Arimidex
Comments
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I like my vodka without the tonic in a martini with a whole variety of olives.
Thanks for the recommendations--gator ade and tonic. I'll give them a try.
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Soy.....was told to "avoid it" by my oncologist. So that is what I do. However, I don't go nuts over it. That is, if I eat some by mistake, I don't feel it's the end of the world.
Sneaky sources I am on the lookout for:
- Breakfast cereals. Some are really loaded with it.
- Energy bars. A real issue as the protein source most frequently used. And energy bars are really useful on long excursions out. But Larabars have nuts and dried fruit only.
- Any so called "good for you" dairy substitute. Not always laced with soy, but you need to check.
- Filler in a lot of other processed foods. Especially meat replacement items.
- Shakes, smoothies, and lattes. (See #3, but you want to check here especially.)
- Breads....yes, watch for the ones with extra protein and such.
- And of course a lot of Asian cuisine items. But usually labeled as such.
These are the ones I can think of. Fortunately, I cook most of my own food from scratch.
As for "do we know"? I don't think we know for sure. I know that my cancer needed estrogen to grow. That is why I am taking Arimidex. I wouldn't want to do anything counter-productive at this point. And it's not like I can't eat a perfectly healthy diet w/o soy.
One final comment. Screwing up and eating some soy occasionally is not the same thing as having a food allergy where making a mistake can be fatal. The operative word here is "avoid".
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Sigh. I just don't buy anything that says 'SOY' all over the front of it.....otherwise I just don't look, I can't stand micromanaging every little second of my life
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How long does it take to start experiencing Arimidex side effects? I just started Friday and I swear it's having negative effects already. Is that possible, or all in my head?
This cancer crap has got to go. Someone needs to just FIX IT. Jeez.
E
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Thanks, JO. I was on Femara for 3 months but stopped 10 days ago because of the side effects. The pain was lessening when they started me on Arimidex, so I've been without estrogen for a while already.
Please post what you hear about the Cleveland dr. That's exciting news!!
E
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I just googled it and the research team is ready to go with Phase I clinical trials as soon as they get funding. The vaccine targets lactation proteins produced by breast cancer cells.
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Soy derivatives also in Ensure, Boost, rice milk, most chocolate. It's NOT in almond milk.
(no edit, clicked by mistake)
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I have been on Arimidex for a month now, and my knees are killing me! The hot flashes are constant, but not too bad yet. I can tolerate them for now. I had to work 2 shifts yesterday as one of my employees did not make it in to work, and my knees hurt so bad.
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horsegal, get some really, really good shoes, also you can go to Walmart & there is a Dr Scholl's insert machine you can stand on & it analyzes your feet & recommends what kind of insert you should put in your shoes (which then you can conveniently buy right on the spot
). I bought some and my feet feel better. Also do not go barefoot or in flat sandals or shoes as that is actually hard on your feet. 0 -
Ruth: Thanks for the Nioxin suggestion. I'm going to look into it. Also...the chocolate suggestion. I actually went to a lecture by a breast onco. who strongly suggested eating 1 or 2 squares of the darkest chocolate every day. I try to buy the 85% kind. Unfortunately, it's really difficult to not eat the entire bar!
Hair thinning: my PC dr. suggested Rogaine but my hairdresser said that, as soon as I stopped using it, the hair would fall out again. At the moment, I'm just using Biolage shampoo and bleakly looking at my scalp daily.
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enjoyful- I just started the A less than 2 weeks ago and there is no question that I'm having SEs though it may not be standard. I have been overwhelmed by anxiety and uncontrollable crying. I know what's my normal self and what's a hormonal reaction, and this is hormones. the day I switched from AM to PM (and had an extra 12 hours between pills)- no crying. No anxiety.
I have been reading this thread for over a month, getting ready to start taking the A in the anticipation of being supported, but received the same response as you, that it was probably in my head. I don't think that's constructive- maybe it would be more useful to say, that's not what happened for us, but that's interesting. Let's explore. I wasn't going to say anything, just go away and find some other thread, but it upsets me to see another person getting the same line.
Gosh, if two people in one week are having this happen maybe there's something to it???
