Life on aromasin
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Les
Megace is actually a fake progesterone like chemical. It was the very first treatment for ER+PR+breast cancers way before Tamoxifen. If you do a search on this site there are articles that mentions Megace along with Tamox and Ai's
Used for bc treatment the doses are very different.
Its also used in very high doses 800 mg to increase appetite in AIDS patients.
Anyway, killed the hot flashes and sweating in a week.
AND Its cheap.
Can't live without it.
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Anything that increases appetite will not be on my RX List...LOL At least not lately since I am doing fine on my own for this SE..or at least the exemestane is since that happened AFTER BC hit!
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Rauder, did your appetite increase?
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my appetite did nit change when I started Aromasin, but now 18 months on, I have pain in my chest and problems breathing, get breathless very easil
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Lily, I hope you are getting this checked because it is a scary side effect if indeed it is from the exemestane.
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No appetite increase at all. The dose is way too low to cause that. I take 40 mg . Increase appetite happen with 600-800 mg.
I did gain weight ( 15 lbs) but prior to taking this due to an intimate love affair with baked goods.
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Lilly
When I go to the MO every 3 months they ask a million times if I have shortness of breath.
(I tell them yes , immediately following a roll in the sack.)
Kidding aside, you have to talk your doctor. It may be nothing it may be everything.
Keep us updated.
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LOL RG! My intimate affair is with pasta, rice and potatoes and of course, their fattening cousin bread! HA!
I am trying to wean myself off these carbs lately but man, I love them so. I was doing great before the exemestane and then the cravings came out full force for me and since I already love these things, I let myself indulge more than before. BUT, I should not have gained this fast or this much imho. It is like weight gain on steroids! Thank goodness it has finally leveled off. The first year I gained 20 and the second year on the pill, I gained another 12! All in all, 32 lbs on my 4 11" frame. I always gained easily, but that is ridiculous! I think it is because it hurts so much more to exercise that I don't do it enough...ugh!
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April
I heard other reasons why AI cause weight gain. Estrogens in post menopausal women are produced in fats cells . When we take aromatase inhibitors our bodies know there is something wrong...wheres the estrogen? So it makes more fat in the hopes of making estrogen but alas, we are still on AI's and so its a cycle.
In other words, we are screwed.
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I don't know what is going on with me but I've been on exemestane only for 2 months and I seem to have lost weight in my butt. But it just moved into my belly.
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NY
Oh no, the invasion of the butt snatcher.
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Raider, you totally crack me up:)
x x
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hey, happy to pass on some of my butt, it did not shrink although it is the same size as last year so taking that as good
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I hate to be the butt of the jokes!
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I would be happy if invasion of the butt (belly and thigh too for that matter) snatchers came here. I won't get on the scale but I know I've gained in the 4 months I've been on exemestane. I feel bloated, fat and gross. I try to exercise but I really does hurt so much more.
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Luckily I haven't noticed any of the weight gain on Aromasin that I did on Tamoxifen years ago.
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Too funny ladies! I too would welcome a "fat snatcher" of any kind but particularly the tummy snatcher. Some people get away with the AI not causing weight gain and some of us...well, let's just say we don't and leave it at that. Ha!
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I don't worry about my butt. I can't see it. It's everyone else's problem.
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Big butt is not a problem if you have no breasts - it's an asset!
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I had hardly any boobs before breast cancer. My PS decided to correct that. I'm a big girl now.
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Iago, I tried to get mine larger but the stitch on the radiated side popped after several expansions and then I developed an infection. I'm afraid I'm going to come out of this smaller than I was before (if that's possible!).
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L,
Some people believe bigger is matronly and smaller is youthful.
Im trying to find the bright side here.
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Leslienva I didn't have radiation. I didn't want to be this big. I was supposed to be a large B/small C. I'm a D and a full one at that. I kid and say my PS gave me middle aged boobs. I'm still learning how to dress t hem
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I wanted to be bigger but my surgeon was able to do immediate implants. If I wanted bigger I would have need to go the tissue expander route and I didn't want to if I isn't have to. Oh well!
And a question.... Are any of you getting Lupron shots?? I got my 4th one today and I know there is a three month shot but I've read horror stories online about it. Just curious if anyone is doing it. I already get headaches, am bloated and gained wait.
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I am doing monthly lupron shots. Just got back from my second one. I haven't had any side effects from them. Basically everything that I was complaining about prior to getting diagnosed with cancer, I am back to complaining about (e.g., weight gain, fatigue, general aches and pains, occasional hot flashes) but these were, seriously, all part of my (peri-menopausal) life prior to breast cancer. I don't mind getting the shots, although, and this is my inner spoiled brat talking, I hate going in and feeling like a 'patient'. I am very much over that experience...
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Professor50,
I'm doing Zoladex monthly to suppress ovulation. It is a reminder that I am still a patient, but I get Herceptin every three weeks so I can't avoid feeling like I'm still a chemo patient either. Ugh. Sometimes I feel like I'm on treatment that never ends...it just goes on and on my friends...
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It sometimes feels like that, ElaineTherese. Today what really made me mad was that I was SUPPOSED to just be getting my shot, but I ended up having to meet with my MO, AND put on a gown, and the whole 9 yards. I was irked beyond belief, which is unreasonable of me but man, I just don't want to be constantly reminded.
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professor50 do you get the shots monthy?
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Yes, I get the Lupron shots once a month. And I take exemestane daily. So far so good. (I know there is a 3-month version, but it was not offered to me and I am actually fine with the once a month deal...)
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I should probably start a separate thread, but for those who take the monthly OS shot, what helped you to make that decision vs just having the ovaries removed. I will be 54 in October, but was still menstruating at the start of chemo. My MO wants me to consider OS so I can switch over from tamox to an AI drug.
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