Arimidex - Coping with the SE's
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Enjoyed the dialog about hockey players! Not too many down here in south Louisiana.
Maybe it's an age thing, but I don't have the energy and stamina now that I had before BC, surgery, stopping HRT cold turkey, and taking Arimidex and Effexor. The HRT may have encouraged my E+ tumor to grow, but I sure felt good taking it. Maybe I don't push myself as much now as I once did. If I don't get something done today, maybe I'll get to it tomorrow. I'm 67, after all, not a "spring chicken."
My 1-year anniversary for membership in the A club was Sept. 19. The SEs really have been tolerable so far. The main one is joint stiffness after sitting. When I first stand up, my joints don't seem to want to do their job. But after I take a few hobbling steps, I'm okay. I take my pill at night along with an O/C sleep aid I buy at Sam's that is basically benedryl. I sleep well but can easily sleep more than 8 hrs if I indulge myself and stay in bed.
Those of you who take in hockey players, be sure and tell us about it so we can at least have fun vicariously!
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Lowrider, thanks for the reminder about gluten. Yes, it has been mentioned before in this or other threads. I think I will try and at least cut back and, if I remember, check labels to avoid it.
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NancyLa,
I've been on the generic, Anastrozole, and also had severe pain. The Dr said stop immediately and he'll call me Thursday. Said he will probably switch me to Tamoxifen. Don't know what to expect from that. From comments I've read I have the impression that the effects vary in part due to age--pre or post menopause. I'm about 17 or 18 years post. Another treatment to study.
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Hey Sunflowers, great news, you don't have celiac disease, good on ya! Thank you and Lowrider for the gluten-free reminder. Let's blame it on chemo, I'm becoming more and more forgetful. I'm so grateful for all your life-enhancing/saving reminders and suggestions for our good health.
Hi NancyLa, wonderful that you're recovering and that the right action was taken. You knew right away and so did your onc. Wishing you continued success. I agree with Chabba in that the reaction to A could have much to do with menopausal status. I would add basic bone and joint health to begin with would be a factor.
Best wishes, Julia
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TY mersmom ~julia and enjoyful for your comments about opening bottles I did buy something to help~ a gripper pad from buck store oops mean dollar store ,,Going hunting tomorrow (do you have granola bars ready Teri?)so have to think deer!!! ha If it is too cheapy a thingy I will get something else..NOW all I have to do is remember to use it ..I did not have chemo but at times memory a bother more recently I have noticed this...noticed what >>?>? oh I got it haha...ANyway the hand thIng ..memory and fatigue I mentioned to BC Doctor yesterday ,,After she asked to make sure I was still on the A thingy!!! She gave me nice pat on back and laughed when I told her when I forget things I pray to the person I know who most recently died..She also had read my Woman Hunter article ,,yes I sent one to her as she is mentioned in it but not by name,,,She gave me many compliments and said it is not easy to get publlished.,,My CA marker was 14 and all other blood tests normal and probably for my upcoming 3 yr ann in Feb I got a 5 month reprieve!!! Carole your 67 and my 70 seem young when I trot around mall like I did after appt yesterday ,,,trying to keep up with my mom.she is 93..!
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Congratulations on you appointment! Have fun on the hunt!
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Hi...been on arimindex for 2 months and do not know if the se' are from this...because I have or might have a vestibular imbalnce which involves the middle ear and have been suffering fro it since may...just afyter i broke my nose at work from extreme working condtions. i do know that tha joint pain is from the a...but i have been having more nausea that usual...and feel like i am going to get period...some cramping.....I take my a at night before I go to bed, I sleep well...but someyims i forget...fallasleep before i take it and either weait till next dose or take it then...7...9 o11 sometimes......I move furniture for a living.....I am relly afraid of the sudden cardiac arrests I have read about on some of the research i did on this drug...that i just found out about...and to boot i already had some type of anxiety issues..so this drug can make it worse? So tried to page my dr and no reply..not until monday...so i do not know eather these are still allsymptoms fro the inner ear or the arimindex.....had nausea and dizziness before on a...but more than usual now since on a...along with others pins and needles joint pain tired ness ...tied before...i was on tamoxifen for 3 1/2 yrs and did well...would of like for her to keep me on that until this other was diagnosed properly......so of course workman's comp does not want to pay, they feel it is not related...we will find out..have imbalance test on tues and have a lawyer since may...my nose is crooked and just found out that i ahve develpoed allergies. any advice about the heart issues and if I have to worry aobut it or not? thanks God bless, pillow and I have a date after I take my med.
