Arimidex - Coping with the SE's
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I started taking epsom salts baths about a month ago and it does help with the pain and moisturizes your skin. Who'd have thought that anything with 'salt' in it would be moisturizing?? . There are some scented varieties on the market that are quite nice!
E
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I guess the epsom salts might have the same effect as when you brine a turkey--LOL!
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Epson salt to soften the skin and moisturize? Well I'll be, I have to try that. You know though my Mom swore by the stuff for many things. I just kind of blew her off, but maybe she knew what she was talking about.
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I know, right? It's amazing how much it helps with the body aches, too.
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To bad I can't enjoy the nice glass of wine I used to enjoy with that nice warm soak. Oh well I'll try to enjoy the epson salt instead.
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Epson salt is the salt form of magnesium, which is good for so many things medicine has discovered over the years! Mild of magnesia is magnesium based, many antacids are like Maalox are magnesium based, magnesium supplements are often given to people because not enough can be the cause of muscle pain and stiffness, the list goes on!
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A dilemna: Taking Aromasin now since Sept. 2010, tamoxifen before that for 3 1/2 years. Chemo-induced menopause/no period since Oct. 2006. Xmas Day? PERIOD...heavy/heavy for 2 days. Called oncologist's office, told me to STOP taking the Aromasin...make an appt. with gyn (did, Jan. 12th) and go from there. Anybody else experience this? NO periods at all since 10/2006, hot flashes-night sweats galore, stopped a week ago, then period starts? Labs show that for past 2 years consistent with POST-menopause. No ups and downs, very consistent. So now stopping ANY anti-cancer-hormone med is not good, but neither is starting my period...ugh! Not sure if this is a 'common' occurrence after so long, but anybody's comments/experience would be great. THX all...and a very Happy/Healthy 2011 to you all. ~juli
(First day of Taxol *BAM* smack into menopause in one day in Oct. 2006, no spotting, no bleeding, absolutely no more periods at all...hence the switch from tamoxifen to aromasin this Fall)
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I haven't given up my red wine..,.some days I enjoy a glass (or 2) and other days nothing...depends on the mood...I figure everything in moderation!!!
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Hi I have a question. I have been on Arimidex or the generic version for 14 months. Just the usual aches and pains but I had lots of those before due to joint and disks problems. I have had very few hot flashes more just warm moments for the first few months and then none at all. The past two months I have been dieting and have lost 11 pounds but have a lot to go as I am in the low obese range. As I have lost weight my warm moments have increased. Usually when dieting as you lose you feel cooler but not this time. Has anyone else experienced this? I am wondering as I lose maybe the estrogen levels caused by the fat have gone down. Find this interesting and just wanted to see if anyone else has had the same thing.
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I've wondered about weight and the drugs we are on. We all get the same dose no matter what our weight is. It would be interesting to see if the hot flashes get worse because we are getting a stronger amount of the drug into our systems as we loose weight.
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I have found it interesting as well that no matter what size a woman is the dosage is the same. Does anyone have any insight to this?
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kat43, I can't answer your exact question, but this is what my ob-gyn said about hot flashes--Thin women tend to get more hot flashes and stronger ones when in menopause because they don't have the fat cells to make extra estrogen that helps keep them at bay. I guess theoretically they would have a closer to zero number than a women who was more obese with lots of extra fat cells. Makes sense, but I don't know how much of that conversation applies to you losing weight. Just a thought to add.
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Given that aromatase works in fat cells to convert cholesterol to estrogen, it makes sense that thinner women would have more hot flashes, and losing weight would increase the number/intensity of hot flashes.
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It would be interesting to know if it works better on thin women then. I would love to know if there is any info about stats for reacurance for women on either side of the spectrom.
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I know heavy women have a pretty increased recurrence risk or people who keep their weight down. I don't have stats; but since fat has estrogen, and they have more estrogen that needs to be supressed, the Als won't work as well for them (why the dose wouldn't be upped, I don't know.....increased SEs make it not an option?)
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Thanks Ruth. I don't know but since thinner people have harder SE's it would be logical to me to have a higher dose for heaveier people. And yes I am concerend because i am in the over weight group. So far after 2 months the SE's have been very managable which I am thankful for.
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My SIL joined Weight Watchers this summer, lost 35 pounds and has turned into an exercise fiend. I keep losing the same 10 pounds over and over again!
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Boy can I relate. Same 10 pounds over and over. I'm really trying to exercise more because I know I need to. If not for me at least as an example. My DD is extremely over weight due to drugs she has to use for her asma, and good old ma keeps suggesting she needs to loose some of the weight.
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OK, this is inspiring me to get off the computer, go down in the basement and put in an exercise DVD (it is storming outside here). Later! Ruth
(And yes, kids don't like listen to our sage advice; but they do WATCH us to make sure that we practice what we preach).
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kira1234
I am a thin person with very minimal SE from the Arimidex. I asked my onc whether I could consider taking it every other day for that reason, but she said absolutely not.
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Kira and wenweb,
I am a thin person too and had major side effects. But my onc. was ok with me taking 1/2 a pill per day instead of the full pill.
