For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
Comments
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marley2 Call your onc and ask how much. S/he might want you to take a certain amount. I know I'm taking a bit more but that's what was recommended for ME. Also remember you mulch-vitamin has some too.
Happy Birthday Holeinone and Sherryh. Personally I don't like February birthday. I'm thinking of changing to August and celebrate on half birthday. Either that or I need to celebrate in Australia where it's summer.
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Lago, I love all your linkys,
Thanks for the tips and the positive attitude you seem to have. I have been reading for quite awhile, knowing I would be on Arimidex. Started Tues. I am healing from radiation, burnt nipple area that is raw.
My birthday is not until May.
Happy Valentines All.....it's a Hallmark holiday, kinda too much.....
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Happy Birthdays and Valentines Day!!!
I was thinking of a NoNo too, but it got some bad reviews on Amazon. If anyone has one and likes it, please share!
* Do NOT get those slinky looking things that you roll over the area and it is suppose to pull the hairs out......YOUCH and ineffective both!
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I just finished my first month on Arimidex. I had no side effects and thought I would sail through until the fourth week . Now I am having terrible sleep problems; I wake up 2-3 times for 1-2 hours a night despite taking Ambien. It's exhausting. I am wondering if anyone here has had sleep problems on Arimidex that resolved after a period of time, or if once you have the side effect it never disappears until the Arimidex is discontinued. I am going to try changing when I take it from the morning to the evening, because several of the posts mention that helped. If that doesn't help I'm gonna have to call the MO and ask for help, because I'm so tired I can't think clearly.
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I did have problems sleeping all night. The hot flashes weren't helping either. Called MO, put me on the lowest dose Effexor. I sleep well all night, hot flashes aren't as bad, or frequent.
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Thanks, ladies. It's NO-NO to the NO-NO.
MsP
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Anyone see the NY Times article about drugs made in India? As the Arimidex I get from Rite Aid often comes from there, I am wondering if I should be asking it for pills from Israel instead.
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Interesting article Hortense, thanks for the link.
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Luppie I found wearing a sleep mask helps. If you wake up it makes it easier to fall back to sleep.
Hortense This has been in the news before. That is why I insist on my Anastrozole being Teva. There are only 2 companies that manufacture the generic of this drug. The other is in India. I'm finding Teva is more available than it was when I first started. Seems Walgreens, CVS and Costco sell it... granted I am assuming Walgreens because they did 2 years ago. As far as the chemo. I had too many side effects. I know I got the enough of that shit.
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I have been post radiation treatments now for 9 days. Most of all the red has gone away. Still have peeling and itches bad. Sometimes it itches and hurts at the same time. What can I do. Still wearing a sports bra also. Started the Arimidex on the 10th, so far so good. What can I expect? I hope for nothing major.
hugs to all,
msmaples
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About the arimidex, please expect nothing. With any luck, that will exactly what you'll feel. Most of us have had no symptoms for quite a while, and then only pretty manageable ones. If you've read my recent posts, you'll know I had a recent bout of hip pain, but that a couple of aspirin a couple of times/day for a ridiculously short time took care of that.
Oh, I also experienced loss of appetite. And lost 25 pounds. Now, my body seems to be getting used to it, and I fear I'm getting hungry.
About the rads itch, please don't hesitate to bug the rads department for better itch stuff. They fully expect to hear from you after treatment is finished.
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I was told that after radiation ends you are still cooking for 2 weeks and ithen it should slowly get better. I remember this was true for me. Call the RO and get some help!
Good luck to everyone going through active treatment!
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Hello ladies. Found this thread just in time. I should finish rads next Wednesday and start Arimidex on Thursday. I'll keep reading for now and join in the conversation once I've started. The information is helpful.
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Hello All!
I've been in the Jan 2013 Chemo group for the past year and have finally finished all the chemo, Herceptin and surgeries. I've been on Arimidex for almost 2 months now and pretty much feel like I've been dragged behind a train. I'm experiencing significant muscle/joint pain all over but more so on the lower extremities, headaches, some nausea, tingling hands (that I didn't have before), pretty frequent hot flashes and general bad mood (could be bordering on depresssion - I've never had depression before so I'm not sure - I just know I feel like crap). I know that often the side effects will go away after a few months so I want to give it a fair shot before I try another aromatase inhibitor. I would love it if those with experience could give me an idea of how long I should wait before I change meds. The side effects have improved some since the beginning (the first two weeks were terrible) but are still significant enough that I can't imagine living like this for 5 years.
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lago - come and join me in August if you want a new birthday month. I got my new boobs for my birthday last year on 8-7-13!
msmaples - I read somewhere that you're a survivor as long as it hasn't killed you. So I consider myself a survivor as of 9-28-12 which is when I was diagnosed.
luppie - I had sleep issues prior to arimidex but they got worse after I started taking it. After about a year I switched from taking it in the morning to taking it at night. I think that helped some, but I do still take an OTC sleep aid nearly every night. I am able to sleep 4-5 hours now in a row but it is still a restless sleep. Just got a prescription for Ambien 10mg yesterday and am looking forward to seeing if that helps me sleep more soundly.
Heidi - most of my SEs resolved over the course of the first year. The only really SEs I have left are sore feet in the morning and if I sit for a while. And also the one that really doesn't get mentioned here much which is (and I have to say this in a whisper).......'vaginal dryness' That was never a problem for me and now I'm basically the Sahara Desert! Found a couple of interesting solutions but haven't had a chance to try them yet. I have hot flashes and sleep issues but those were part of my life before BC.0 -
Heidi, give it a good six months. It think some of the SEs, especially the depression, actually come from being at the end of 'active treatment'......both your body & emotions have been through hell, and you have been on the 'fight mode' for so long & then BAM, you crash and you do feel like you have been dragged by a train.....so you have to give yourself time to find out how much of the feeling is from what you have already been through & how much is actually the anti-hormonal.