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My goodness Tacotime, you're having a terrible time of it breaking your nose and all those awful SEs. I hope you have a speedy recovery and that the SEs are very temporary and disappear fast. If you don't mind my asking, if you were doing well on Tamoxifen, why were you taken off it? Have you tried taking A in the am? It has helped some folks with SEs as posted here. I hope they can get to the bottom of the vertigo problem and about your worries re your heart, imho you should request a full cardiac evaluation. With the physical job that you have I would think your heart and basic condition would be strengthened. Good luck! Julia
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Thankyou....Dos this mean that people that had cardiac arrests had some problem s with thier heart in the first place? You see i have a bit of anxiety attacks...and when I know something like that could possible happen..it frightens me horribly. I was taken off the Tamoifen because my Dr wanted me to get through much of menopause and then switch me to arimindex for the other two...?I do know that i did not get my period when the drug mail order had a problem with sending my pills( tamoxifen) at the time and when they got it straight it was amonth without my pills...do any of you think this could of caued my imbalanceness? I still have it mostly with physical exertion ot looking up..or turning around to look at something, just want to vomit sometimes..Arimindex is..suppose to be better and less se...but I have been feeling itchy and stuff...fingers are stiff..and stiff other places...have not taken any vitamins with this yet....I really do not like to take things without seeing if they will blend well...but a vitamin I am sure will not hurt. I had muga scans before chemo and my heart was good through all that...and I guess I have a pretty good strong heart...just the thought of drugs being able to do these things is frieightening...especially when I do not fully understand what is going on with me now. Can you or anyone tell me if the arimindex causes eczema.....i went to the er where i live and they do not know to much about arimidex to know...they said it is eczema...itt is a red rash behind my left ear on the scalp that has flaky white skin peeling off and it itches...sdo not know how long I had it there, but not infected...so they told me it has to run its corse...to put benadryl cream on it and some ointment...I put vasoline with benadryl spray on it. well do not forget to set ur clocks and it is pass the time to take my pill ..almost midnight and was suppose to take it around 9....
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thanks again Julia
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You have very significant issues Tacotime, I just wish I had good answers for you, I'm afraid I do not. If I were to guess as I'm certainly no expert, I would think many things could cause cardiac arrest and high on that list of things might probably be an underlying problem there. So it's encouraging that the muga test showed that your heart is good and strong. I think the team is in agreement on a good multivitamin pill ... 1/2 am, 1/2 pm. I was wondering, have you considered taking the A in the morning? You can ask questions of the docs at askanoncologistnow.com. I do hope you get the right answers to all your understandable concerns. My best wishes, Julia
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Julia--Arimidex can cause a rash, but it's not known for causing exzema. About the fear of cardiac arrest--talk to your onc. Get some testing done or change back to tamoxifen. It's important to feel comfortable with your treatment. Cardiac arrests are very rare, but knowing that doesn't help if you happen to be the rare person it happens to. Do you take anything for the anxiety? I know I couldn't get through without my xanax, even if I don't take it very often. Anxiety certainly comes with the diagnosis, and doesn't help when someone already has an anxiety issue.