[edited for typos]
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Sounds like the common thread between me and enjoyful is that this was not the first estrogen removing/limiting intervention for us, but rather a continuation/acceleration, so it makes sense that it maybe wouldn't take so long for the new drug to kick in, and that we might experience things differently....0
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I've been off Arimidex for almost a month (after just over a year on it) and will be seeing my onc this Wednesday, probably to get a prescription for Femara. SEs from the Arimidex were not too bad except for the extreme exhaustion and short term memory problems, both of which have almost completely resolved. I still have all of the old aches and pains, but those were with me prior to BC. The onc told me that most studies of side effects for Aromatase Inhibitors do not include women who have been through chemo, so the docs take those of us who have had chemo pretty seriously. The onc also assured me that being off the Arimidex won't increase my chances of a recurrence -- otherwise, I would have insisted on staying on it. For anyone with serious problems/quality of life issues while taking Arimidex, there are a couple of other drugs you could try, so I'd recommend a visit with your oncologist to at least get his/her opinion.
Have a wonderful day.
Bonnie
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I think it is very smart to play around with the timing if you are having problems, like you are doing, jessamine. Sometimes little adjustments can make a big difference. I would say to give your body awhile to adjust (which you did, Bonnie, and found it wasn't a good fit for you). For me, it took a couple months for the hot flashes to settle down and my body to settle into a new 'normal'. And I am really good now (and, knock on wood, cancer free; which is what we are going for!). Best of luck! Ruth
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Aromatase inhibitors (Arimidex, Femara, and Aromasin) are used to treat postmenopausal hormone-sensitive breast cancer. These drugs can reduce the risk of a breast cancer recurrence. But many women find that they experience a common side effect: joint pain and stiffness.
A research group at Columbia University is investigating whether two dietary supplements that are used to treat arthritis pain-Omega-3 fatty acid and Glucosamine and Chondroitin-can help to alleviate this joint pain. ..The Army of women doing this,,MY question... does Omega 3 have soy in in..and does anyone take it for joint problems I was taking it once a day and stopped and wonder if the minor stiffness I have now is because I did. I still suck at exercise and my no sweets went by the wayside BUT oh well I feel good and played hard with family and friends last 3 days and prior to that I prepared food for everyone..The fatigue seems to have lifted for me that is how it is ..it comes and goes.
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Sharlene, pre-BC, about 10 years, I had severe hip pain that the ortho doc said would eventually require hip replacement. He told me to try glucosamine/chondroitin and I did. It took about 3 or 4 weeks to kick in but I got total, I said, total, relief. After taking it for about 4 years I stopped and remained pain-free for years - until I started Arimidex 3/09. Now I have constant pain in my right hip. I went back on the gluco/chond about 6 months ago but it hasn't worked like before and I wonder if I should even still take it. Maybe the pain would be even worse without the gluco/chond?
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I had terrific hair loss on Arimidex until finally I got my Vitamin D levels up. My hair loss has now stopped but the hair has not grown back.
Soy is such a confusing issue. Some studies indicate that soy helps prevent recurrence. Here is a site that containds a bunch of abstracts of studies regarding breast cancer and soy. Just search "soy breast cancer.
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Jessamine - thank you. It's nice to know I'm not completely crazy! I also feel weird emotionally - kind of detached, kind of down. So frustrating. I'll try your approach and switch the timing to see if it helps.
JO - my vitamin D levels are normal since I've been taking 50,000 IUs every 5 days for over a year now. I know the SE's are more easily managed than the cancer, but I can't do the SE's I have now and work. It's very difficult for me to say that since I've been a "super woman" most of my life!
Ugh
E
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Reading this blog has been very helpful for me. I have been on A for about 2 months and today my joint pain was so bad that I could barely walk around. I have been big into exercise so this was pretty devastating. I also have been noticing that my hair is thinning. I am hopeful that by eating chocolate and taking my calcium things will get better. I am worried about the long term effects of A. Anybody know about it? I am on Fosomax for Ostiopenia and am worried about bone loss. It appears the only thing I can do for this is walk and take calcium....would love some other remedy? Thanks ahead of time for any input. Kristi
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lift some light weights too (no magic bullet, I'm afraid). 0
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enjoyful- unfortunately switching to night time helped only a little. Which is something but I'm still a pretty bad mess. I will definitely be trying everything to not feel this way though so I will keep you posted if anything helps! So far I can tell you this- Ativan helps tiny bit in short term, makes it much worse afterwards. Next- herbs, etc. Have started taking Magnesium and Calcium daily, which many people find really good for related stuff and it sure can't hurt anyway. I should've been already.
