Arimidex - Coping with the SE's
Comments
-
Yes, but does it have a name other than Vitamin D on a lab slip? I have a lab slip and can not find Vitamin D on it anywhere. Anyone know?
0 -
Wow....this discussion certainly makes the case for being treated within one system. All my bloodwork is online and accessible to me whenever. I can also do line charts of the results. At this point, I review them prior to my appointment and then discuss with my Internist or Oncologist.
My internist didn't do a breast check as I had an appointment scheduled with my oncologist 2 weeks later. I think he was right in saying she would be the right person to do this check.
My initial oncologist ordered a Vitamin D check prior to chemo. For a while, I was taking 10,000 units per day. (I could have done shots, but decided this would be better.) I am still taking 4000. Tried to cut back and it went down.
Which reminds me that I need to refill my anastrazole prescription. Do it online, and they ship it to me free. Costs $5 per month that way vs $10. Plus, I save on gas and parking.
Ruth.....calcium is different than Vitamin D. Also, your blood level doesn't reflect whether you are deficient or not. They are checking for hypercalcemia which can be a side effect of BC.
I have to request the Vitamin D check, but I always get it. I need this in order to know where I am in keeping my level constant. Here in the Seattle area, almost everyone is deficient, so not hard to get tested. I doubt that North Dakota is any better in that regard. - Claire
0 -
I believe it is simply called a Vitamin D 125 test.
It is a separate test so the result is not found in that long list of comprehensive metabolic panel values like sodium, calcium, protein, etc. It is not part of the CBC which looks at your blood cells, lymphocytes, platelets, etc.
If you had a Vitamin D test it would be listed separately on your lab report.By the way, my total Vitamin D value and my Vitamin D3 value is the same good number. I do not take any vitamin D at all... but I live in Florida and get plenty of sunshine.
Pam
0 -
Actually N.D. is the sunniest state in the nation!! Do you still get Vitamin D if it is sunny but really COLD?
0 -
Hi Ruth it is my understanding that the sun helps you process vitamin D you don't actually get vitamin D from the sun. So I guess it doesn't really matter the temp but how long you are in the sun. And usually the colder it is the less likely you are to stay out very long.
0 -
I suppose your skin has to be uncovered......hmmmm, Vitamin D and frostbite or no Vitamin D?
0 -
Hello! I have posted this question in a couple other places but no response yet so I thought I should try here! Has any one had headaches while on arimidex? My mom started this med about three weeks ago and has had from the start a constant, dull headache. I am just worried is all.... Thank you so much!!!-jenny
0 -
No heachaches for me. If they've been going on for three weeks she should probably call the doc just to be on the safe side (could also be some 'normal' sort of thing for a GP to take a look at). Best of luck. Ruth
0 -
jlee3 - I started a month ago and have had a few very mild headaches, but nothing bothersome. I've been taking ibuprofen almost daily for my stiff fingers, so I that might be covering any headache symptoms.0
-
jlee3, seems to me when I started A (start year 3 next month) I also got some mild headaches but, if so, they have gone away. You should check with your onc who probably will say to give it some time or ask if you want to try something else (which may or may not have the same se).
Vit D tests are not routine but there's n reason why a doc, onc, PCP, or whoever, should have a problem ordering it with other routine blood work. What should it matter to them that someone wants to know where they are. Actually with all the recent reports that most of us are deficient and should take more then the RDA of 400 IUs, it may become a routine check but until then it should not be denied.
0 -
Thank you for replying back! I appreciate more than you know....
She just started on the med about three weeks ago. The headaches are just faint and easily aleeved with motrin. It sounds like it might be common. THANK YOU sooooooooo much!-Jenny 0 -
thanks wenweb! I am trying to push past the fatigue and at least I am sleeping better. Played raquetball for an hour and then went to the park with my granddaughters ... whew!
Found a post that suggested taking the Arimidex in the afternoon to prevent some joint pain and still be able to sleep. I'll try that ... trigger finger is a pain! I'll try a gluten free diet too... hmm, what is gluten? Oh don't tell me it's flour ... drat it! My D levels were low so I'm taking 1000 a day now, seems to help with some fatigue. Carry on!
0 -
Please post any and all suggestions on alleviating joint and muscle pain. I have been fighting a knee injury and surgery to replace the torn ACL for over 6 months and was thinking the pain was due in large part to that, but now I'm not so sure. More days than not I feel almost like I have the flu, but I know I don't. Someone else suggested maybe it was also the Lipitor I take. I've decided to ask my oncologist when I go back to her in a couple of weeks, but if there is anything to be done beforehand.... Thanks all.
0 -
gabapentin is helpful with the pain...also good for night sweats and hot flashes.
0 -
Nancyb7912,
I found several things which helped me: getting my Vitamin D blood levels up to almost 50. Taking glucosamine ( good quality) I use Pathway Products I buy online, from the Village Green Apothecary in Bethesda MD. Used to be able to go there in person, now buy online. But you are close enough to go there - and get fantastic advice about supplements. It's on Cedar Lane, just near NIH campus!
