Arimidex - Coping with the SE's
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My new slogan for the year 2011 is, "Whatever works!". I have a few others that I'll toss out as needed.
otter
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Hello, A Team,
This is Sunflowers, after a computer crash
Loss of all passwords, couldn't remember many, now writing them down, meanwhile, following Otter's lead - I've been thinking about this for a while my word for 2011 is "Joy." Lovely new MacBookPro, very bright and f-a-s-t. Sometimes good things do follow the bad...Set my alarm for 2:00am, went to bed with my clothes on, got up to see the full lunar eclipse, and it was the cloudiest sky we've had in weeks....as Pooh would say, "Oh, Bother!" Maybe next time.
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I have been on arimidex since 3 years and 8 months. These days I am facing gastric problem so I have to take medicine to solve the problem but no improvement. And I was told as long as arimidex is administered there is always one or other side effects. I am sometimes very moody. sjeilers.. as far as my knowledge arimidex has the same composition of anastrozole. Is there any difference in both ? In my country most of the survival patients are administered anastrozole mainly because of the cost factor as arimidex is very costlier than anastrozole. I am spending INR 6450/- ( approx. 150 $).
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Wanda, I have also been on the anastrozole since August and I had started Arimidex in March. My pain did not start until about 5 months after I started taking the AI. I am now much better and my pain seems to be subsiding, it has just been in my knees and fingers. I have not had any depression, but I did gain 30 lbs. I have now started the long process of dieting and getting the weight off. I am feeling much better. Hope it all starts to get better for you.
rajkumari, the Arimidex is very expensive in the states. At least $500.00 a month or more, depending on insurance or not, with my insurance I only paid $50.00 for a 3 month supply. The generic is cheaper and mine is covered by insurance and is $20.00 for a 3 month supply, so I am not sure what the retail cost is, but it is much cheaper.
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Otter, molly52, ruthbru, NativeMainer, enjoyful and one-L: thank you so much. molly52 - the thread is very helpful as most are. NativeMainer - I will be calling my Rad Onc tomorrow re: cough. I just got over a 2 month cough in October after a tapered dose of predisone. I don't want a bronchoscopy that the Pulmonary Onc has said would most likely be the next step since all other pulmonary tests come back normal. Many ladies mentioned taking Omega 3. Is anyone taking Diovan for cardiomyopty (heart failure due to chemo and herception? If so, are there any interactions between it and Omega 3.
I pray that I am able to adjust to this new season of life with cancer side effects with dignity and the courage to endure. I was pretty healthy before 2009.
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to all.
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BlessedOne2--I'm not finding any interactions between Diovan and Omega 3 in my reference books.
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I started taking Arimidex in October 2010. By December I was clawing myself to death with
itching and anxiety. My oncologist had me stop for 2 weeks to see if the itching stopped (it did)
He has now started me on Aromasin. I've been on it about a week now. No problems with hot
flashes or night sweats, however, I've been having problems with my back, hip, and inner legs
hurting when I walk. Also, major problems with right shoulder. without going into long detail,
working with Orthopedic Doc on shoulder but am beginning to wonder if all this pain could
be the Aromasin? Does anyone have a thought?
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j1241nanna
I've been told my my oncologists that all the AI's have some SE's - mostly the joint pain you're referring to. Basically our bodies are trying to do without ANY Estrogen ;( Even after menopause, the adrenal glands do produce some estrogen - preventing Aromotase from being produced, a necessary precurser for our bodies to produce estrogen - means NADA, none, or darn close to none. This was how it was explained to me, taking chemobrain ( and age) into consideration, I may have messed up part of this. I had the itchies on Arimidex in the beginning, then it subsided. I still have skin that is so dry, alligator's would be embarassed to be compared to me & best thing I've found, is slathering myself with Aquaphora when damp after shower, then sliding into my clothes, mostly sweatpants, cottons, I'm retired. For those who aren't willing to be that slippery/greasy - I also LOVE LOVE LOVE Alba Botanica:very emollient lotion. I get at the local Food co-op/health food store. Best moisturizer I've found, and I swear Ive tried them all!
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Hi - i am new to this thread and was diagnosed with stage 2 BC and one node positve i just had my first infusion of cmf and it was awful - my onc said this would put me into menopause and then she would put me on armidrex - i CANNOT see me taking this for 5 years - i am trying to research naturopathic doctors - i am from new york - i NEVER and i mean NEVER took any medication in my life - when i had the sniffles - bayer aspirin - a headache - bayer aspirin etc..... please let me know what you are deciding to do or
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I like to use Jojoba oil for my dry skin. I get pure jojoba oil and add some essential oils for fragrance. I also use it in the shower gel that I make for myself. I still have dry skin but it isn't as bad as it was when I first started the lupron/arimidex combo and it doesn't itch all the time. I am going to look for Alba Botanica, that sounds really nice and effective, too.
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Well I took my last tamoxifen last night and will start on Arimidex tonight. I started tamox 3 years ago and other than endometrial issues that were made worse by tamox, I had very little se's. I have had a TAH-BSO in December of last year but waited until this month to start Arimidex as I wanted the 3 years of bone protection from Tamox before starting an AI. I had my first (baseline) DEXA scan last week and 5 out of 6 areas scanned showed being slightly osteopenic. That's my hormonal treatment in a nutshell. Thank you ladies for all your insight and experiences on Arimidex (I've been lurking since last December!)