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Thank you for the info....I do have ativan that i can take...but I only take those pills when i have severe anxiety. my anxiety is the kind that i feel like I am going to drop dead at any second...i have nerves so bad that my whole body shacks all over...and most of the time it is because my brain does not reconize what is real at the time and what is not. i do not take them now...they are old ones from when I had chemo...otherwise i deal with small anxiety once in awhile.....the episodes i did have while or before they hit me hard was when some tragic or trama happened with friends and family....I found My uncle in the back bedroom in 2004....he had heart attack...because if blockage that diseas...but I did not freak out until the week after,,,,i landed in the hospital and was down 30 lbs...my body exhausted itself so much that I had to be feed for the first week...I could not sleep before was in hospital up for four days straight and no one could help me at the time...i tried zanax...my body would not let it take affect and was even more tired...cause i was up still.....they put me on the ativan in hospital...I went to counseling...I eventually got better...started reading miguial ruiz the four agreements..that helped to....but once my mind is on its way...it is hard to change the thinking process when I have things going on with it that is hard to cope with...even if for the next 2 or one yr.....after that....i eventaully found out I had breast cancer....and my grandmother was diagnosed with colon cancer...we were both suffering...but there was nothuing they could do for her..it spread to her lower intestines....she passed just before my surjry...march 10...2007, and to boot do not want to be negative ..but our dog had cancer of the lung and could not breathe at the time...we had to put him down after my grandma....gee whiz. i ahve been doing considerable well though....I am just not sure of weather this imbalanceness or more or less the naisea is from the arimindex...have it all day long usually...and at night I take my pill...but it is hard,,,I am not one to take pills. I do have a low torlerance for them...and high tolerance for pain. I did not even take the pain kilers they gave me after my surgery...I took tylenol and that worked good. i did try the vicadin..it did not help with pain...just made me sick. anyway...i took up the Guitar...and that helps with stress...and At work..I have been doing laboring things, just not unloading furniture....if i do later...will I end up breaking or fracturing my bones because of this pill? I have been physically active for more than 20 yrs....which was gratful for...it helped me to recoop faster. God Bless
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p.s. my job is so laboring,,,that it already is hard dealing with the aches and pains of muscle sorness as it is// I was the top forklift operator and we only had three at the time...now they have four and can't get the numbers i was getting...i beleuve they took advantage of me...this new gm and corporate took over..it was franchanzed at first. the manger is so anal...he has to be number one in the division and he has puhed us to exhastion...I slowed down a grat deal..but am not on lift and they are waiting for my return...to bad the high nubers of pulling are over with and how am I going to do it with weak bones and really achy muscles? feeling like I am 90....i already have nerve damage in my wrists and my fingers have gone numb for a long time because of overuse. thanks for listening...
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Tacotime, I feel for you dear girl, you have had more than your share of health issues and tragedies. You need to be very kind to yourself and take good care. I hope there's a counselor or a professional that you can talk to and get you through this trying time. Also, have you had a bone density test done? If there's a weakness, there are very good medications for that. I understand your reservations about taking pills but sometimes an imbalance of some sort in your system can be resolved by taking that tried and true pill and perhaps it may even be for a short time. I hope you feel a lot better very soon and all the aches and pains an old bad memory. Take care. Julia
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This may or may not be connected, but over the summer, I thought that my scalp was sunburned. I either applied sunscreen to my part or wore a hat-always. By the time Sept rolled around, I realized that my (entire) scalp was still red and it couldn't possibly be sunburn. Went to the derm last week and was told that it was seborrheic dermatitis. There is no itching or scaling, just redness. Has anyone had this or heard of it from the A?
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sunflowers,
I'm so excited to know that. I've definitely got the dry thing going on which, with winter coming isn't bound to improve, but at least the hot flashes are less with the cooler weather :>)
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LowRider, love the picture!
