For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
Comments
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why don't the docs just say probably side effects, we don't know which harsh drugs are causing them
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Sherry, do please see the surgeon, who will thoroughly evaluate your discs. These guys know that most people try the non-surgical fix first, and, hopefully, last, and a good part of their practice is helping you develop the non-surgical plan and monitoring your progress. He'll discuss advantages/disadvantages of surgery, probably give you a couple of very safe starter exercises , and refer you to a physical therapist with a special interest in back stuff. I'd sure recommend this over googling back strengthing exercises, which could do more harm than good.0 -
Yes, at this point you want to do interventions with input from your doctor, not in place of it, but stress that your want to try non-surgical solutions first (which is why I might see my family doctor & not a surgeon....once you get to a surgeon, they more often will be thinking surgery than anything else).
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I'm on name brand arimidex which seems to cause less SEs. Last year we postponed surgery for several weeks due to insurance issues. My BS wanted me to be doing something proactive so I took arimidex for about 5 weeks. I had major stiffness after sitting or lying down for long periods and trigger finger.
I had surgery 10/22/12. I'm 6 months pfc, and 3 months post rads. I've been back on arimidex since Aug. 20. The only SEs I've had this round is stiffness, but now that I've been doing the Livestrong program at the YMCA the stiffness has mostly gone away. I do take generic Claritin with arimidex to combat bone pain, but since I've done that since starting the ESD I don't know if I would've had bone pain or not.
Paula0 -
I am hooked on my gym and stretches, can tell you this morning (like many days) that my back was achie but soon as I got to the gym....did the stretches my trainer has shown me....miracle and no more achies. You do need to have guidance to decide what are right for you but do try them0 -
I'm sorry to read that some of you are experiencing the trigger finger side effect from AI.
I honestly did not know what that was (have since looked it up) and it sounds so painful.
I agree with the others who have suggested warmth and hand exercises.
I'm curious to find out when this side effect started? Was it right away or after a period of time on the AI?
I've only been on Anastrozole for barely 2 months and it's one side effect that I have not experienced (yet).
But I get a lot of daily hand exercise so maybe that is helping me. I work a lot with my hands and I crochet like a mad woman - especially now for the holidays - my hands and fingers are constantly moving.
I've been making a lot of wrist warmers (fingerless gloves) and I can't help wearing them on the cold nights when I sit in front of the tv and crochet.
Ruthbru thanks for posting about the exercise thread. I'll have to go check it out. I'm wondering if there is any exercise I can do while I crochet? HaHa!0 -
Well, I can read while on a treadmill, but I don't know about crocheting on it (of course, I can not crochet when off a treadmill either!).
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hey, I just saw a demo from an open house at my cancer center. Someone was demo ing a parathion wax treatment as part of a massage treatment. I had one once and remember that the heat of the hot paraffin is very soothing....and your hands look loverly after
wonder if any of you with the pain in the hands have tried that?0 -
MarieK - you could get one of those pedal things that sit on the floor in front of you
.....my trigger thumb started about a month after starting Anastrazole, first one thumb, then the other. I think it cleared up maybe 7-8 months later.
Ruthbru - thanks for the reminder about the exercise thread. I forgot all about posting there because I didn't add it to my favorites!0 -
I was texting (uploading a picture to Facebook) and jogging the other day.
My relaxation is the bath tub. Just got out after a long aromatic soak. This to warm back up after the post cycling cool-down. I was sweating through my helmet liner even though damp with temps in the mid 40s. - Claire0 -
proudtospin - DH and were cleaning out the garage the other day and he showed me a box he pulled from a stack. "What the heck is this?" he asked. It was my paraffin wax treatment tub - you plug it in and throw in a chunk of special wax, and soak your hands or feet. Never thought about using it for trigger finger and thumb... Thanx for the suggestion!0 -
Blessing, great that you have one at home, I remember getting it done on my hands as part of a facial and it sure felt nice, let me know if it works on trigger finger0 -
Proudtospin, I used to get those wax treatments when I got my nails done. It was wonderful for arthritis...just wanted to sit there for hours soaking in the warmth.0 -
MarieK, I have been arimidex about 61/2 months, suppose it is from meds but how can we ever be certain. As I said earlier, many years ago this condition hit my middle finger and wasnt on any meds then.. who knows? But basically not many problems with it.0 -
Hi, I am new here and am faced with the Arimidex decision. I am still getting rads through mid December. I worry about further depression on this drug. Can anyone chime in on this issue?
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13kkan I never had any depression on it and March will make 3 years. I was petrified to take this drug… more scared than doing chemo. After all the stuff I read on the forum here I thought it was going to be hell. Most of the folks that post, post about the issues they have. Many that are doing well don't even come to the forums anymore. Remember you can always quit but you won't know how it will or won't effect you unless you try. If you don't try and the cancer came back how would you feel?0 -
Funny, I was terrified of everything but the Anastrazole. I thought it was wonderful that there was a pill that could actually reduce risk of recurrence. Taking pills is easy!
Well, yes and no. It's a lot easier than cancer for sure! But at least for me, the side effects build over time. I've been on and off for a year and half now. This last go round has been 3 months and I'm ready for a vacation. But you see, there's no reason to fear starting. And every time I begin again the side effects are less.
I did cry a lot the first go round, I used to suffer from PMS and I think this was a bit like PMS squared. But every day you can decide whether or not to take it. No one is forcing the issue. But the drs did tell me that the constant crying was the side effect of anastrazole. OTH, when one nurse took the time to discuss what was going on in my life at the time she just shook her head and said "It's not the pills". Yes hormones and lack of them make us more vulnerable to emotional upset. Less resilient, but bottom line, sometimes there are good reasons to be depressed and with everything we've gone through, how can we be sure? As things have worked themselves out in my life the crying has stopped and I'm not depressed at all. Who knows what came first, the chicken or the egg?
