Arimidex - Coping with the SE's
Comments
-
Angeljoy, I have no answers for you but just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you. Please let us know what your gyno says.
HUGS!
0 -
Get it checked out; it porbably is some creepy ordinary 'female problem', but it isn't what is suppose to be happening. Let us know!
0 -
Threw away the fudge,rocky road and all the left over cookies. I do believe I broke a commandment when I closed the lid on the garbage can. (yes I took them all the way outside...for fear of a midnight rescue mission.(it is 15 degrees outside)
Drank alot of water today...been in the potty all day. My husband joked and said "watch this be a night you actually sleep and you have ruined it with all that water." With my luck he will be right.
0 -
Angeljoy,
there are so many things it could be - need a good gynocoogist - hoping it turns out to be something we'd call not important! Sounds like too much bleeding to be a SE of Arimidex - I had some, and it was caused by what my doc called "vaginal atrophy" about 6 months after I started. I wonder if you had (have) an undiagnosed polyp, or fibroid that has worked its way out? I know it's so hard not to worry - but hoping you'll get a good explanation soon. Let us know....
0 -
Yes it is avalable as anastrazole so get the generic. My two months of pills cost $18.
0 -
mersmom -
Bummer about the World Juniors, right? I suppose Canada deserves a win after last year's butt-whoopin'.
I posted a funny hockey-related video over on the "I Say Yes..." thread, if you're interested.
Hope everyone has a great day, and remember the epsom salts baths for aches & pains. It works wonders!
E, Volunteer Epsom Salts Salesperson
0 -
Hi:
enjoyful - thanks for the welcome back....when I'm able to sign-on, this site is my "Bible" of sorts. It's comforting to read all that everyone shares and reinforce that I'm not alone, that these SE/ailments are not in my mind, they are very real and not something which existed prior to this "journey." The doctors can be frustrating. Seems like no one will talk outside their own window of specialty, nor do they want to admit that these medications cause some awful side effects. My oncologist told me if I put on some weight, I may not feel the SE as severly as someone who carrys more bulk. That's the solution? <sigh>
QCA - thank you also for your reply. Did the parsley tea work for you? I only have parsley flakes in the house right now, so I've been brewing those and trying to drink the 3 cups a day as was recommended. We'll see how it goes.
Hope everyone is doing as well as can be. Have a good evening, and sweet dreams....
Dona
0 -
angeljoy: I wrote a post earlier about being on Aromasin (another AI like arimidex), as you said, after being definitely dx'd with menopause after labs showed that for a couple years...so after tamoxifen (3 1/2 years), went on Aromasin in Sept. 2010...no periods since Oct. 2006...BAM, Xmas Day? Period...5 days, definitely a period (like you, kinda crampy as well). Oncologist referred me to a gyn. specialist (I see her the 12th), and told me to STOP THE AROMASIN til I see the onco (week after the 12th). I also feel I should still have been taking Tamoxifen. Will see, no period right now, but again like you, think about the bloating/weight gain/cancer links. (tho I'm not one to 'go there', I just like to rule things out, and just go from there). There has to be some connection to the Aromasin and period starting...maybe the 20mg dose is NOT enough with the weight gain? Something I will definitely bring up. good luck...getting in to the gyn is a good idea...and see if your oncologist wants to know also (as mine took me OFF the aromasin, another worry in and of itself to me...tho like I said, I don't really 'worry', never did, just do what ya gotta do is my motto). Let us know what's up...juli
0 -
How strange that no one else has experienced going thru menopause, then still on anti-cancer meds their period starts up again? No one really has said that other than anjeljoy?
ANGELJOY: Please pm me what your docs say about this. I am anxiously awaiting my gyn appt. on the 12th, then my onco the week after. I know I'll be doing more labs, probably the menopause bloodwork again (tho it's been consistent, showing post-menopause for 2 years now). And being OFF the Aromasin is whacking me out...and I don't like being OFF any of these drugs when it hasn't even been 4 years since end of radiation after chemo. (Feb. 2007) VERY curious about this, as it doesn't seem to be common? BEST to you Angeljoy~~~juli
0 -
enjoyful
did you hears abouth the Russian Junior team getting booted off of their plane for unruly behavior...no joke...they made them leave the plane and claim their luggage. They also are under investigation for leaving the ice and coming back with a bottle of Crown Royal before the official pictures were taken. Sounds like they could be in some big trouble...as in there is a possibility they will not be allowed to participate next year.
