Arimidex - Coping with the SE's
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Ruthbru,
Out in the sun? LOL! What is sun? I vaguely remember what it's like! It's been so cold and rainy here for so long, it even snowed today! Thanks for your reply though. And yes, sun can do that for sure. I wish it was from the sun, that would mean we had sunshine here! *grin* It just made me chuckle!! tee hee!
My doctor saw the rash today and is going to take me off Anastrozole for a couple weeks to see if it goes away.
Then she is recommending Femara? I don't like it when I read it's SEs. Yuk.
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For me the bananas were not working. I will try the tonic water, it can't hurt.
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if that doesn't work....pour a splash of gin in the tonic.....you WILL feel better!
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DMD,
Hmm...my rash sounds different than yours. I have it on my upper back and down the middle of my back. Then a little bit on my lower tummy. It's a little itchy, but not terribly bad. Its light red blotches.
I really don't want to switch off Anastrozole. I wonder if the brand name would be different than the generic for me?
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Catscan1: the first time I went thru mentalpause I was prescribed Gabapentin and it worked very well to quell hot flashes...Now I'm on Arimidex and it kicked me into another bout with the hot flashes thing...going to ask for a prescription of Gabapentin again...
Hope this helps...
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I have started taking the generic Anastrozole knowing that it could make my bones thinner but they monitor it with bone scans. It has a slightly better result than Tamozifin, plus I am postmenapausal so I opted for this one. I have been on it 3 weeks and have had much pain in my back. Has anyone else has this SE? I can't imagine going 5 years feeling like this. Does it get better with time? Thanks.
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Yes, it should get better. Keep moving...walk it out.
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The one aggravating SE I have noted is being so stiff in my joints. If I sit for too long I feel like an 80 year old lady trying to get up and walk with my back straight. It is aggravating!
Ritaz - I was prescribed Gabapentin when I got the shingles (during chemo) and then again by the pain clinic about 2 months ago - I am supposed to take 3 per day but I am horrible about taking medication except at nightime so I have a ton of it left. Based on what you said, I am going to try my best to take it regularly and see if it helps with the hot flashes. Thanks so much for the info!
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I've been taking Gabapentin since I started having hot flashes during chemo, so over a year now. It honestly doesn't help with the hot flashes, but I'm also afraid to stop taking it for fear they will be worse. I'm going to ask to switch to Effexor, but I already take other antidepressants, so they might not be able to rearrange stuff to allow me to take it. Worth a try!
No back pain here-but I do feel like an old lady when I first get out of bed, or get out of the recliner if I've been sitting there for a while. Fun stuff.
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Just checking to see if everyone is OK.... any of you affected by the storms? Hoping all is well with all of you. Thinking of you and remembering you in my prayers.
Teri
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faithroad.. I had a rash, more of a heat rash with Anastrzole. It had raised hives and picked and itched like crazy when it was coming out. I switched back to label Arimidex and it is still comes but now where near as bad as it was. the itch is there but hardly any hives. It starts then disappears really fast. I hoping it will eventually go away . Fingers and toes crosses! Or I'm going o have to head to the mountains for the summer.
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Re: leg cramps, a product at Health Food stores called Hyland's Leg Cramps with Quinine works well, dissolves quickly under your tongue. However, it contains lactose.
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Is anyone else getting numb toes from anatrozole?
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Just want to suggest again that Vitamin D levels be checked with your blood work. I've had tremendous victory over joint pain. I'm doing around 5000 iu's/day, 4000 with a Vit D3 pill and the rest in my multi and Calcium supplements. I still get occasional mild hip pain but I had that pre-BC.
Also want to mention that it might be a good idea to check the manufacturer of your generic Anastrazole as it could be the filler one mfr uses can cause a reaction. Perhaps you could try a different manufacturer before giving up on this particular AI. Just a thought.
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I am having depression, sleep issues and I am hot ALL the time. I have no joint pain.
Are the depression and insomnia normal for Arimidex?
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Maybe get and use a prescription sleep aid to help you get back on track. If you are hot you can't sleep, and when you can't sleep, you can't think straight, manage your emotions very well....everything gets off kilter. I took Ambein for a long time after my diagnosis....I had to sleep in order to stay (somewhat) sane!
