Arimidex - Coping with the SE's
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Just before my 2nd chemo, but while I was still in hospital for being neuropenic, they shaved 2 ft (at the crown) of hair off my head. It wasn't coming out in great clumps but it felt "dead" so it was time to do the inevitable. Now, just over 2 years after finshing chemo my hair is 1/2 way down my back. I'ts never been cut and still have my chemo curls. It seems to be healthy but I reckon its maybe just a little thinner but not much.
Sorry for you that are having hair thinning...as if there isn't enough to deal with as it is. Spunky Im going to look into the biotene. Not sure what it would be called here (NZ).
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I think maybe you are referring to Biotin not Biotene. Biotene is a mouthwash for dry mouth. :-). Biotin is a supplement taken in pill form.
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I think you are right!
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Among my many side effects, since I started taking Arimidex (now Anastrazole) 18 months ago, has been constipation - something I had never experienced prior to the medication. I tried all the usual things, lots of fibre, lots of water, prunes, stool softener, Omega 3's and nothing really worked I still had to resort to Senokot on occasion.
Now, as I usually do, I started taking some probiotics after having a course of antibiotics for a respiratory infection. Since I started on the probiotics I've been my old self again, at least bowel-wise. Regular, no strain, no rabbit droppings. I'm amazed at how much better my system is functioning. My bloated abdomen is even reducing. :-)
I've been taking Biotic-10, 10 strains, 25 billion, 2 caps a day. It's one of the probiotics that is kept in the refrigerator.
You can bet that I'm going to keep taking them.
Hopefully, this may give some one else blessed relief.
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kmpod as bowel issues are of interest to me, what are probiotics? (sorry if thats a dumb question)
For me in NZ we have generally good access most of the year round to "kiwifruit". It is WELL KNOWN to be excellent for constipation. It works like nothing else. Ive using it for years as well as psyllium husk (Metamucil) a bulking up supplement in powdered form. Did you do chemo? I've found the anti nausea drugs (ondansetron (sp???) are shockers on your bowels. ATM I'm using packaged prunes as the kiwifruit are still not in the shops. Only the stuff from overseas which I wont buy because of all the spaying and so forth it has done to it B4 it gets here,
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Hi Musical,
There are no dumb questions.
Probiotics are "good" bacteria that help balance the "bad" bacteria in your gut. They're found naturally in some foods like yogurt and kefir. You can also take supplements, as I am doing.
I eat a lot of yogurt but that on its own didn't do the trick. It's the supplements that seem to be working for me. I'm more comfortable than I've been since I've started on the Arimidex. I didn't have chemo, just the BMx and the hormonals.
Here's a link that will tell you more about them.
http://www.medicinenet.com/probiotics/article.htm
Ask your local pharmacist about them. They're often suggested for people with IBS.
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Thx cmpod. I love yoghurt, but I'd like to be able to make it myself from scratch. All the sachets I can find here have suspect ingredients like soy and aspartame.
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One of the major S/E I was getting from Arimidex was feeling so cold all the time. I have noticed though that in the last couple of weeks it has not been as bad. I do still get cold, but not freezing like before. NO hot flashes for me ever, never during menopause, never since. Maybe a warm feeling but definitely not an Hot Flash and mostly during the night.
Mena
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I am taking probiotics in pill form as well as yogurt and Kefir. I have been on treatment for ONJ side effect of chemo and now that caused me to lose all the good bacteria in my belly. Now on my second round of Flagely (sp) it is horrible....Let me back up a moment here, at the end of my first treatment of Flagely I ended up with strep throat and had to get a shot of pen. which then set me back to having issues with my good bacteria being in jeapordy. This condition is acutually called Cdiff anyone on here deal with this? Any advice? Oh boy this has been a journey~
Happy Wednesday
Balsie
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About constipation, some of the gals I went through chemo with recommended taking olive oil several times a day. I had some trouble last week, tried it and it worked. I think you can Google ' olive oil for constipation' and see the proper amounts. I think I took one TBS first thing in the morning, before breakfast, then 2 more doses, one before dinner and one before bed. I didn"t find the taste bad at all, and it's a natural remedy most of is would have on hand.
