Arimidex - Coping with the SE's
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To All of You celebrating the holidays - I sincerely hope that your new year is peaceful. You all are warriors and have beat the beast!
Take good care of you -
Marilyn
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day 4 on arimidix and I find myself waiting for the other shoe to fall. I feel only a slight stiffness in my knees which I've had trouble with for years anyway. How long does it take for side effects to start?
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Countryroads~
everyone is different but it'll take a while for side effects - the medication has to really begin working - it has to start blocking the hormone and it does take more than 4 days to really start doing its job.
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Taking a break from exemestane I am getting relief from the ear ringing the freight train is sounding much more subdued after 2 week from stopping exemestane . If I could only get rid of it.
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I've been taking Arimidex for a few weeks & only slight SE... Pain in knees, wrists & hips , mostly at night & not all the time. Insomnia is another SE but I've had problems in that area previously .
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I've never had a problem with sleeplessness until starting Arimidex. My Onc switched me to Tamoxifen a week ago and I am sleeping again.
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I started gabapentin (neurontin) 3 weeks ago and it is helping my sleep. Im happy.
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Are you all having trouble going to sleep or staying asleep. I wake up after 4 hours Stay awake 2 hours then go back to sleep for 4 more. Don't know if messed up from being in hospital and napping from having had 2 surgeries in 1 day just 11 days ago.
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Chloesmom, I have had a similar sleeping pattern since I went into menopause a few year BEFORE breast cancer and started taking Arimidex. Since taking an AI is like menopause x10, it doesn't surprise me that we have been getting and keeping all the annoying side effects of menopause. The ones I felt from natural menopause were just starting to fade away when these artificial ones hit.
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I have had problems with insomnia before Arimidex & now it just exasperates it! I take it in the am now & the last 2 nights I took 20 mgs of melatonin & slept all the way through both nights! Yay!
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I do. I take zzquil ,melatonin, and started taking gabapentin, which has started helping a lot...
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my Onc switched me to Tamoxifen in mid December - I am sleeping again. I have never had problems sleeping until I started Arimidex.
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Hi all,
I've been around. Just lurking. But, now I have a question. About a year ago I was having the problems with my IT band (similar to trigger finger issues, but in your leg). I had asked onc to go off the Anastrazole (generic Arimidex) for two weeks and it went away. They then put me on Arimidex and my insurance company has been paying for it. Currently I pay $1 for a three month supply of generic and $1 for a three month supply of Arimidex.
The problem is our company is looking into switching to a HSA program. I'd have a $5,000 deductible (medical and prescription) and supposedly they would pay 100% after that as long as in-network for doctors. I could get for Arimidex $1,297.72 for three month supply (we have to pay their cost until deductible is met). Or, I could go to, for example, Walgreen's and get three month supply for $1,269.32 according to www.goodrx.com that was recommended to go check out per our HR department.
My question is, on the www.goodrx.com page is a link to Arimidex Direct (http://www.arimidex.com/arimidex-direct.html) where you pay $30 for a thirty day supply or $90 for ninety day supply. Seems too good to be true. The page seems to be run by Astra Zeneca that makes Arimidex. I've quickly scanned the page and don't see anything that stands out to me that I would be scammed. Has anyone ever heard of this?
We would get to keep anything left of our deductible to carry over into the next year and build up a balance to somehow use to retirement medical expenses later. That would help me as I work part time and will have no medical after retiring but Medicare and whatever I supplement with. But, at this rate for the Arimidex and another drug I take that has no generic and is $475.00 for three month supply. I could get that down to $364 at Walmart per goodrx.
Our problem is they've been trying to negotiate all this with our union and just came to us last night with the details of our contract that included this. We have to vote on Monday if we want to accept the contract and it goes into effect 1/1/2015. It will probably pass as HR has included other enticing items to our contract that they've never even considered before. No time to think this through with the holidays added to that.
Anyway, has anyone ever heard of this Arimidex Direct? Any thoughts on it? The Arimidex alone will eat up my entire deductible. Which I guess isn't so bad as I'm told after that we wouldn't pay anything, but our premium each pay check. So, maybe it won't be such a bad deal. But, I'll never be able to build anything up in the HSA account as my deductible will always be eating it up. Hmmm, maybe it's time to ask onc to switch to Femara/letrozole even the name brand is only be $1,776.76 for three months supply. Wait a minute! That's more than the Arimidex. Nope, not switching. Unless, I could take the generic form of that one with no side effects. My problem is I've always been very sensitive to medications and it seems I'm allergic or reactive to more and more things since my cancer. I'd hate to switch to Femara/letrozole and find out I'm allergic to it. My five years is up in Nov 2015 on the Arimidex, but my onc and I have discussed maybe staying on it for 7 or 10 years instead.
I guess I've rambled on enough. Any thoughts appreciated. And, maybe this isn't the exact proper forum to ask this on. But, since it's mostly SE related that I need the name brand, it kind of is.
Oh, I forgot to mention, two months ago I had switched back to generic Arimidex to see if I still had the trigger finger and IT band issues. Knock on wood, nothing on the IT band, but the trigger finger is getting worse as time goes on. So, called today for another scrip for the Arimidex so at least I'm covered another three months until I have to decide again.