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Ruthbru, I have a Rx for Ambien, but haven't taken it. I am scared since it got that bad rap about the people sleepwalking and doing all those wacky things, remember that? You had no problems with the ambien?
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I LOVED Ambien!!!! It was such a relief to sleep....it saved my mental health. I actually have a bottle that I have kept for special 'I need to/but won't be able to sleep' occasions. I have never done anything wacky....that I know of anyway! 0
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Okay, I will try it!
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Do.....and let me know how it goes.
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Answering a lot of posts in no particular order:
I got numb toes on one foot after starting Arimidex, turns out it was a Morton's Nueuroma, fixed wiht a steroid shot. Not fun but very effective for me.
I take gabapentin for hot flashes, too. I started out taking it for nerve pain from truncal lymphedema, stoped after the mastectomy, then the hot flashes got so bad I couldn't sleep more than an hour at a time. Effexor works for many women to control the hot flashes. I also have to have air moving--a breeze or a small fan is enough. Put in me in a room with no air circulation and I will hot flash to the point of sweat dripping off my face!
If you think you have shingles, contact one of your docs ASAP! There is a medication that will shorten the outbreak, but works best if stated as soon as the rash breaks out. It also helps prevent post-herpeticv neuralgia, the pain that lingers after the rash is gone. There are also lidocaine patcher (called Lidoderm) that can be cut to fit over the rash/painful area and is very effective at stopping the pain.
I feel better after excercise, but have such a hard time getting started. Sometimes I have to bribe myself--if I do 15 minutes of Wii 3 times a week for a month I can rent a movie, that kind of thing.
Hope everyone is finally getting some nice spring weather! I actually saw the sun yesterday! I was shocked!
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I am new to this board. I found it when I was looking for info on Arimidex side effects. I had posted on another thread and then saw that this one contained more information, so I'm re-posting here. I had a mastectomy on February 28, 2011. Fortunately, I did not need chemo or radiation and was given Arimidex. I have been taking it since March 29th, just a month. About two weeks ago, I started to experience aches and pains and thought it might still be from the surgery but it moved to other parts of my body. I have AFib and recently my heart has been racing. I am also hyperthyroid and have Barrett's esophagus. I also have been so fatigued, I can't stand myself, and now, for whatever reason, Warfarin is not doing its job. In addition to all that, I have been having really strange, disturbing dreams. Reading this board, as well as other sites for Arimidex, could it be possible that all these symptoms/occurrences are caused by Arimidex? I am very tempted to stop taking it without discussing it with my oncologist - but would discuss it with PCP.
Please tell me I'm not crazy or influenced by what I have read. Believe me, it's really real.
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Quinine is great for muscle cramps. For many years I bought it over the counter at pharmacies. Then I bought it with a prescription and now you can't get a prescription in the US. It's still available in Can. with a prescription. I was always prone to muscle cramping because I perspire heavily when I'm outdoors playing tennis or gardening or fast-walking, whatever. The tonic water is good. Also Smart Water.
A month ago I started taking Lipitor and am having some muscle cramping at night. Arimidex didn't give me muscle cramps.
Iago, sorry about the shingles. I've always heard shingles is extremely painful. I recently had the shingles vaccination, which is covered by my insurance. It lessens the chance of getting shingles but isn't 100 percent effective.
I wonder if the hot flashes or, in my case, warm flushes ever go away while you're taking Arimidex.
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Hello Emell, my situation may be similar to yours -- I had a bilateral mastectomy, didn't need chemo or radiation, started Arimidex (though I'm taking the generic) 12 weeks ago. I, too, have had "strange, disturbing dreams" and I would add, "exhausting," as if I'm living another life at night that takes equal energy to my daytime. I doubt if it's the drug, but don't know. I've attributed it to the crucial awareness of mortality, which I -- like most people -- had been able to deny while going about my life. I think accepting the dreaded CANCER, whatever our prognosis, requires a great deal of psychological integration, so I'm not surprised my dreams are working overtime. Nonetheless, they don't promote happy sleep. Sometimes I wake up earlier than I need to and wish I could doze for a while, but don't because I don't want to have to deal with whatever I've been dreaming!