Glenis
Edited to add, but since you wenweb have so little in the way of se's, I imagine that your onc. could not see a reason for you not to take the full dosage.
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painterly, That's what I'm wondering abou,t mine have been fairly mild so far. I do think this has been an eye opener for me in one way, it has made me realize I really must become less of a couch potato. In fact I just got done using the tread mill for 20 minutes which is the first time since surgery for me. I know my BS says no lifting yada yada, but really 6 months is way to long.
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painterly, you are probably right!!
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Painterly, I'm interested in what your doc said about the half dose.
When I first had my ooph, my onc didn't seem interested at all in checking my estrogen levels. She just said, you're in menopause now. You need the AI. But my obgyn questioned whether I needed it, since I, too, was very thin. He ordered an estrogen test, but it ended up not being a specific enough test. The results just showed that I was at less than 12. He said anywhere under 30 is considered menopausal, so that's why they don't do a more specific test. There IS a more specific test that I've read about on this site before, though. I guess my insurance provider (kaiser) just doesn't provide it. I've wondered many, many times over the last 8 months if I'm going through all these side effects for nothing. Maybe my original estrogen numbers were as low as 3??? Would I have stilll needed to go on the AI?
The other thing that really bothers me, is that I've been steadily gaining weight on this stupid drug. I have NEVER had problems with my weight before--never dieted a day in my life. I've stayed right around 100-105 pounds since high school. Now in 8 months, I've gained 10 pounds!!! That is a 10% weight gain! So. . . is the AI counteracting itself in me by causing fat gain, and thus more estrogen? What to do, what to do, what to do. . . Sigh. . .!
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weety, I don't think the Onc. test out estrogen levels, they just give the stuff out like candy. When I asked my first Onc. her answer was we never test it's not an accurate test. As far as weight gain. I'm sure the lack of estragen has a lot to do with the weight gain. I know I gained when I went through natural menapause. Your question about the Al's counteracting itself by causing fat gain is a resonable question. I think many of us have that same question.
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Dear Ladies,
There has been research done in Canada about BMI (weight) and the effectiveness of AI's vs. tamoxifen. The article is listed in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and it is titled: Obesity and Hormone Therapy in Breast Cancer: An Unfinished Puzzle, it was published ahead of print on June 14, 2010. When I talked to my Dr.Onc. about this it was brushed off as possibly consequential info. My surgeon however, was very interested. He said "it makes sense." At one point the article said "The authors also demonstrated a significant interaction between treatment and obesity on risk recurrance- there was a significantly greater risk of recurrance in overweight women receiving anastrozole but not in those receiving tamoxifen." That is one of the reasons I'm starting out on Tamoxifen and then moving to an AI (strictly personal choice) because I am obese and 100% hormonal and post menopausal. Just an FYI for you all... good luck to everyone!
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Valgal that is interesting. I seem to remember reading somewhere the combo for postmenapausal women also lessons the chance of cardiac arrest. This is really something I ned to research quickly because I see my Onc. on Thursday next week.
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I have been on Arimidex for 5 years with only hotflashes and weight gain. I also have Lupus so joint pain is a common issue for me which is controlled by taking 50,000 Units of vitamin D once a week and Plaquenil twice each day. I have reached the point that I can stop taking Arimidex in a couple months and am curious what others have experienced. Will the hot flashes go away and will I begin to lose the extra pounds?
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Good morning, Everyone!
I haven't been on this site in a long time and was thrilled to find your group. I can relate to many of your posts. It's almost as if I wrote them myself. I had a recurrence one year ago after being on Tamoxifen for one year. I have chemo induced menopause and am now on Arimidex. It's been 6 months since my last chemo treatment. I'm not sure if my issues with my hands and feet are due to the lingering chemo effects, or if they're aggravated by the Arimidex. Aleve was my best friend until my Oncologist put me on Meloxicam twice a day. This week has been especially difficult with the added task of shoveling the 29 inches of snow we had here in NJ. I can deal with my numb feet; but, my hands trouble me the most. If I move my wrist in a certain direction, the pain is electrocuting. The Meloxicam helps some, but by the end of my work day, holding a pen is a chore. I've gained only a couple of pounds and was told if I could put on some bulk, the side effects may not be as harsh. Has anyone heard of boiling 2 teaspoons of parsley in one cup of water, let it steep for 10 minutes before drinking....this will help relieve water retention. Three cups a day was recommended. Well, I have the day off today and will relax a bit. Again, it's comforting to know you ladies are here. As much as people ask how I'm feeling, no one really wants to know you're hurting. I keep hearing, well you look good; so, you must feel good. I smile and say yes. <sigh> Best wishes to you all for a very HAPPY, HEALTHY NEW YEAR!! xo, Dona
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Welcome back, Dona!
I first felt the effects of Arimidex in my feet, though that's largely subsided. After 7 months on Arimidex, I have upper back/neck/shoulder pain, pain in my collarbone, hands, and sometimes hips. Some days it's worse than others, but oxycodone really helps. I don't know what to tell you about the hands, only to say that cold seems to work better than heat.
Hope you feel better soon!
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