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P.S. I'm on so many meds that my doc recommended probiotics, too, so I take Align once a day. It's an OTC pill, a little pricey, but I think it helps, too.
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Thx ladies on your comments about probiotics.
balsie, I've never heard of cdiff, but Im sorry for your horrible ride. It sure is tough coping with all this.
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Thanks ladies! I am feeling better tonight! ; )
smiles
Balsie
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Balsie--c-diff is a bacteria that is in our intestinal tract, normally kept in check by other (good) bacteria. When someone takes anti-b's, the balance of bacteria gets upset (which you already know) and that allows the c-dff bacteria to get out of control. When enough c-diff bacteria get together they start putting out toxins that cause watery, green, foul smelling diarrhea. This can happen up to 3 months, maybe even up to 6 months after someone has taken anti-bs. It's important NOT to take something like immodium, you do NOT want to stop the diarrhea, that's how the body gets rid of the toxins. The biggest danger is dehydration. Also, it's very easy to get the c-diff bacteria on clothing or hands or surfaces, then someone touches it and then touches their mouth it can trigger an overgrowth of bacteria in that person (fecal-oral transmission). If someone has a less than robust immune system they can pick this up pretty easily. Flagyl is the first line treatment, but there is a strain of c-diff that is resistant to it. Then you have to take vancomycin, which is really, really hard on the intestines when they are already pretty distressed. Keep drinking lots of fluids, make sure some have salt and sugar in them (like gatorade, or put a quarter teaspoon of salt in 8 ounces or more of ginger ale to keep your electrolytes from getting to far out of whack.
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Oh, and one tiny, interesting detail--c-diff is not killed by alcohol based hand santizers. It can be removed from hands and clothing with soap and water (hot is best) and killed on surfaces with bleach, but alcohol doesn't hurt it much.
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Thanks NativeMaine for all the info! I am very nervous about this. You gave me some good advice that I didn't know and dr. didn't tell me. This board is so wonderful for advice and just so caring.
So grateful to have all of your support!
just plain grateful tonight
Balsei
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Forgive me if I've already posted this story here...
don't want to go back 238 pages to see if I did or not....When I started perimenopause at the age of 47, I had constant hot flashes and horrific night sweats. When I started losing my short term memory, my OB/GYN put me on hormone replacement therapy. Every single side effect disappeared. A year later, I had a total hysterectomy, but no side effects since the artificial hormones were doing such a good job.
Ten years later, at the age of 57, I decided that I was jeopardizing my health by continuing to take the hormone replacement therapy. So I started weaning off of it, and switched to plant-based supplements (Estroven). Soon, I was off that as well.
Then I was dx'd with BC at the age of 60. When my MO wanted me to take Anastrozole for five years, I was furious! I said there was no estrogen at all in my body. She very kindly pointed out that estrogen is manufactured in body fat. So I lost 60 pounds and started exercising.
I really, REALLY did not want to take the AI. I'd read SO many horror stories here on BCO, I just knew I'd get every single side effect women were complaining about. But a few things happened along the way... as I got thinner and stronger, my fibromyalgia pain went away, thanks to the gluten-free diet I was on.
I heard my mom's voice inside my head saying "Honey, you won't know until you try." (My mom was dx'd with BC at the age of 60, just like me. She passed at the age of 88, from causes unrelated to the BC. She never had any recurrence of the cancer.)
I also knew that recurrences can and do occur with early-stage cancers like mine. I would hate to refuse a drug now only to say later on...."If only I had taken it..."
And - I made a pact with my MO - if it turned out that the SEs were so severe they interfered with my QOL, she would offer me a different drug, and if that didn't work, I could stop altogether.
I started Anastrozole in September 2012. The worst SE I had in the beginning was shedding... I swear, my bathroom floor looked like I had a big dog living here. But I started taking Biotin daily, and that stopped.