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patty9999--The Astra Zenica program is legit, all the big pharma companies have programs to help with the cost of their big ticket drugs. It's well worth checking into further as there are often financial terms to meet to qualify for the stated $30/month. Usually there is a sliding scale type system where you get a break on the cost depending on your financial situation.
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It is legit, i used it a couple of months ago. I just wanted to try the name brand to see if it made any difference and asked my doctor for a new script, and she gladly gave it to me. You have to give your info to a pharmacy called Eagle and they send by mail. I figured if it did matter, then I would begin the fight with my insurance company.
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yes. surprisingly legit~! LOL. But check like Native said because the programs are all diffrent. Good luck. My husband will be going to a new insurance as well. I have Medicare i am eligible for too. so who knows. I don't even know if my doctors will be included! I loved Cigna. we had only one problem with billing over a 900$ MUGA. we ended up paying it, but over 250,00$ the last 2 years and they paid without a peep!
Much love
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ok. I got a cortisone shot in my trigger finger. Hope it wirks. But that was at 2:30 and it's now 7:30 and the sucker is still numb. LOL. On the other gand, it doesn't hurt! LOL
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For those who have tried both generic and brand version of Arimidex, Which one has less side effects? I just started taking generic version today after being on Tamoxifen for a year and half. I took it this morning since I heard it could cause insomnia.
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new2bc,
My MO said it could make me sleepy, so I should take it in the evening! We are all different, and our doctors are most definitely all different. My only SE so far is mild hot flashes.
Edited for a spelling error.
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I have taken both the generic and brand version of Arimidex. I do much better on the brand version.
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Forgot to say I take the generic: Anastrazole.
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I take the generic & just completed a month's worth.... Not many side effects except every once in awhile in the eves I get some joint pain. I have insomnia anyway so take mine in the am. So far, so good! No hot flashes ! Yay!
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I started out on name brand arimidex, switched to generic when it became available.I didn't see any difference ineffects/side effects.After the first few months I started having a really noticeable hot flash just about 8:30 every morning, just about 2 and 1/2 hours after taking the pill.On weekends, when I get up a bit later, the 8:30 hot flash would happen a bit later!
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Thank you for the input on the Astra Zeneca program. I will check into it. I did just place one more 90 day supply order on the old insurance program. So, will have approx. 90 days to figure this out.
For those asking about differences between generic and name brand. First, I wouldn't think that all would affect everyone the same way. I am very sensitive to medications. For some reason, even more so since my cancer diagnosis. I have been noticing more and more of stiffening finger issues as time goes on on the generic Arimidex. Will start the name brand again when I receive it and see if it goes away. If so, that would be my second test of the issue happening with the generic brand. It's not as bad as some others. Just the fingers, mostly in my right hand, getting stuck. But, I just need to stretch my hand and it goes away. I'm just concerned with the IT band issues coming back where I couldn't walk and was using a cane. That was unacceptable.
Just my input on the subjects.
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Has anyone heard if the usual course for Arimidex has changed from 5 to 10 years?
I hope not
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Hi All. I just started taking the generic Arimidex on Dec 2nd. So far, the only SE has been increased hot flashes - and they have been some doozies!
I did ask my MO about taking Arimidex for 10 years and it just depends on the benefit vs. the risk. In my case, he said he would not recommend it.
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yes, I was diagnosed in June and I was told the new standard is 10 years. My oncologist said you know how things change and within the next 10 years, who is to say they won't change that to less or more. She said they had found after 5 years, a lot of people were having it come back so thats why they moved it to 10 years.
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I don't believe that there is a current standard for using aromatase inhibitors only for 10 years - those studies are ongoing now. Tamoxifen has been studied regarding benefit of extended use and the recommendation is for continuing it for 10 years. If patients are not experiencing harmful side effects many oncologists are willing to leave them on aromatase inhibitors beyond five years, as long as potential benefit outweighs risk. The current (as of May 2014) ASCO standard for post-menopausal women is as follows:
"Women diagnosed with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer who are postmenopausal should be offered adjuvant endocrine therapy with one of the following options: tamoxifen for 10 years; an aromatase inhibitor for 5 years; tamoxifen for 5 years, then switching to an aromatase inhibitor for up to 5 years; or tamoxifen for 2 to 3 years and switching to an aromatase inhibitor for up to 5 years."
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My daughter has rheumatoid arthritis and has been gluten free and pain free for the past 10 years. She was a mess before she changed her diet and now if she cheats and ears wheat she gets a flare up. I have osteoarthritis and Fibro and she's been trying to get me to try the diet for ages. I did switch over 6 weeks ago when I had my diagnostic Mammo thinking that it was time to stop anything potentially inflammatory. Within the week my joint pain cleared up
When the doctor put m on the AI I was afraid of the potential SE. Knock on wood, so far so good! Wonder how many people are finding they can tolerate the meds if wheat or gluten free?
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chloesmom - I had a lot of joint pain until I changed to an anti-inflammatory diet in January - I cut out gluten, corn, soy, dairy, sugar, peanuts and eggs - the vast majority of my pain dissipated, along with the weight I gained during chemo and the first year of AI drugs.
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