Ruthbru will chime in with the key: Exercise - which in your case may be limited for a while. I also have found such relief from regular acupuncture treatments. Now onyl have to go once a month, and finally, this may seem strange, but I stopped eating any wheat gluten.
I don't have celiac disease, but a friend who does told me her doctor was noticing going gluten free was helping many of his patients with osteoarthritis reduce the pain medication they needed. That did it for me, within a few weeks I felt SO MUCH BETTER! Seems many of us can have a sensitity to gluten without knowing it, and it can conribute to joint inflammation.
That's all I can think of at the moment - sure others will add.
0 -
Anyone running a low grade fever - like 100? Been having this since day 4. Wondering if it was a side effects, along with the HOT HOT flashes
0 -
I am sure that a fever is not a normal SE, better get it checked out. Nancy, are you doing PT on the knee? If not, get some strenghtening exercises. It takes a long time to rehab from knee surgery (and then adds the arimidex aches on top of it). If your knee is ready to go, then exercise, keeping moving is the best thing to do to shake off the arimidex aches, and eventually, (for me anyway), your body will adjust to its new normal & you will feel OK. I do think some of the tireness, achiness, mood swings etc. comes from the fact that your body has been put through so much stress and all of the sudden you are done with the intense treatment phase & your body has time to say, "WHAT THE HELL HAS BEEN GOING ON HERE?"
0 -
Except in the Summer months or at higher altitudes, the skin doesn't produce Vitamin d above 37 degrees latitude north in North America. It's the angle of the sun that matters. Google vitamin d calculator to figure out how much vitamin d you can make daily.
0 -
So NE Florida is around 29-30* north. My onc said she had not a single patient with too low Vitamin D levels. Location-location-location
0 -
Well, I guess I won't put on my swimsuit & go stand in the snowbank then!
0 -
Nancyb7912-make sure you mention your muscle pain to both your onc and your PCP and make sure one of them checks your liver enzymes the next time you have blood work done. Lipitor can cause muscle breakdown, that starts with muscle pain and can progress to kidney failure and even death if the drug isn't stopped. Or you can stop the Lipitor for a couple of weeks and see if the pain gets better. If it does do not start it up again! Lipitor can be a very dangerous drug.0
-
That is true.....you should probably STOP the lipitor now, then call and get it checked out.
0 -
Caerus
I've been on Arimidex about three months and having horrible joint pain...considering gluten free diet as well..how long before you noticed any changes in your symptoms
0 -
Hello women,
My first post. I have a question for you. Have any of you experienced a funny taste with Arimidex? Kind of a saltiness.
I can live with it, but wonder where it came from. I've been on the Arimidex almost 3 weeks.0 -
Hi, Outfield
I wonder if that salty taste might still be from any chemotherapy you had? For several months after chemotherapy everything tasted VERY salty to me! I couldn't even smell peanut butter without needing a drink of water! And I used to love peanut butter. It took about 6 months, or maybe more for it to go away. I had the metallic taste for a long time too. But both did go away. During chemotherapy I coudl only eat the most bland, bland food - plain rice, plain boiled potato- and it all still tasted too salty for me.
FAITH: only took about 3 weeks for me to notice tremendous relief from joint pain after going gluten free. I was also getting acupuncture treatments at the same time, but I still think it was the gluten free that was the real catalyst. I went from 10 ibeprofen a day to NONE!
Good luck! Think lowrider will add to this - can't remember who else, but a few of us have gone gluten free.
0 -
Welcome Outfield. Glad you found us.
I don't recall anyone ever posting about a saltiness. Are you saying all of your food now tastes saltier, or when you take the Arimides you just get a salty aftertaste?
Maybe others who have experienced it but just ignore if will chime in. You will be limited to only 5 posts a day until you reach 50 (that's to thwart spammers) so use your posts sparingly, maybe reading various threads and only asking questions, like this one, when you don't see it elsewhere. You are, however, not limited if you want to send a personal message to anyone. Just click on their name/avatar and follow the instructions.
HUGS.
0 -
Caerus, is gluten primarily found in wheat products and that is the first step in going gluten free? I'm not sure I could do it 100% forever but would like to cut out as much as I can.
0 -
Pj and Ruth, Lol! I have been known to open the windows in the winter to sunbathe in my swimsuit, imagining I'm in Florida.
Wish I had known about the gluten-free diet. Am almost3 years on femara and pain and stffness are much less this winter. Summers are usually tolerable.0 -
Thanks much for the advice. I did just get my blood test results on the Lipitor and all is fine. Vitamin D is low - this MUST be a winter thing as they were fine 3 months ago. I see my oncs over the next couple of weeks and the joint pain is at the top of the list. You're right on moving. Once I get going the pain is less. I started rehab on the knee last week. First order of business was getting it to bend - check that one off. Now I'm looking forward to climbing stairs. Not quite there yet.
Gluten free. Hmmm. Need to think about that. Sorry if this has been discussed, but what has been published on this?
0 -
I will be starting arimidex next week. Is it better to take it in the morning or at night? I am 57, just finished chemo in Dec. and recovering from complete hysterectomy.
0