Keeps my mind off of my muscle and tendon pain today...must be because it is damp and cold today. Wish Spring would hurry and arrive.
0 -
Enjoyful,
Need help on locating the thread....my boys want to see it too. They think it is real cool a bunch of ladies are following World Juniors.
New player has about an 8 pack when it comes to Abs...yikes. They run around in their towels after showers. Helps to keep my heart rate up.
Forgot to tell you gals...baby girl (27) announced her engagement over the holidays. She is marrying a Washington State Trooper. Big wedding Setember 3,2011.
0 -
Congratulations!!
0 -
I talked to my new Onc. about the hotflashes which are really hitting me hard. She wants me to take at least 800 ml. of vitamin E. She said I can take up to 1200. She thinks this will help with the hotflashes.
0 -
Ruth, Thank you,we are very excited.
Sunshine this morning...so beautiful. Snow expected Wednesday and Thursday. I am not looking forward to that.Around here that usually means the snow will start melting and the freeze again over night. If theschool buses can"t navigate the streets school will either be delayed or called for the day. Poor kids have had three days called alread,meaning they will at this rate be in school till the middle of June.
Time to go walking to warm up these old joints and muscles...hockey game tonight. Game on!
Hope everyone is well and having a nice weekend.
0 -
Hello fellow A Team members,
This again is Sunflowers as Caerus, cuz my computer crashed & I couldn't remember my password as sunflowers. Caerus is one of my favorite "gods" in myth, so anyhow, my long history of creaking joints, CTS, wrist splints, is in the past. I have a NEW WORD, I learned on the thread about "AI's longer than 5 years." The word is ENTHESOPATHY. I googled it:" A disease occuring at the site of attachment of muscle tendons & ligaments or joint capsules. Inflammation. Arithritic condition affecting tendons & ligaments rather than joint membranes."
Mine is in the hip muscles connecting the major pelvis area to the spine. I can almost pin point the onset. Wonderful massage, same woman I've been seeing since bc diagnosed. But this time, felt very sore after the treatment. A few days later I joined my friends in attending the Metropolitan Opera HD presentation of Don Carlo at a theater in Lee MA. Fabulous experience, yes, 5 hours with 2 intermissions. A LOT OF SITTING.
I think I can see a lot of heads nodding, yup. Walked and walked - and gettting up in the am was getting more & more difficult. A few days ago, I read that other thread. Called my acupuncturist, who I had stopped seeing cuz I felt SO GOOD.
Had treatment on my lower back - first time acupuncture on my back. Also behind my left knee which was very painful. Acupuncture is known to be very beneficial for inflammatory conditions. Felt better within about 12 hours. Have been following her instructions, Tiger Balm ( which I always have, the red one, stronger than the white one, stains like anything, and I use very thin rrubber gloves to apply, cuz too dumb to remember not to rub my eyes for days after using no matter how much you wash dry calloused hands) and a heating pad on any chair I'm in. Feel SO MUCH BETTER. Sorry this issuch a long post - just want to make sure the word Enthesopathy is on the radar screen.
Wasn't it Otter who often said :"Are we having fun yet?"
0 -
Hi to all of the AI ladies. I have a question, and please forgive if it is topic that has been covered as I have not read every page if this thread. Does anyone have an opinion on or notice that their desire to be "nurturing" is missing or diminished while taking Arimidex or any AI? I seem to have no desire to nurture anything or anybody and wonder if it's due to lack of estrogen or if I'm just weird
0 -
Hi,Wenweb! Welcome to the club no one wants to have to join. I, myself, have not noticed a decrease in nurturing, but then I don't have any children. I seem to be as attached to my dog as ever before, not sure if that's even in the same area. But we all react to estrogen deprivation differently, so I wouldn't say your are weird. You're proably just the first to mention this particular effect.