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SWEET--------Take the AMBIEN JUST BEFORE bed, NOT 10,15,20 minutes before. It works and WILL DROP YOU NOW!!!
.1. bush your teeth
2. go potty
3. pill and bed. Get in IMMEDIATELY
Just helpful hints from one who has been on it since 1993.------kar2kad
P.S. Sleep tight and wake up and be AWAKE!!!!!!
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How much calcium are you taking if any?
I was told by the pharmicist that I need to take calcium supplements while on Anastrozole (it's been 6 months now).
I've been taking 500 mg but my last blood work came back with my calcium level flagged too high.
Now I'm wondering if I should stop taking it or just cut back...
Marie
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Heidi- I think the worse SE for me was that achy, tired flu-like feeling.. it lasted maybe the first 4 months and then went away.. there are other SE but so far all bearable..
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According to ACS you are a survivor the day you are diagnosed. Stage doesn't matter.
NED (No evidence of disease) is when the cancer is no longer detected after it has been removed (by surgery, chemo, hormone therapy, targeted therapy or radiation).
Thanks sweetandspecial
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I think active treatment definitely drags your body through the whatevers!! and since we all have a habit of trying to be SUPER women and keep on trucking, the whole experience can come a knock you down. It did me, thought I was rested (took an entire week off....... and six months after rads, got hit with shingles. My body just was not healed yet.
be nice to yourself, give the dang pill a break and maybe you will not have side effects once you are rested!
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proudtospin 2.5 months after chemo (didn't have rads but still doing herceptin) I got a really bad case of shingles too. It's not unusual after chemo to get shingles.
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lago, I think all the dang docs that tell us "you can work through it" need to get realistic or then again, maybe I was unrealistic. I do not trace side effects to the dang pill but to the entire experience that can be very draining. I should have been nicer to me!
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So many pieces to this puzzle. I did a year trying all 3 AIs. now on Tamoxifen. Stiffness in back and hips but not in hands as I had with the others. Taking Lexapro helped the anxiety and depression, been 6 mos. Occasional Ativan. Often wonder what of these aches and pains and moods are BC related, and what could be happening no matter what.
Well,it is a sunny day here after nighttime rain. The garden and the dog beckon.
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I was actually feeling pretty good before starting the Arimidex - finally feeling better after finishing chemo, sx & rads and had a little kick to my step. Within a day of starting the drug, I felt terrible and it hasn't improved much in two months. So if I need to wait longer before changing AI's, any tips on managing the side effects?
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Blues, I shot thru meno too never gave it a thought, or noticed anything. I've had hot flashes now, mostly controlled by Effexor. Other than that, not too bad for me.
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What are these exercises you speak of?
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Arimidex has been a terrible choice for me almost from the start. It didn't help that the oncologist didn't tell me about any of the side effects except about the joints. I had to ask him for a bone scan. I have very strong bones and did not want them to degenerate because of my life style. What did happen and scared me and my surgeon was an elevation in by blood pressure, and I do mean an elevation! I went from a normal of 120-130 to 202, I can't remember the under elevation. Just the 202 sent everyone into panic mode. I also had hot flashes, couldn't sleep and became a b---h big time. I stopped the Arimidex although my oncologist said he had never heard of blood pressure elevation. I took him all the medical information that I found after my blood pressure went through the roof and all he could say was I was his first patient with that problem. All the other side effects have now resided and my blood pressure is returning to normal. In fact, when they hospitalized me my blood pressure fell to 118/59; so after three days with that type of reading they released me. I'm now looking for a new oncologist. I also had a terrible time with radiation. I ended up with 2nd degree burns and am still getting treatment for that. All of this and I had only had a lumpectomy for a rare form of breast cancer that only 2 -3 percent of women get. It spreads slowly and rarely invades the lymph nodes. At this point, I have decided that I really do need advice from a second opinion. I'm really not sure I should even try to take any of the estrogen blockers.
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Yaeger Finding a new onc is a good decision. S/he will discuss if it's worth trying another AI. But there is also Tamoxifen that isn't an AI as an option depending on your medical history. In general I find that pharmacists know more about the SE of drugs than many doctors.
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Yaeger, ditto lago about finding another MO. Perhaps he doesn't know about all the SE's but elevated blood pressure is one of the common ones and that he should be aware of. It's not unusual for them to not tell about SE's as they want us to just take the meds without being scared off but he should not downplay them when brought up. I'm guessing most MO's don't bring them up because the SE's are going to be different for each of us. Some will be able to tolerate them but others have a very hard time and have to look for alternatives.
At the beginning I had joint pain return in my hip/knees (started glucosamine for awhile again and have been pain free at least a year), had mild carpal tunnel (used hand splints at first day and night and then only at night; pain free after the first year) and trigger finger (had cortisone shot; pain free after first year). My blood pressure went up a little but not enough to cause concern. My cholesterol also went up and my PCP was a little concerned but I blame it on this drug so will not take anything to lower it. Gained some weight but kept mostly in check through better eating habits and exercise. I also remember having problems with words and memory but either that has already subsided or I forgot! Okay, had another thought just now but it's gone in a flash so guess the memory is still hokey.
This month marks 5 years taking Arimidex/Anastrozole and I expect my MO will take me off totally when I see him in April. Hopefully that will help with taking off some of the pounds and getting my cholesterol back down.
Scared to start taking it and then 5 years later, scared to stop! Are we having fun yet?
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