But please give it a try! The alternative is not great! And it's a lot better than surgery, and chemo!0 -
13kkan, don't be afraid of it, be grateful that there will be something you can take everyday that will really and truly reduce your chances of ever having to go through this ever again! I did 5 years with little problem, and most people have only minor SEs. Remember that people who talk about it more, quite naturally, are those who have more issues with it. And, if you do have trouble; you can try something else, or even quit. But, especially at stage III, you do want to give it a fair shake.
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So I got the call last week from the specialty pharmacy to send my 2nd months worth of pills. Before they would send it I had to talk to their pharmacist on the phone. He asked how things were going, my reply was that other than the joint aches and pains pretty good. He told me to talk to my Oncologist because he had never heard of that being a side effect. Where do these people get their information?0 -
That is downright frightening! The misinformation is tremendous.0 -
Unbelievable for a medical professional to be so ill-informed. ( But I have to admit I've been surprised at how little my PCP knows about some aspects of BC...)0 -
I actually love one of my pharmacists at Walgreens. She does know her stuff. Also my new PCP did a blood test to test my liver. She said it was because I was on a diuretic but I know I'm on very little and the one I'm on shouldn't effect my liver. I wonder if she saw that my onc scanned my liver for 2 years (we assume the legions are cysts). It had been a year since my last scan.0 -
Not sure if this is Anastrozole related or not, and we'll quiz the MO at tomorrow's appointment, but the past couple of weeks my honey had some digestive issues. Her PCP put her on pantaprazole for acid reflux, and at the same time things around her at work calmed down - which definitely had been stressing her out; the last week or so she's back to eating normally.
She had a GI visit yesterday her MO referred her to, and that doc said it could be gallbladder, which might be freaking out a bit due to the hormonal thing with the anastrozole. but he also mentioned her blood work from the previous MO visit showed her liver function "a little off" - we'll find out WTH that means tomorrow and she has a new scan scheduled for Friday.
All insights sought and welcomed!0 -
I was thinking of asking my pharmacist some questions lago. I did ask one if the brand name arrimidex had fewer side effects than the generic. I thought she would be the one to hear of the complaints. She told me yes, some people can't tolerate the generic. Every dr told me there was no difference. But on here we've certainly heard support for what the pharmacist said. Amazing discrepencies in information.0 -
Timbuktu there is no difference in the effectiveness but SE seems to be a different matter.0 -
Im doing pretty well on se from the anastrazole. What's annoying is that it seems new se could start at any point. Usually with meds they are only in the beginning. I feel on edge all the time cause any new thing could crop up after Im lulled into a sense of doing well taking it.0 -
Yes, lago, that's what the pharmacist said. That the fillers can make a difference. But the drs all claim that's a myth.
Anyway, I'm taking a little vacation from them for a few weeks. My ankles have been killing me and I'm not able to walk normally.
Then I keep getting this uti's and the onco nurse said that anastrazole encourages them. she even said i could get an estrogen cream to put in my nether regions. I'd rather not! lol
I've had bloody urine for over a a week now and the dr says that if it doesn't clear up in a week I'll have to undergo tests.
No fun and pretty scary.
Then the warnings on cipro say that it effects your tendons, especially the Achilles. That's where I've been having the most trouble pre-cipro!
So I'm trying a couple of weeks off,
My dil had her baby last night after a long and difficult labor and delivery so I'm kind of wiped out emotionally too,
I just hope this bleeding stops! As you said lago, bleeding is never a good thing.0 -
aviva5675 I had no SE on Anastrozole the first 3 months except for stiffness in the morning in my feet and a couple of trigger fingers in the left hand that all went away in about 1 minute of moving. Then I started to get stiff if I sat for an hour or more but still went a way once I moved for a minute. After about a year that stiffness became less and less. Granted I still get the stiffness in the morning. Also my feet get sore if I've been on them a lot. Other than that (and the damn Osteoporosis I was just diagnosed with in October) that's it…
unless I eat Jalapenos. They can give me some slight warm flashes at night but I'm not sure that's Anastrozole related. My sister is still dealing with hot flashes (years) and she went through menopause the natural way. It may be because I'm in chemopause and would have happened if I went through natural menopause.
Timbuktu don't assume the cipro will make it worse. Since I get nauseous easily ( including anesthesia and narcotics) assumed I'd be puking my brains out on chemo. Never had to take any puke pills. Really hope they can get to the bottom of what's wrong. At least they are continuing to follow up. keep us posted0 -
I saw my MO in Sept for my 3 months pfc check up. I always talk to her about BCO. She found it very interesting when I told her, that many women report more SEs with the generic. She didn't poo poo the idea at all. She was just interested. She also wanted to know about the Loratidine for joint pain. She hadn't heard of it, but I told her that her NP knows all about it.
Paula0 -
You are so right lago, everything is unpredictable. That's one thing this experience has taught me for sure.
But I have such pain in my ankles! Reading warnings on pharmaceuticals is a sure way to have a panic attack!
Then you need to take some xanax to calm down, another bad pill.
My major activity these days is going out to lunch with friends. It's kind of funny when I have to get up to leave.
Groan, creak, snap, shuffle, shuffle. It's oddly embarassing. Especially because I have several friends in their seventies (I'm 64) and they have twice my energy and ten times my agility. It's strange to have a 73 year old friend scooting around a museum, carrying my purse and coat because I can't! When I have a good day I'm never quite sure if it's really better or I'm just getting used to this So, a couple of weeks off of this pill should give me some idea and so far every time I go back on things improve.
Just hope this is really an infection...0
