Arimidex - Coping with the SE's
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Well then Ruth, I can get at it as I have the gin!
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Raisins are soaking. Here is a fun link I found when I Googled white versus golden.
http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2005/10/18/gin-soaked-raisins-for-arthrit/
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Aha....Aunt Nellie wasn't making it up as an excuse to buy some gin!
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Firestorm53, that is a good perspective. I think it would be easy to forget that some of the potential side effects early on could still be from chemo and some could things we experience from time to time anyway. I know at 57 I need to remember that before BC I experienced some joint pain and insomnia, plus flare ups of carpal tunnel that I've had to varying degrees for years. I'll have to be careful not to assume the same old things are now from the arimidex.
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Yeah, S/E are hard to pinpint since we have been through so much. I was trying to keep a journal and am just back at that now since Anastrozole is really the only "drug" I am now on. I am also taking condroitin/glucosamine and calcium and Vit D ad also Omega 3 that the cancer agency psychiatrist recommended. It is reputed to have cognitive value, i.e. for depression and since I have stopped the Mirtazapine I was on for a few months I will be interested to see if this works.
But last night for the first night in ages (rads really made me sleep well so maybe wearing off!) I was very tired but could not sleep~~ended up taking 1 mg of Ativan way after midnight. My legs ached which maybe I had not noticed when sleeping so well from radds fatigue. Also my night sweats now seem to be in the early AM.
Journal ~~yes write this down Marian!
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I have a friend who took spiranolactone (a diuretic) for thinning hair. I would never take it for something so petty but I was prescribed it for high blood pressure and darned if my hair hasn't gotten thicker! Just a thought for anyone who has high blood pressure.
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Putting the hair aside, Timbuktu, did your BP go higher due to the AI?
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Eat 1-2 ounces of at least 70% cocoa dark chocolate every day to lower your blood pressure (I'm not even making this up!!!).
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My kind of menu...chocolate, prunes and gin soaked raisins LOL
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Yup, that's where my calories go! Those and carmel calcium chews!
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Ruthbru, I had seen where you had posted about the dark chocolate previously and I've heard this before too. Got myself two large chocolate bars, one Lindt & one Ghirardelli, both over 80% cocoa. One third of a bar is about 1 oz and makes for a heavenly treat with my afternoon coffee.
The gin soaked raisins don't sound nearly as appealing, but then I've never liked any kind of raisins. I did enjoy a glass of chilled white wine in the evening before BC, but I'm convinced I need to cut the alcohol down to one glass a week or less. I'd rather take my ration of alcohol in the form of Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio than gin soaked raisins
But then I'm not having much joint pain anyway. I don't have high blood pressure either, but the dark chocolate will prevent me from getting it, I'm sure!MarianeLiza, I'm also taking glucosamine/chondroitin and D3 and just started low dose aspirin at my MO's recommendation.
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AnnieLane..Why did your MO suggest low dose aspirin(is that a baby aspirin?) and what strength of glucosamine/chondroitin do you ladies take??
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Loral, there's some pretty good evidence that aspirin prevents recurrence and my MO recommends it. There is at least one topic on these discussion boards about it. Actually my MO said I could take regular strength - 325 mg daily, but I'm starting with 81 mg, which is the same as a baby aspirin. I will probably also go back to taking fish oil or krill oil for the omega 3 (I stopped it during chemo) and I think that plus regular strength aspirin might thin the blood too much.
The glucosamine/chondroitin I take is from Costco (their Kirkland brand) and it's 1500mg/1200mg. I take two a day.
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AnnieLane.... I take 1000mg of Fish Oil, but I think I'm going to add a baby aspirin. I used to take OsteoBiFlex, I'll try the Costco brand. Thanks
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I have a question..What should the FSH number be to be considered post-menopausal...Mine was 42.9 in September and now it is 41.6 I've been on Tamoxifen since 12/2012, and Mo wants me still on it even though I'm post-menopausal. Shouldn't I be on Arimidex, or is it because I'm PR-?
