. and haven't missed a day of work since stopping Arimidex.  I'm happy, smiling, laughing, moving at my old pace and back to my old self!  I love it, people around me love it, and most of all my family is happy again!  I know this story won't hold true for everyone, but I do want to share my story just in case there is someone out there holding tightly to Arimidex because they believe it is their only lifeline.  Be open to trying the other options.  You might find that your life becomes worth living again!