Gentle hugs,
Trish
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NativeMaine - I can't remember who suggested Dove Body Wah in shower, but that's helped me too. She also suggested using their hair conditioner as a final body 'wash' - that helps. But I really like your idea of oil - I have some Weleeda Baby Oil - and will try that. Tho' I must say, I wish I could remember who suggested the Dove Body Wash, because it's so much better than the bar soap I was using. I also added a "permanent" rubber mat ( with stick'um bubbles) to the floor of the shower - it was getting slippery in there
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Goat milk soap works beautifully. I used to claw my legs until they bled every winter but the goat milk soap helped a lot. I still itch, though not nearly as badly.
alabu.com and goatmilkstuff.com have great products.
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Goat milk soap? There's a goat farm just a few miles from my, I see their sign every day when I drive by. They list goat milk soap on the sign. I'm going to have to stop in and try some!
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Of store soap Dove is the most mild. I have company arriving in a few minutes so will be off the computer for a few days. Have a wonderful holiday all! Ruth
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To all my "A" friends,
The Happiest of Holidays!!! I feel so blessed to have all of you in my corner ...nice to have such understanding and comforting friends.
Teri
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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone. So glad to have you all as my BC pals. Sorry we have to be here, but that was not our choice.
Love to all,
Juannelle
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A Happy Holidays to all and a healthy 2011.
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Ditto.
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Mery Christmas and Happy New Year.
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Santa put some Dove body wash in my stocking, ho ho ho!
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Don't want to damper too much (it is after all Christmas day!). Some Dove body washes have soy (some don't) so if you are watching your soy intake be certain to read the ingredients. I don't go overboard but do avoid it, at least until they can get their act together on whether to stay away or not.
Wishing all my fellow 'A' team the very merriest Christmas day ever - and many more.
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I haven't visited this site for a while and am interested to read posts since I was last here. On Anastrozole since mid-August, I'm having some of the symptoms mentioned above and had not thought to associate them with A. Nose bleeds, weaker grip. Last couple of nights I've been plagued with leg cramps and wonder if A gets credit for that, as well.
My docs agree with eliminating soy and alcohol. I feel better when I ditch the glutens as well as animal products. Let's see; that pretty much leaves tree bark and seaweed! Anyway, I'm trying to clean up my act.
Looking forward to bidding 2010 adieu and having a better year. I hope it's a good year for all -
- Brenda
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I've been on Arimidex for almost 9 mths now and I'm just starting to feel relief from some of the joint and muscle pain. The pain started about 2 months after I began taking it, and it started in my knees and hips. It then progressed to my back, but lessened in my knees. I now suffer with occasional back pain, but both thumbs have developed Trigger Thumb. I needed a shot of cortisone in my left thumb because the pain was so severe. My right arm and chest have lymphedema so I refused an injection in my right thumb. My hands hurt a lot in the morning. The worst pain by far however has been in both shoulders. It refuses to get better despite exercise, rest, NSAIDs, PT, etc. I am determined to continue with A for as long as necessary however. I strongly believe that it is keeping me from cancer's return after having three good sized tumors and being 80% ER+. For those of you just beginning to feel pain symptoms after starting with A, take heart, as most do experience relief eventually. I'm doing much better than I was even six months ago. Hang in there!
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Rocket - glad to hear that side effects lessen as time goes on. I will be looking forward to some relief. I have only been on Arimidex for about six months.
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Don23 - I thought I was going to be one of those people that never got relief because it took so long for me to notice any. It has been very gradual in my case. I'll take any relief that I can get however! Hang in there!
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I know it sounds really odd, but the more physically active I am the less trouble I have with joint pain and stiffness. Of course, I had arthritis before bc, and keeping active helps the arthritis, so it may not be arimidex related at all. But the hips and knees are complaining with the change in the weather. Time to go out and shovel and limber up these old joints!
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Move, move, move; it is really the key to managing the aches. Also the SE for me eased up very gradually. Lots of things gave me trouble in the beginning (like the hot flashes& being very creaky & sore if I sat too long, or on bleachers at all) & the getting adjusted was so gradual that all of the sudden I'd realize, "I just sat through the whole basketball game without being uncomfortable." (or band concert, or presentation) and "I have not considered taking off all my clothes and climbing into the freezer even one time today."
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Can't blame today's aches on 'A' - just did 3 hours of shovelling and since I've not been exercising regularly for 6 weeks my back is protesting. Me and advil will be best friends today. But the hip/knee pains have been coming back, again, I stopped regular exercising so revving myself up to get back to it. Between exercise and vit d3 I had just about total relief.
edited to say it's been 3 hours since I finished shovellling - seems like I only stopped moments ago, at least my back thinks it was only moments! Advil, hmmmmmm, maybe wine?
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patoo-if it's any consolation, if your back is hurting this soon after shoveling you probably haven't actually injured it--injury pain usually shows up 2 days later according to the ER doc being interviewed on the evening news!
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