I do have some joint aches and stiffness if I sit in one place too long, but getting up and moving relieves that.
I've never had one hot flash or night sweat. I did get cold flashes early on, but it's pretty easy to just put on a sweater.
I eat healthy, keep moving every day, and take a probiotic, calcium, Vitamin D, magnesium, Biotin, fish oil, aspirin, and a sublingual form of Vitamin B complex. I also take a 10 mg Loratadine (generic Claritin) daily, but I do have allergies, too!
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For the past year, I've been cold all the time on Arimidex. Now I'm having cold and warm spells alternating about every 10-15 mins. I'm not hot like a hot flash, but a little uncomfortably warm. Then in a few minutes I'm shivering. I'm finding this really annoying. It did it for a week, then a break of 3-4 days, and now it's back again. Any ideas?
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My aunt just went through the C-diff ordeal and said the medicine (assume it was the vancomycin) was worse than the original condition. She's OK now but it was all really tough on her system.
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Wren-I'm cold most of the time, but I was like that before AI. I had hot flashes when I started AI, but my doc put me on effexor to control them.
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I had sleeping problems before taking Arimidex, but now it seems to be worse. My doctor put me on Trazadone (50mg) at night. Only been taking it a few nights, but now I am having weird dreams and it doesn't seem to be helping the sleeping problem. She said after a week if it didn't get better I could increase it to 100mg. I have read so many bad things about coming off Trazdone. I just want to have a good night of sleep. My gynecologist gave me Ambien but she said she would rather I not take it. Also my anxiety is getting worse.
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del
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Take the Ambein and get some rest. You absolutely need to get some sleep to cope with the rest of it.
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As Ruth says, you need a good night's sleep to cope. I've had insomnia ever since DX, made worse by Arimidex. I can't take Ambien. I had good luck for a while with Gabapentin (neurotin), then with Rozerem, a prescription melatonin, Now ,y doc has me on Klonopin, which works like a charm. Neither Gabapentin nor Klonopin are specifically sleeping meds, but they've both been found to have that as a side effect.
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Balsie--your welcome! I've gotten great advice on here, too, I just like to share it forward, as the saying goes.
Blessings--given all of us with chemo brain, or rads brain, or stress brain, or anesthesia brain, repeating something is never a problem! Thanks for the reminder that not all of us get the unpleasant side effects of arimidex and company.
ClaudiaMetz--trazadone, like all the sleeping meds, can cause odd dreams. That usually wears off over time. I would strongly recommend that you try the higher dose a few times before giving up on it. Sleeping meds often do not work well if the dose is too low, and act totally differently when the dose is at the right level. Yes, you will want to gradually come off the trazadone if ti doesn’t work, or replace it with something else, but there are well knows ways of doing so that your doc can tell you about and help you with. About Ambien--the FDA has recently put out info that the dose for women should be significantly lower than the dose for men, regardless of body size. If you do try the ambien check with your doc to make sure the dose is appropriate, that will minimize the side effects. Also keep in mind that the odd side effects (doing things during the night without remembering them, etc) occur rarely. The vast majority of people taking ambien do not have this issues.
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If you do take Ambein, ask for the 6.25 mg, not the 10 mg, dose.
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I have taken ambein for years. Happy to say after taking acupunture I have slept without it for two nights. Sleep is so important...so take it if you need it.
Enjoy
Balsie
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Sorry I've been off the board for a while. Thank you for all the advice about depression and Arimidex. It's tapered off a bit but now it's a low grade depression all the time. I see my MO in a week so I'm going to see how I feel then. I really don't want to take another drug to balance out the depression but I'll see what he says. And I'm glad to hear others are feeling cold as well. I've had briefs bouts of chills without hot flashes - just suddenly very, very cold. Good to know I'm not alone!
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life...imagine how cold you would be if you lived here in Canada? LOL I think I was born to be freezing and the Arimidex sure doesn't help!
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The cold flashes surprised me the most. Just not anything I had ever heard if before this board. So I was glad to hear about if before I experienced it. Much love.
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