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I take two a day of glucosamine/condroitin and 400/500 mg.
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As I understand it postmenopausal women can take Tamoxifen, but premenopausal women can't take the AI's. Loral, does your MO plan to switch you to an AI after 2 or 3 years at least?
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How many prunes a day do you eat? I actually like prunes but there's a warning on the bag that they're not a low cal food!
For those just starting arimidex, in Sept. I will have taken it for 4 yrs. My SEs are weight gain/difficulty losing weight, higher cholesterol, high blood pressure. Also warm flushes and I'm warm most of the time. A low dose of Effexor helps with menopause symptoms and prevents the mood swings. I take 75 mg of the Effexor generic.
I also take a statin now and am on a more serious bp med. Before bc, I just took a "baby" bp med. I'm also now borderline diabetic, but I think that's genetic.
I had been taking glucosamine/chondroitin for many years before bc. Also fish oil. I have no more joint and muscle pain than someone my age (70) could expect. I play golf and walk and bike for exercise and also go the gym a couple of times of week when we're at home (9 mos. of the year). During the summer we go north with our 5th wheel rv so I don't do the gym workouts.
When I went for my annual checkup with my bc dr. earlier this month, I talked to the NP about quitting arimidex after 4 yrs. She urged me to continue for the 5th yr. since all the testing was done for 5 yrs. My dh also thought I should continue. SO. I guess I will.
I'm very eager to see if there's any change in the cholesterol and bp and weight control once I stop.
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I eat one serving, check the bag to see how many prunes are in a serving.
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5 is what I eat and it is 100 calories.
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I'm just too young for this insanity...Prunes?!?!? Gin soaked raisins? LOL I've only just turned 42! Add to that BC, menopause AND weight gain!!! Should SO not be legal! haaaahaaahaaaa
Oh well, it could be worse. I could be a man and have to figure out how to walk with something awkward hanging between my legs ;-)
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I am having gin-soaked lime, in a nice tall Fever Tree Bitter Lemon. Yum, and a reward for my run. The raisins (and walnuts) are in the chard I will serve up later. It's finally hot here in Seattle, but the run along the water was delightful.
This is supposed to be the Arimidex thread, but I still think exercise is the magic bullet here. A benefit of running is that my white summer jeans fit again. A bit snug, but I can wear them just fine.
The aspirin study was published 3 years ago. I have the original, but the upshot was that in observational research (Nurses Health Study which was tracking aspirin in relation to heart disease) showed a very strong positive association between taking 3 or more baby aspirin per week and a reduced risk of recurrence. That was enough to convince me, as I tolerate aspirin very well. This was for all stages and both ER+ and ER- cancers.
Alcohol does not appear to be the scourge once thought. At least, not after you actually get breast cancer. The earlier study had two things that I questioned. The first was the way they segmented the data (3+ drinks per week was "heavy drinking") and also that there wasn't a sufficient sample of women taking hormonal therapy for us to make a good comparison.
Headline reads: Alcohol consumption has no impact on breast cancer survival, according to new research/ However, breast cancer survivors who consume alcohol in moderation may have a reduced risk of dying from heart disease.
Anyway, I am going camping tomorrow with 3 adults and one nine year old. I will let you know how it goes, but doubt sound sleep.
Going to watch the sunset, and also lift my 10lb weights while I make dinner. - Claire
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Claire, I don't think you're off topic at all. I've been on Arimidex less than a week, so I'm far from an expert, but one common theme I've seen on this thread is that exercise can make a big difference in reducing the joint pain for a lot of women. And there's no doubt it helps prevent bone loss, which is another of the most troubling side effects from Arimidex.
