For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
Comments
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I guess we're all different. In the beginning, for the first year or so, I could not look at these posts. I could not accept that I had BC. Too traumatic.
Now I find the posts my lifeline. I have accepted the fact that I HAD BC and that so many of us are alive and well and thriving after the fact. It's also a kind of desensitizing. It's no big deal on here to have gone through what we went through and what we're still going through. It's the only place I feel "normal". There is just no way to share this experience or to be understood by people who have not been through it. They don't want to think about it either.
Chats, I definitely think you were right about the pill causing my mood. I'm talking to husband again, although it's difficult. But I feel my tears welling up and that only happens to me when I'm on anastrazole. Sigh... What a strange netherland we live in. Damned if we do take the pills and damned if we don't.
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I didn't find this site until a month after BMX and then only because I was googling 'Tissue Expander Pain'. That thread became my lifeline for a time. Then I started following EXchange City and Breast Implant Sizing 101, then Bra Sizing 101.
I'm glad I didn't find the site prior to BMX because I would likely have been scared sh*tless of reconstruction if I had read the TE pain threads before making my decision.
It really is amazing how each and every one of us experiences a different version of the same basic journey.
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So true Sweet. I was just thinking that about life. We sometimes think we understand others by projecting our own experiences onto them. But I don't think we really do and judging others is most often a big mistake!
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I found this site before treatment. I was mostly scared shitless of hormone therapy. Oddly enough I am one of the lucky ones that isn't have too much trouble… although I know I will feel better once I'm off it. When I started Anastrozole I still felt crummy from chemo. So I actually felt improved while starting it. I bet my feet are as sore once I stop it.
but that's not for 2.5 years.
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I me also had the pleasure of dry eye. My Drs have loaded me with salves. Radisse and all the fresh eye drops I want.
Am hAving problems with chalazions and some sty issues.
I just saw my onco........told her I had a UTI, she said those were also a side effect of arimidex
Grin and beat it, use prescription pain meds when ya get them!!!0 -
Here are some interesting facts I just read about WATER! Especially note numbers 6 & 7 (while I go drink a glass of water
).
WATER
1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.
3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one’s metabolism as much as 30%.
4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.
5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.0 -
Thanks Ruth, that is fascinating. I think the older we get the weaker the thirst impulse. I recently had another UTI and forced myself to drink a glass of water every hour. I did feel much better. My husband never drinks anything but coffee and coffee is a net negative. I have to keep pushing him to drink or he does feel lousy.
The description of what water can do makes me wonder if AI's dehydrate us? The symptoms are so similar.
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wow, Ruth, I know I get lo grade headaches when I am dehydrated and have learned to reach for water when a headache hits...
and UTIs....I get them all the time. If I take a anti for sinus infection, I then end up with a UTI...doc ust told me I need to take probiotics in pill form as the dang yogurt and cran juice not working
I have a big rubbermaid water bottle and use it as portion check, got to drink 3 of them a day
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Probiotics in pill form 8 to 10 hours after the anti-biotic have worked wonders for me in the past two years - no se's from anti-biotics anymore - it's a dream come true!
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Sandy, sure wish someone had told me before about the pill probiotics
I resisted going to the doc this spring for sinus issue and now paying for it big time! nasty sinus infection is hanging on after 7 days of the pill but at least I do not feel a uti coming on
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Chats: I don't know if it would be a good thing to have absolutely no estrogen in our bodies. We produce it for some reason. Anyway I'm like you I'm taking it for the same reason, I don't want a recurrence.
Speaking of burn out. My DH tells me all the time I need to take a break. He feels I'm getting too obsessed with this BC stuff and not living my life. I don't know. I just want to stay "abreast", no pun intended, as much as I can.0 -
Chimney.....you are just a month past your last surgery, so still healing. Not surprised that it's on your mind. It takes a while to layer other experiences on top of this recent trauma. It does happen, and then it becomes one of those things that happened.
That said, like drinking enough H2O, you can make sure you start fitting in fun stuff. I was at a Wine and Tassels event last night....burlesque show at the wine bar. Great fun! All sorts of body shapes and sizes too. No, I was NOT performing. Had two glasses of wonderful 05 syrah to top things off.
My advice...whether or not you have had breast cancer....is to make a list of fun stuff and then do it!
I am trying to figure out my Saturday. I have work, and there are coastal storms with high winds out there. I don't think the cycling is looking very promising. But I could do a long walk to the pastry shop and back, and a run later on. Saying "hello" to the vacuum cleaner might be a good idea too. Plus packing for my VT trip. I want to do that in advance.
I think I will be making up for things with a lot of hiking when I am there..... Meanwhile, I will enjoy this blustery fall day. - Claire
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Hello!
Thanks for sharing all your stories on here. It's been very helpful for me.
After a 1 week break off Tamoxifen I'm on Day 3 of Anastrozole.
