Arimidex - Coping with the SE's
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Ok, I stocked up on Claritin, stool softener, anti-diarrhea meds, prunes, and my usual sleep meds. I forgot to get sage tea, but I realize I may not need any of this stuff.
I'm starting it in the morning.
We had a nice day here in central Ohio. The sky is so blue and it's about 73%. I love spring & fall and we're almost into fall. We took our oldest son out for brunch. He moved closer to us a month ago.
Blessings
Paula0 -
Swallow it and then go do something fun!!
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I think I'm going to buy a better used car tomorrow! Do you think that counts as something fun? Then I think I'll have DH treat me to dinner out.
Yeah, that's exactly what I'll do!
Ruth you have a great night, and thanks for all the input. I greatly appreciate you.
Blessings
Paula0 -
I think a new car and dinner out sounds very therapeutic!
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I started arimidex about 8:30am today. I almost forgot about it. I took it with Claritin. Trying to drink more than usual. Also took my calcium earlier. I have a habit of forgetting to take the 2nd one so I'm making an effort to get in the habit. After about an hour, I felt a little funny. That's the best discription I have. Couldn't quite put my finger on it. That passed after a bit, and now that I think about it, I think it was the Claritin.
I'm interested to see how I'll feel after 24 hours, though, I imagine, sometimes it takes a while for certain SEs to show up.
We're going to test drive a van when DH gets in from work. My Sable is a 1990, so I guess it's time I upgraded. Wish me luck.
Blessings
Paula0 -
Soteria...good luck on both counts!
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soteria, if i take calcium on an empty stomach i feel alittle nawseous and strange. could that be your problem?
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Ptdreamers...I actually took my calcium about 30 minutes after breakfast. It's now 4:25 pm, and I have that feeling again. It's almost like my lips have the tiniest bit of metal taste, and I just feel a little bit off. I can't describe it very well. I'm thinking it's the Claritin, and I'm considering not taking it tomorrow to see if it makes a difference. Otherwise it's been 8 hours and I feel fine.
That feeling lasted this morning for about 30 minutes or so, and I think it's kind of going away now. I'm thinking the Claritin is time released and maybe that's why it has come back. It affects within an hour of so after it releases into the blood stream. Does that make sense.
I feel fine now. That icky feeling has passed.
Thank you all for being there. Here in central Ohio, I kind of feel like I'm in this all by myself.
Blessings
Paula0 -
Gayle: Come to think of it, I have been having a lot of weird dreams. Or maybe I am now remembering the more. Weird.....
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When I actually sleep, I have weird dreams as well.
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I have had the vivid dreams every night since starting the Arimidex. The last two days I have had headaches and felt a bit off but it might have nothing to do with the meds so I will give it a fair shake.
Gayle
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Has anyone stopped taking AIs because of side effects? How are you coping with your decision? I'm struggling with this.
Thanks for any guidance.0 -
I'm having severe insomnia on femara. Have any of you had this with arimidex, and were you able to solve the problem?
Thanks,
Susannah0 -
I don't have insomnia any worse than I did before I began taking Arimidex. Is that the only SE you have so far?
I am beginning my 8th month...so far so good, altho I sometimes take Claritin for bone/joint pain.
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Yes, insomnia is my only SE, although I do feel a little hyper on it.
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Perhaps you could get some meds to help you sleep...better than not taking the femara I would think. How long have you been taking it? There are many natural things to help you sleep as well...I believe Melatonin is one. I have never taken anything natural...I take Temazepam occasionally.
Next visit with your MO, I would tell him/her about the insomnia!
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This is my 2nd day on arimidex. No side effects yet. Thank God!
How long did it take for you all to have side effects? Is it just too soon for me to tell, or would they have started by now?
I slept like a newborn babe last night, but I must admit, I took 1/2 of a Xanax before bed, but I still slept more sound than usual. I didnt even get up for the bathroom.
We went to look at a used Chrysler van yesterday evening. It had been rode hard & put up wet. So, no new ride yet. Still looking. After the test drive, we went to an "Emergency Preparedness Meeting" with a few others from our church. It was all very informative. We take so much for granted, and it could all be gone in a heartbeat!
I ate breakfast for the 3rd day this week. That is very new to me, as I usually can't stand the sight of food until after I've drank my tub of coffee.