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AnnieLane~ I see you were on same chemo combo as I. How is your hair growing back? I finished chemo 9/6/12 and I still do not have a full hair growth. Have areas where I can see scalp through very thin hair. I've heard that taxotere can result in lack of hair regrowth. I've been using rogaine since late March and it seems to help, but still wearing wig in public. Getting hot here in coastal Washington and wig is becoming intolerable. Ugh!
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Sherryh16, I am 7 weeks out from my last chemo treatment. I had 4 treatments of C/T. My MO would have done 6, but with my DX and no lymph node involvement, that didn't make sense to me and he didn't push it.
My hair is coming back pretty well, I think, and my husband and son think so too. I'm hoping Arimidex won't slow it down. My son said today, "You know, that looks almost like an actual haircut." He meant an intentional super-short style, I guess, and it was sweet of him to say so. You can see my poor pink scalp through the thin white areas on top, though. My hair was salt & pepper, mostly salt, going into this and the pepper has been slower to come back than the salt, but it's finally making an appearance too.
I knew that Taxotere could cause permanent hair loss and Penquin Cold Caps weren't in my budget, but I did everything I could that might help and didn't seem like it could hurt. For infusions 2-4, I soaked and froze terry cloth head turbans ("Turbee Twists") and took them in a small ice chest to the treatment center. I wrapped them around my poor almost bald head during the Taxotere infusions. I had read that zinc shampoo might help, so I used that during chemo when I showered. I used CVS drugstore brand minoxodil for women (Rogaine) for one month after my last treatment and have been taking boitin, which I'll discontinue when my current supply is used up next month.
Some of these tactics might have been useless, but like I said, I didn't think they could hurt and they didn't cost much.
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Hi ~ Interesting about the alcohol study... makes me feel better - BD I drank at least 2 glasses of wine a day, now none. But wondering about liver function on Arimidex - my numbers have been high and what I've read shows that Arimidex can been harsh on the liver. I know that alcohol is too so wondering about that. I do miss my wine - but also have found my weight to be creeping up
Ugh - there's nothing esy about this is there????0 -
Take biotin for your hair...I've been taking 7500mg a day and I've gotten all my hair back (eyelashes, eyebrows, leg hair, etc) and my hair looks to be about 2 inches long, when I pull it straight LOL I had curly hair before and now its REALLY curly!
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Afternoon women-Well,I guess the prescription is waiting for me at the pharmacy. He wants me to start a week after radiation,which is Tuesday. I'm not sure if it is generic or not. I'm glad for your input. I'm pretty nervous still. Why do I think I don't need it. I've felt soo good thus far,and don't want ANY side effects. Husband says I'm stubborn?!! This is really one of the hardest decisions I have to make. Now I'm wondering about Femara. Maybe I should start there? Who knows?
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Just think of it like you think of a vitamin. Take it and forget it. Don't make it a center of your thoughts, go out and enjoy your life. It is the biggest medical thing you can do to keep yourself well, even bigger than chemo, so it is an important thing to do.
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Patti, I don't think there's much difference at all between arimidex and femara. I agree with what Ruth says, that for those of us who had ER+ breast cancer, this is probably even more important than chemo.
I'm trying to do 2 things to help me have as positive an attitude and experience as possible.
1. I made a list of "symptoms" I experienced on a somewhat regular basis before starting this drug: joint pain, insomnia, etc. I added to that symptoms of menopause, which I would have experienced anyway. I don't want to assume the arimidex is to blame for every discomfort or symptom that might come up.
2. I started doing everything I've read that might help me with the potential side effects and are safe according to my MO, like taking vitamin D3, low dose aspirin & glucosamine/chondroitin, getting serious about regular exercise, healthy eating and weight control.
I've seen where others have said that the SE's they had early on decreased after about six months.
My MO told me that it would reduce my risk of recurrence but that it was my choice to make and that he wasn't going to set himself up as an authority over me as if there was some law that says I have to take it. I like that, because it makes me feel empowered. I can persevere through a lot more if I feel I'm doing it by choice.
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