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Honkittle and Emell -
I've been on Arimidex for a year now and still have fatigue, insomnia, and assorted aches and pains. Honkittle - the worst is in my upper back and shoulders. Walking helps for the more minor aches and pains but makes the shoulder pain worse (I think just from gravity!). About 2 weeks ago I started doing upper-body strengthening exercises and it's helped a bit with the back and shoulder pain. Not a ton, mind you, and I still have to take pain meds, but it's a little better.
Good luck to you!
E
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marybast - I'm not happy that you are experiencing the "strange, disturbing dreams", but I'm glad to hear that it's not just me!
I read where others have insomnia but nothing like this. Thank you for posting and letting me know I'm not imagining it and it is happening due to the med. The dreams wake me and I am disoriented when I do wake but it dissipates quickly. Since I've never experienced anything like that before, I blame the Amiridex (generic also).enjoyful - is the fatigue somewhat like carrying around a 100 lb. weight? I seem not to be able to function due to the feeling and must force myself to do the simplest task. I do belong to a gym but hadn't really been serious about it prior to my diagnosis. I think I'll go for the initial training and see what can be worked out for me. These pains seem to be getting worse the more of the Amiridex that I take. If exercise will help, all to the good as I should exercise anyway, other than the exercises I did and do after the surgery.
Thank you both for responding. It's helped me greatly - especially the strange dreams part.
And thank you to everyone who shared on this thread. I think I was frightened at what was happening to me. Now I know it's more or less "normal".
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I had a hard time sleeping before the Arimidex, but now it's horrible. It's hard for me to fall asleep, then I wake up about an hour later...sleep for about an hour, up again. The problem is I eat when I wake up-and I mean sleep eating. I stumble into the kitchen and grab the closest thing in the pantry. Lately it's been raisins and crackers. Like last night-then when I got up this morning, there were raisins all over the kitchen floor. I guess I missed my mouth a couple of times. Very strange.
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NativeMainer I agree that if you think you have shingles contact your doctor ASAP but don't expect miracles. I came down with shingles last Saturday. Got the prescription (antiviral called Valtrex) & started taking it that night. My shingles continued to progress till yesterday! My GP thought I'd be OK when I saw him on Monday saying that I caught it early… but it tripled in size since I saw him.
I think it has started to dry up today but it burns like a really bad sunburn. Forget the patch. I would need jumpsuit of that patch that covers the left side of my body from lower back/lower tummy, upper thigh, up to my part of my left foob. Granted I don't have the blisters in all those area but it does burn in all those areas.
Shingles are not an SE of Arimidex. We get them because chemo messed with our immune system.
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All these posts have been very helpful. There are so many more side effects that I'm glad I 'don't' have. The back pain is all the time so I'm not sure how I'm going to do 5 years of this and what are the alternatives... I will have to ask on my next visit. They will do a bone density test in another 3 months to see if my bones are breaking down... then I guess I get Boniva or something like that if this is the case. Makes you wonder why you have to wait till the bones start getting brittle. I see a lot are taking Vitamin D-3; I will look into that. I was so excited after the radiation that I was a 'cancer survivor' but now I am depressed knowing this is going to be an ongoing thing. It's better I guess than the alternative. Thanks again for your comments.
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Hi Iago,
Sorry to hear about your shingles - they sound nasty! you are always so helpful and positive to others on these boards. I am sure that you will make it through this too, but it can't be any fun. I hope that you are feeling better soon!
Honkittle,
Hang in there. If you read through this post, you will see that I was one of the folks who was really down and out from weeks 3-6 when I started on Arimidex (had numerous side effects including insomnia and some blahs, borderline depression). I am now doing much better, even though I still feel arthritic and stiff as a board. I also have a lot of neck pain from 3 herniated disks in my neck - Arimidex has really caused everything to flare up. Make sure that you take not only vit D but calcium. My onc (and lots of folks here) recommended that I take 1000 iu Vit D and 1200 Calcium daily. I think it has helped.
Also, be sure to treat the mental health side of the equation if needed. Estrogen deprivation can definitely mess up your mental module. I hope that you are one of the lucky ones that skates through, but make sure you get help if needed.
Best, Beau
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