Blessings
Paula0 -
Paula....good for you! I didn't have any SEs for a few months and they were slight...just aches and pains in the bones and joints. I took Claritin for a few weeks and on the advice of my MO, I stopped. Everything was fine until about a week ago and I started to get lower back pain so back on the Claritin I went. Stopped them again and so far it's OK. My long walk this weekend will tell the tale...hope it's OK like last time.
Good luck on the car hunt.
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Schatzi, why did the MO advise you to stop the Claritin? My SEs from Arimidex started three months after I began taking it. I still suffer terribly from joint pain, but started taking Claritin a few months ago with my Arimidex first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, it hasn't lessend the pain but it has helped my allergies. I'd be interested to know why your MO advised you to stop.
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Rocket....Not sure but think he didn't believe it helped for one thing. When I first started going to him he didn't believe me about the Claritin either for Neulasta pain ...now he tells me he suggests his patients try it, so perhaps he just didn't want me taking an additional med for 5 years. Will ask him when I see him in October. I told him if the pain came back, I would be taking it again and I did.
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Oh Rocket that's not the answer I was looking for at all! Of course I know we're all different, but I've been praying that I get no side effects at all.
Matthew 18:18 says whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven. So I'm binding all side effects in Jesus Name.
Actually my best friends husband was diagnosed 2 years ago with stage 3 colon cancer. The onc gave him a large book with all the horrible side effects.
One day my friend, sue, was looking at the book and feeling overwhelmed by it all. So she threw the book in the middle of the floor and danced on it, and praised GOD. Do you know, her husband NEVER had one single side effect. The oncs were amazed.
Oh by the way, he had his 1year scan today, and NO cancer!!!
Blessings
Paula0 -
That's awesome Paula. I believe in the power of God to keep me from these horrible SEs, but I also know that He is sovereign and if He allows me to experience them, then He has a purpose and a plan and it is for my good. It definitely keeps me relying upon Him daily. I also read on BCO that individuals experiencing more SEs from AIs had greater benefit from the medication. I guess I'll take that as a positive. I always say the SEs of Arimidex are better than the SEs from cancer. 0
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@ruthbru - I cannot find my papers now but I thought my oncotype said I was negative. I will have to check. My onco prescribed tamoxifen first but then saw that I had a hysterectomy with my ovaries removed and said I should take the Arimidex.
My joints hurt a lot. I am unsure about the Claritin. Please forgive this foggy brain. Is it the Claritin used for allergies and does it really work for joint pain?
I just checked my oncotype and it says I am ERnegative. I will have to ask my new oncologist and see what she says about everything. I don't want to take it anyway and now I question whether I needed chemo or not. I hope to get clear answers. My question list is growing every day.
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Can I just say - F these hot flashes?
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MamaV: If this were FB, I would say, "like".
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Mama V-you can say it twice!
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Ditto what they said, mamaD. (Autocorrect just corrected your name with, namaste! Kinda cool!
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bethu77: The Claritin (regular, not Claritin-D which is drowsy) offers relief to many women for aches and pains, esp. bone pain. (It is also used during chemo in conjunction with the Neulasta shots, which often produce significant bone pain. Thank goodness I remembered this last year when I was hurting; I've been pain-free ever since.
BUT, I'd definitely get a second opinion from your new MO on whether you should take this. Since you are ER-, there would be no purpose in taking either tamoxifen or the AIs. They are for women whose cancers are hormone-positive. You would get no benefit. Let us know what the new doc says!
Susan
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Beth, call right away. If you ARE triple negative, there would be no reason what-so-ever to take any anti-hormonal! If it makes you feel any better; with triple negative, stage 2, grade 3, you absolutely DID need to do chemo. So you don't need to second guess that choice.
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bethu77 - It is very easy to be confused by the Oncotype data. A negative of ER on the Oncotype chart doesn't necessarily mean that you are ER- unless you had a 0. If your doctors sent your tissue in for testing, this is unlikely. An ER in the negative range means that your ER is low or weak enough to negatively affect your Oncotype score, meaning that it will push you to a higher recurrance rate. I am 5% PR+ and it showed as very low, as a negative, on the Oncotype, but it did register above 0. Adding to the confusion is that a HER-2 +++ is in the positive range, but, unlike a high rate on the ER or PR, raises your recurrance score. These three and other data is plugged into a complex formula to get the recurrance rate. The ER, PR and HER2 data is only some of what goes into figuring the Oncotype score.
Hopefully your MO can better explain the content of the report.
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