0 -
wenweb....I stopped taking AI's about 10 months ago, but I have a pretty flat affects.....intellectually I know how to feel, but its hard to experience a full range of emotions...I get angry and anxious, but I do not feel true gladness or sadness at all...it really bothers me....I never thought to attribute it to the AI's, even though I know that depression, anxiety and cognitive issues were among the side effects that I had with Aromasin.....don't remember so much with Arimidex.....but then I stopped the Arimidex in 2007....then tried the others and took Aromasin from 2007 - 2009
0 -
wenweb, I've been on Arimidex for 2-1/2 years and I can't say I've had the experience you describe.
I've never been all that "nurturing" anyway; never had any kids of my own. But, my intense feelings for my step-son and daughter-in-law, and especially their 4-year-old daughter (my only grandchild), have not diminished at all. If anything, the comfort I gain from hugging my granddaughter, playing with her, coming up with things she likes to play with or is willing to eat, etc., has strengthened. I'm like that with kids. It just works.
I haven't had any huggable pets for more than 20 years, and I admit that my willingness to put up with puppy shenanigans, as well as other less acceptable housepet misbehavior, is weaker now. But I think that shows my age and my growing intolerance of pet owners (and perhaps parents) who allow their "children" to act like delinquents.
My most recent pets were a gecko and two hatchling box turtles. The gecko wasn't very loveable; he was strictly nocturnal and scared silly of any human contact. (He was wild-caught as a youngster and lived for 7 years in a terrarium in my laundry room.) The baby box turtles were as cute as could be. I had an extreme nurturing reaction toward them. It payed off: they had grown like crazy and were in perfect health when I released them on our property at the end of the summer.
I know what you're suspecting, but I don't know if anyone has done any research on nurturing behavior and estrogen levels. Some men are very nurturing (my step-son, for instance); how much estrogen could they have?
otter
0 -
I find myself MORE nuturing; I almost break out in tears at a choir concert, basketball game etc. & I don't even have any of my own kids involved; just students or former students) or kids I don't even know) and I am very sentimental at any family event. You might just be experiencing the after-effects of 'active' treatment. You have been through hell & need a time to withdraw and nuture yourself!
edited to add; grandmothers have never had much estrogen, and they are, as a group, known to be very nuturing!!
0 -
native,karen,otter,and ruth. Thank-you all for your input. I guess that I need to reassess where I'm at...I thought I was further ahead than I actually am. Perhaps I am pulling at straws trying to justify how I am feeling. Ruth, good point about grandma's! I"m wondering if someone on an AI has even less estrogen than an 80 or 90 year old. Native, I've been saying all along that I'm in a club that I didn't want to be inducted into and they are taking me on a trip that I don't want to do on. I sounds cute and funny, but it's really not. Thanks ladies!!
0 -
Hi ladies, I've been meaning to give you a report from my gyno appointment in December but wanted to wait until I had a chance to get a copy of his 'real' report (as opposed to the 'we are pleased to report the results of your tests are normal' report, which is nice to get but not particularly helpful to anyone else).
Brief background. In November when I went in for my annual physical, my GP could not get a good pap. I have scarring (vaginal stenosis) due to a nasty forceps delivery a long time ago (foolishly kept under control first by BC pills and then HRT), and the scar tissue has gotten thicker due to 'real' menopause plus arimidex. So GP said I would need a surgical procedure to get the pap & perhaps do something about the scarring because:
1. as long as you have a cervix you need pap smears and
2. even if you are not interested in (or have the opportunity for) sexual relations, this is still not a part of the body you want to have closed off as that can lead to things such as bacterial infections and
3. if you do have vaginal atropy the (in)frequency of 'middle age' sex might not be enough to keep the vaginal walls open and in good working condition
(If you do not have problems with atrophy issues, or your SO is an 18 year old or has a Viagra prescription quit reading here as the rest of this will be TMI!)
