Life on aromasin
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I started taking Aromasin in the morning after breakfast (I used to take it before going to bed) and I kind of feel the side effects are better. When do you guys usually take the pill?
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Hi Steph:
I take my pill in the morning with breakfast.
I started it the end of may. beginning of june. Aromasin had less side effects for me than the other 2 ai's.
take care.
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I take mine at bedtime. I have very few SE's.
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I take mine with supper. I feel much better since stopping zoladex injections.
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Hi everyone. I'm going to start taking this next week after 5 years of tamoxifen. Has anyone felt with hair loss? It took 5 years for my hair to start looking normal and fill in and would really hate if it thinned out again. Thanks! Karen
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Hair normal here...took tamox 3 years then switched to aromasin and have been on that 2+ years.
(My eyebrows, once Helena Bonham Carter-esque, never returned to anything like their former glory after chemo - have to pencil them in if I want anything discernible there)
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Eyebrows thin since chemo too...I take pill mid-morning, after I have my morning "snack" (I don't eat breakfast and am practicing the modified daily fast-13-15 hours between evening meal and morning). I read that taking Aromasin with food helps the absorption of the medication and I sure want that. No hair thinning that I can see. Been taking it for over 2 years now. I take biotin in the belief that it helps with thinning.
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I just started taking Aromasin in October and my hair is growing in (I was completely bald), I've also been taking biotin twice daily since starting.The only thing that I noticed is that my eyelashes and eyebrows fell out after I started taking Aromasin, although they didn't fall out during chemo.
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Hello, I have been on Arimidex since September, however, I also have Systemic Lupus, which is making me feel miserable. I have tried glucosamine, and am currently trying Bioflex, but still not working. I have trouble sleeping, and joint stiffness and pain are worst at night. Any suggestions? I have asked my rheumatologist about anything else for pain, but just seems to suggest narcotics, which I'd prefer not to take....
Thanks in advance.
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Racermom---Try the turmeric. It worked so well for my dad's knee pain that he is no longer having surgery!
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thank you ladies for your help with the hair questions. I start taking this pill on Thursday and for some reason I’m more nervous about taking this than I was tamoxifen. Go figure. Anyway happy Monday to all!!
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Karen, I never took Tamoxifen but exemestane has really been easy on me. It has not thinned my hair or caused much in the way of SE's. I hope the same for you.
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I’m on day three and for the first time in a long time my hips are not killing me
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I have been on Aromasin for almost 6 months, I can feel that my wrist pain is getting worse. I want to know if there are anything could help with the pain?
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Stephilosophy, are you still on Zoladex? I have been on exemestane (aromasin) for 15 months. I was on zoladex for just over a year until my ovaries were removed. I had all kinds of problems including tennis elbow symptoms for months. I blamed the exemestane, but after my oophorectomy, it all went away! It was the zoladex! Now I just get stiff if I'm still too long, but it goes away within seconds of moving...
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Good Morning Ladies.
I just started Exemestane (generic Aromasin) today. My first 3mo Lupron shot to suppress ovaries was yesterday. I'm 36.
I finished all active treatment in Oct. At first I declined hormone/endocrine therapy for my own reasons (mainly not wanting to go through side effects but also my family's history of health problems and cancer diagnoses post-menopause. I felt like puttng my body into menopause was essentially giving myself more risk than benefits). I went to a new oncologist who again made the case that I should at least give it a try--this was the 2nd opinion I needed to feel OK about moving forward with this portion of my treatment plan. I figure I will see how these 3 months go and decide whether to keep going when I'm due for my next Lupron injection.
I have had some joint stiffness and bone pain ever since finishing chemo in July--I need time to "warm up" after sitting/laying down--so I'm a little concerned about how my body will feel. I walk everyday. I've changed my diet to clean, mostly plant-based (80%) meals. I make shakes and juices daily to boost my nutrient intake. I take a B-complex; D3; probiotics; C; daily. I also take DIM & I3C; Grape-seed extract every-other-day. I'm thinking of adding a calcium supplement now as well as an Omega-3. However, I'm going to take a supplement vacation to see how the medication affects me so I can have a better understanding of what supplements help with physical symptoms.
I will update.
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Just checking in...
How is everyone doing? I've been on aromasin for two months and the only side effect, from what I can tell, is the occasional hot flash and the daily pan from joint stiffness. I haven't noticed any hair loss, since I hardly have any hair but it seems to be growing back. I've been taking biotin twice a day along with my calcium and D3 supplements. I did notice that after my 2nd lupron shot the hot flashes were occurring more but I think that it will decrease as it wears off.
Happy Holidays to you all.
Kim
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KimE - I am pretty much experiencing the same SEs as you after 3 months. I find getting moving i.e walking my dogs gets my joints loosening up a bit every morning.
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Hello - took my first aromasin pill at dinner last night. I think it made me tired, we will see. But that is why I chose dinnertime.
Previously was on arimidex w faslodex. Then femara with ibrance. Hot flashes were there w arimidex. I think I got everything w femara, lol. Shortlived use though, moved on to xeloda alone for months.
Now revisiting SEs possible.