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Has anyone here taken the generic form of A and their side effects got worse? Mine have so my dr. gave me a new prescription for the non-generic form of A to see if that is the culprit. I sure hope it is because my SE's have gotten worse since taking the generic. The biggest SE I have are with my joints. I didn't have this much pain when I was taking the non-generic form and I sure hope that is what the problem is. I'd hate to have to walk around like this for almost another four years. UGH!!!
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Switched to generic with no problems. Are you moving, moving, moving? It really does help.
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don23, I went on the generic and by the second week I had joint pain in both of my thumbs. Previous to that I was not experiencing any of the joint issues that so many do suffer from. I had saved some of the real A which I switched back to and in 4 days the pain in my thumbs was gone. I now have an RX for the brand A, and am back to mainly hot flashes as a SE. There are many that do not notice any change from brand to generic, and many that do. Good-luck !!
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Hi ladies,
I am an Armidex veteran of 4 1/2 years...6 more months to go until I am done!
I was taking Zoladex injections for the first 1 1/2 years. I take Immovane (a sleeping med) and have not had to increase the dosage since I have been taking it for 4 years. Armidex and menopause caused my sleeping to be constantly interrupted with hotflashes and insominia. Prior to bc I could fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow!
I had my ovaries removed in May of 2008 and the hotflashes got worse...begged my oncologist for something to relieve them...went on Effexor 75 mg for 2 1/2 years . I do not like the way Effexor makes me feel - almost like a flat feeling, also extreme sleepiness in the early afternoon and a sedated feeling in general. Dont get me wrong it did it's job for the first couple of years of my "instant menopause".
I have been slowly weaning off Effexor and have had no s/e's so far. I feel more awake during the day and my "flat feelings" that I had previously are disappating. I am taking 400mg of Vitamin E now for hotflashes. Despite having lower my Effexor dose by 25%, the hotflashes havent gotten any worse and 75mg was the "ideal dose" recommended by my oncologist. I wonder if my body has adjusted to its slam into menopause finally....
I had alot of problems with stiffness for the first year or so on Armidex. I started running in July of this year, run 3.5 km 4 times a week and feel alot better!
The best of luck with those ladies just starting out on this "hormonal" journey, its not a fun one but kinda like chemo "doable"!
PM me if you have any questions or leave a message on this thread!
Michele
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Hey girls--I use Aveeno for showering and have kept the dryness at bay. It smells great and it contains no "soap". It's worth a try. i use the stuff in the green and off white bottle.Also try showering with cooler water. Not cool, just not hot hot.That helps too.
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don23,
I switched to generic "anastrozole" about 6 weeks ago after having been on brand-name Arimidex for more than 2 years. As I've said before, my SE's have not changed at all. They are no better or worse on the generic drug than they were on the brand-name.
I saw my med onco for a regular recheck 10 days ago, so I asked her what she thought about the generic version of Arimidex. She said there seemed to be no difference -- she had not heard of any of her patients (or anyone else's at that center, apparently) having worse SE's on the generic version.
YMMV
otter
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Ruth - I have been moving. I try to get at least 30 minutes of cardio every day. Even before BC I was very active. I'd hate to see what I would feel like it I didn't keep active. I may be grasping at straws hoping that the non-generic will make this all go away but it can't hurt to give it a try. If it doesn't work out then I will just have to live with it. Has anyone had acupuncture to relieve side effects?
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Otter - what does YMMV mean?
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Oh, ... sorry. "YMMV" is shorthand for "your mileage may vary." Which, of course, is a disclaimer.
Each of us is unique, so we can't expect our SE's to be the same. In this case, since I'm not having much trouble with Arimidex/anastrozole, I wish everyone could share my experience.
otter
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Some people have had very good luck with acupuncture. It would be worth a try!
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This thread has some of our collected tips summarized - there is a section on joint pain that may be of help:
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/78/topic/754832?page=1#post_18992820 -
I was on Femara. Terrible joint pain. Tried Arimidix. Same thing. Does anyone know how long my body is going to hurt like this? Thanks.
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