I'm still feeling pretty good....
When do the side effects typically kick in?
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Hopefully never
But Im only on day about 11, so I cant really say. I feel pretty good so far.
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Hot flashes, insomnia and a really really bad temper almost immediately.
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I started arimidex on August 20th. So far the only SE I have is stiffness upon rising from my bed or chair, but walking through the house once relieves that. I take Loratidine in the morning along with arimidex which takes care of the bone pain.
Paula0 -
I started my third trial on anastrazole August 21. Besides ankle pain, fatigue is really hitting me. But the worst is, sigh, I don't know what to call it. Depression? Saddness? I feel like crying. It's hard to tell what is causing it. There is always a reason to cry. But I don't normally get walloped by every little thing. My husband just told me about a student of his who has to leave class and drive 50 miles to take care of her elderly father. I can't tell you how sad it made me! lol He said "he's ok, really". But it broke my heart and I said (well actually he helped me because I couldn't remember the saying) that most people live lives of quiet desperation. Then I was depressed that he could remember it and I couldn't. I was always the one who could remember, not him.
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Marie....hopefully, you won't get any SEs to speak of. A friend of mine has been on both and Tamoxifen was much harder on her. I am just fine....yes, there is some stuff, but really, really minor. An example is slightly achy knees when doing a major cycling event two weeks ago. I had forgotten to pack ibuprofen in my bag, so just had to push through it.
If you can exercise.....and who wants to in that storm raging all over the PNW today???.....it should help you manage everything.
I was scared at the beginning too, but fortunately all went just fine. - Claire
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Timbuktu........get an anti-anxiety or anti-depressant that you can pop when you get these blues periods. I don't take it often, but Ativan is my friend when I get weepy for no good reason and can't seem to shake it. Usually just one pill will do the trick for me.
MarieK - I didn't notice SEs until about a month in. Fatigue and trigger thumb - both got better with time. I already had hot flashes and insomnia from menopause. Aside from having the occasional bout of the blues I haven't noticed any other noticeable change in mood, I'm still pretty easy going and laid back.
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Spookiesmom Bad mood… usally follows lack of sleep. I started wearing a sleep mask and it helps.
Another benefit of water is what it does for your skin. Best moisturizer. When I don't drink enough I can see it in my face.
SE from Anastrozole started 3 months after starting. Still not bad. For some reason it got better after the first 1.5 years.
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lago, so funny! I just woke up from a nap and it's as though I've put on rose colored glasses! Sleep...the best medicine.
The drs say I can take one of three anti depressants. Celexa, lexapro or effexor. Lexapro makes me sick. Effexor raises blood pressure and i have bad blood pressure. I guess I can ask for Celexa and see what happens but I've heard it's the same as Lexapro. I do have xanax for emergencies but I hate to take it too often, it's habit forming.
Sleep...so good!
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I thought I was doing everything right. I lowered my BMI to 25, lost 30 lbs, and reduced my sodium intake so that I could come of my BP meds. I started Arimidex in 12/12 and really feeling good and no side effects. Gosh, could it really be working. Guess NOT, on my first yearly mammogram from last years lumpectomy a 2 cm tumor was found in my other breast. They call this a second primary tumor, but it is the same type and hormone markers that the other tumor had. So I guess the no side effects were too good to be true. I am back to square one....same time as last year. Happy 60th Birthday to me on Monday.
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My SE's started about a week in and by the end of 4 weeks I was an emotional wreck. I felt like crying all the time, was exhausted all the time and generally felt lousy. I took a 3 week break and started back with a 1/2 dose. It's been almost 3 weeks and I feel great so I think I will up it to the full dose soon and see what happens. Hopefully this time will be better.
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What a kick in the gut mom! So sorry! When I first started taking the anastrazole, pre chemo, i felt nothing and asked the onco how we could tell I was metabolizing it. He said "we just assume". I dont' know why they won't test for estrogen levels, people aren't all alike! Post chemo I had plenty of SE"s. I do hope it's a good sign. But your experience sends shivers through me.
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Timbuktu...that is kinda funny now I really know that assume makes an "ass of u and me"
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tim - any chance of trying an anti-anxiety med rather than anti-depressant?
Momof2 - I'm so sorry to hear of your 2nd tumor
. Do what you need to do - you know the ropes this time. You can do it. Hang in there sweetie. (((((((hugs)))))))0 -
Momof2, I am so sorry about your new primary. We should know what to expect the second time, but it is still a shock to have to deal with it all over again. Sorry it is around your birthday. But Happy Birthday anyway!
Our DS and DIL have a long haired doxie and he is a sweetheart!
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Momieof2: thinking of you and wishing only positive thoughts.
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I am so sorry you are having to go through this all again momof2. All the life style things you have improved on will help your body handle treatments better, but it still just plain sucks!
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