Whenever I had hot flashes I used an oil combination that was in a little bottle and diluted with water. These oils were a few drops of each. In a 1/2 c of water would do. I spritzed air around me when the hot flashes would hit. They all are good for cooling off. This worked for me and my MO told other patients about it. Peppermint oil, clary sage oil, geranium oil, any citrus oil like orange or lemon. Those were in my box so I used them. There are others. And one can purchase the mix already made.
So I got these out, expecting I could* get flashes again, though way postmenopausal.
Bone and joint pain, I will be taking a super omega 3 w EPA / DHA w sesame ligans and olive oil extract. This helped me through lupus joint flares.
For hair loss, I hope the biotin continues to support my hair and nails. Usually take 20,000 mcg a day. I also seldom shampoo but instead use conditioners. But I do have naturally curly super dry hair and on the xeloda it made my hair go straight and dull. This will be new.
For trouble sleeping, I take a mild antidepressant before bed that helps with sleeping, also hemp oil at 10 mg and melatonin at 10 mg. So I hope that just keeps doing the trick.
Was so glad to see a cough and respiratory issues ar not on the SE list.
Any thing else I need to consider.
Thanks!
Diane
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I just found this thread as my oncologist is going to put me on Aromasin...wanted to see how all of you were doing. Dreading another AI.
Feelingfeline, the eyebrows are probably the result of taxotere. I have been penciling for 18 years. Ugh...
After tamoxifen, which caused a 20 lb weight gain, I took Femara. Weight fell off, no side effects. Well no side effects for me to feel lousy about. Osteoporosis was a lousy side effect for sure. So I would have preferred Femara again but oncologist said no because it is considered a fail since new BC 18 years later.
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Hi KimCee!
I've been on Aromasin for almost three years. My side-effects include: hot flashes, mood swings (gone, thanks to Celexa), and osteoporosis (being treated with Fosamax). I do feel a little creaky, but I try not to sit in one place for more than 45 minutes. The more I move, the better I feel. Good luck!
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Thank you ElaineTherese! I am on Prolia. I have been on for one year. I am back to osteopenia, hoping two years from now I am back to normal bone health. Have you had a dexa since starting Fosamax? Glad aromasin isn't treating you too terribly. We need a break from the bad and ugly.
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Sigh, no, I haven't had a dexascan since starting Fosamax. According to MO, insurance will only pay for a dexascan every two years. I have thought about asking how much a dexascan costs because I don't want to stay on Fosamax if it's not doing me any good. I wish I could do Prolia, but my insurance insists that I try the older, cheaper drugs first.
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That stinks ElaineTherese! I don't know how I got the Prolia first, without trying anything else. It is true, dexascan every two years, I just happened to be on schedule for one 6 months after starting Prolia. Did you have osteoporosis? Or Osteopenia? I had osteopenia for like 3 years before I went to osteoporosis. The numbers don't drop overly fast. I did not want to take any of these drugs, wanted to do calcium, Vitamin D, and try on my own. No cigar! So MO said "you don't want a compound fracture"...no I surely don't so I started the Prolia last December because I really had no choice.
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When I started Aromasin, I was borderline osteopenic. Almost three years after Aromasin, I have osteoporosis with a high risk of fracture. Yay!
So far, the Fosamax is OK. It's a once-a-week pill.
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After I think three years--not sure since I was on tamoxifen for a year then arimidex with awful side effects--I'm finally feeling some aromasin side effects. It was great up till now, but I am having thumb joint pain, right hand, making it hard to write and to take the tops off jars. As well, anxiety and beginnings of depression. I've just began taking wellbutrin. We will see. I really liked Aromasin till now, because I wasn't bloated, gaining weight, or having mood swings as with Arimidex. It seems I'm a late bloomer for Aromasin side effects.
I do have a bit of mild osteopenia in my lower spine; had a Dexa scan early 2017, and my MO offered me every-six-months injection of Prolia, which I agreed to take. So far it hasn't been any problem with the injection, and quite frankly the osteopenia could be the result of aging--I'll be 60 this year.
I'm not adverse to trying Femara if side effects from Aromasin worsen.
Claire in AZ
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I am still handling exemestane (aromasin) quite well. Anastrozole was a nightmare for me. I just had my annual dexascan so don't know the results quite yet. I get occasional hot flashes and some joint pain but nothing alarming. The worst part of all these AI's for me is the vaginal atrophy. I am doing okay with coconut oil but honestly it really stinks that I have to work so hard just to not be in pain and to have sex with my DH.
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I am considering starting aromasin after trying the other 2 AIs and stopping due to severe joint pain. MO suggesting I try Cymbalta to help with joint pain. Has this been helpful to anyone? I also read Large doses of vitamin D can help - anyone tried that? Really struggling with trying again versus going without and running the risk. Wondering how others have dealt with all this. Tha ks
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Poodle my oncologist put me on vit D, calcium and exemestane (aromasin) together. Works for me, but, unlike you, I have not been on the other ai's. I was on tamoxifen before and it gave me unbelievable muscle knots in back and shoulders, so aromasin is a blessed relief from that and gets thumbs up from me.
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