So off I went to the gyno. First he, I and an intern (whom I agreed could be in on the 'fun' as I am not too modest anymore, plus I think interns should know that there are patients who do want to be part of their own heath care team!) visited (with my clothes on, at my request). Then the exam. When doing the exam the gyno exclaimed, "Oh, this isn't SO bad, I think I can get a pap without the surgery." At that point he got out what looked liked a knitting needle with a bristle brush on the end and went up and twisted it around as the intern pushed down on my abdomen (uterus). According to his report he used a 'cytologic brush' and used 'the liquid Pap thin prep method'. (and he did get a good sample which happily did turn out normal). After I got dressed we visited again. Now, while I am always happy not to have any kind of surgery, I was still concerned about the scarring, so I asked him about that. "Well," he said, "normally I would prescribe estrogen because that would take care of the problem." DUH......and that's probably what got me here in the first place!!! Then he kind of sat there, so I forged ahead, "What about dilators?" "Oh," he said, "Well, they probably would take care of things, although I've never PRESCRIBED them." (the intern is now googling 'dilators'). Quickly I say, "I don't need one prescribed and I know where to find them. I just don't want to get one unless it is something that might work." And I showed him the dilator set on the www.vaginismus.com homepage that I had printed off and then we actually had a good discussion about dilator therapy.
1. spend 10-15 minutes a day, four to five days a week...you need consistency and repetition for it to work
2. start small and work up, take your time
3. when you are where you want to be, even if you are having sex several days a week you still may want/need to continue the therapy at least once a week. If you aren't having intercourse you should continue the therapy as an ongoing part of your regular health care.
I did order the dilators from the vaginismus site (although I ordered them through Amazon as I already have an account there and you can get them through Amazon). I have only been using them for a week so can't say if they'll work or not; but I can say that they are not as gross, kinky or fun (depending on your perspective) as one might think. If you order from Amazon be careful about opening your e-mail at work as a big "YOUR VAGINAL DILATORS HAVE BEEN SHIPPED" popped up my computer!!!!!
Hope this is helpful. Ruth
0 -
Thank you Ruth. Very helpful.
0 -
Very interesting Ruth. My vagina is the only part I have left! I do love that you can get ANYTHING on amazon but beward those notifications
0 -
My 'browsing history' is getting considerably more interesting than it used to be!
0 -
The nurse from my gyno office called me re: my period while "post-menopausal" and on arimidex. She said she needed to talk to doc and call me back. Never got that call back. But out of the blue my chemo brain suddenly remembered when my oncologist switched me to arimidex he told me my periods might come back.Weird it would take 10 months for this to happen, though? Don't remember what he said we should do if they came back(change meds?) but I see him next week so will ask then. I'll let you know.
ruthbru, LOL at your interesting browsing history!
0 -
First of all, RUTHBRU: You SO cracked me up with your post!!! :O and :O :O WOW!
angeljoy: YOU are the one I've been waiting to write back, did you get my PM? I have the same problem...but was NEVER told my periods would come back, I show post-menopausal with all my labs for years now since 2006 chemo-induced smack-damn into menopause in one day (taxol). I will be interested in hearing what else they have planned for you (onco or gyn). I see my gyn. Wed., and onco next week and have been OFF the Aromasin (like Arimidex) since 12/27...and NOT fond of that...it hasn't even been 4 years on an anti-cancer drug (tamoxifen 2/2007 to 9/2010; aromasin 9/2010-12/2010)...VERY curious about all of this, and don't think it's a good thing. We'll see...keep us posted? THX~~~juli
0 -
Oh, to explain a bit more, my onco's office was the one that told me to STOP THE AROMASIN when I had my period...they said "since it's not helping anyway"....sooooo...that's the scoop on that...I HATE being off the meds...(yes, I also hated the hot flashes, and have NONE right now either, but I know they're necessary for past 4 years daily). This gets so complicated! ~juli
0 -
You can't be truly menopausal and still have your period. If you aren't post-menopausal you shouldn't be on Arimidex; if you are post-menopausal you shouldn't be bleeding. Something is wrong somewhere in the whole equation.
0 -
Mersmom -
Sorry! I didn't see your request until just now. Here's a link to the funny hockey video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkJednDFJGA
Oh, those silly Russians, acting up on the plane! I think the Canadian women's team was in trouble at the Olympics for bringing alcohol onto the ice. I don't know that anything ever happened to them, though.
I went to the Capitals' "Casino Night" last night and talked with Varlamov, one of our goalies (and the co-spy in the video). Well, if you can count "where's the alcohol??" as talking. Hahaha. We stared at each other for a few seconds because we have the same hairstyle! LOL.
0