I am really hoping that this is just an adustment period for my body, and passes. What I find strange ifit is just adjustment to less estrogen is that I didn't have these kinds of symptoms when I had the oophorectomy- and I sure had even more reason to be freaking out back then- I had just been diagnosed and started chemo less than a week after surgery- things were just crazy. I would think that would've removed most of the estrogen from my body and this would just take the tiny bit that was left- so why somuch worse? Questions for the oncologist....
lakewoman - it is definitely possible to get omega 3 fish pills without soy. Look for ones witht he highest amount of EPA and DHA (listed on the back).
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Jessamine and Enjoyful, I started Arimidex 4 1/2 years ago, so I don't remember how soon my SE's kicked in, plus I was doing radiation at the same time. How dumb is that?
I think I had just about every side effect on the list and a few not on the list.While a lot of people say the SE's go away after a while, mine never did.
When you think about it, this last little bit of estrogen being removed from our bodies is like the straw that broke the camel's back.
If you have crying, anxiety, poor sleep- you can see your PCP and get drugs to help. Living in constant pain doesn't help the situation either. If they give you any argument - print out the 94 pages from this thread.
For the first several years, I didn't know other women had the same problems I did. Knowing there were others out there, feeling much like I did was such a big relief to me. Believe me, you are not alone. Whether is happens sooner or later, it deserves attention.
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OK, I have a question now. I bought 4 big bottles of gel capsule calcium w/D, and 2 bottles of natural vitamin E. Someone said the E would help with the hot flashes. Well, after reading here about watching for soy-I went and read some things around my kitchen for soy. Turns out the gel capsule calcium has 'soy', and the natural vitamin E has 'soy'. So, now what do I do? I have to take my calcium, and I can't swallow the regular horse pill ones. I have enough on hand for a year and now I read they have soy? Is that maybe for the gel coating? I am undecided what to do?
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Oh man, you can't win, can you? I take VIACTIV calcium chews (which also have vitamin D), and they are delicious and taste like candy (which is of course why I like them over pills). Way on the bottom of the list of ingredients is 'soy lecithin'; somewhere in my research (and I can't remember where I read this so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) I read that that soy lecithin is different from plain soy and is OK to take. 0
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Horsegal13 - can you return them? If you can they now make "easier to swallow calcium pills". They are more expensive however. I moved down to 333 mg Calcium - which is about 1/2 the regular pills 650mg. I take 2 small ones instead of 1 big one. Also, as Ruthbru said, there are the Calcium Chews - they are very nice. I find them more expensive, but wait for sales. The soy lecithin is the last ingredient so it should be minimal. I have heard of some people taking liquid calcium, but haven't seen it myself,
Vitamin E - the bottle I saw had Soy as the first ingredient - so I didn't buy it. Maybe health food stores will sell pure Vitamin E.
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TY to all who replied to my post and to those who help me with their input. Sorry about your hip patoo not fun...Has anyone just taken omega 3 just for joint discomfort?
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Hi all- I have a question. I had a double lumpectomy in January, Finished 33 Radiation treatments the end of March and then started Arimidex in the begiing of April. I feel my breast is still radiating heat and it aches and is lumpy around the incision areas.It is scary that something else is going on, but I have been told this is scar tissue and you can have pain for years. Have others had this concern?
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I am 3 1/2 years out from lumpectomy, radiation and now I am taking Arimidex for 3 years. I am just starting to not feel pain in the incision area. If I touch it is painful but if I leave it alone, I am fine. That said, I didn't have much reaction to the radiation treatments that I remember, so I didn't feel any heat to speak off. It has been awhile though. I may have forgotten.
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jakhop, you are just barely done with radiation, so what you are feeling is perfectly normal. Also if you get little 'zapping' sensations, that is from your nerves growing back & can go on for years too. My breast felt 'hot' for a couple months after radiation. I bought a little personal fan and would sit in the recliner with the fan aimed right at my boob. It sounds like I am on the same time line as mcgaffey & I still a little 'achy' three plus years out. Best of Luck! Ruth 0
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I joined the A-Team today!
I decided to have a postive attitude and took my first Arimidex pill this morning. Well, today I was positively having hot flashes all day.
If I remember correctly did you wonderful ladies suggest taking the pill in the morning or evening?
Also, I think that many of you said that the SEs might diminish over time. Here's hoping!
Thanks for any input. I have read all of your posts over time but my post chemo brain is very forgetful.
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