For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
Comments
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I will try the Aspirin regimen and see how that works! THANK YOU so much! I sew a lot and this has been setting me back
I am now 4 quilts and 2 costumes deep YIKES (it's my passion though and not being able to do it is killing me)0 -
beenheresince1957 I'm doing fine on Anastrozle... just entered my 3rd year. I was a bit stiff the first year when sitting still for a while but no longer have that problem. I'm a little stiff in my fingers/toes the first 30 seconds when I wake up. Other SE I really attribute to now being post-menopause (when into chemo-pause). My hair as receded but it was starting to do that when I was perimenopausal. Not that bad though.
Optimistictraveler hair loss and thinning is not unusual as we age due to reduced hormone levels. My mom told me after menopause she didn't have to shave much either.
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Bone scan this Sunday. My MO thinks probably the Tamoxifen but wants to make sure. Kind of stressed. If it's bone cancer,????? what happens? If it's the meds, do I have 3.5 years more of pain issues? The three main parts-do I hurt when i sleep (hurts to turn over) when I wake up (how am I getting out of bed, going down the stairs, and getting the paper) and how long does it take me to loosen up to about 75% OK in the morning. Sometimes by 4:00 I almost think I was making it up that I was so stiff in the am, etc. Too much complaining, I know. But you guys get it.
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For arthritis-like symptoms you might want to try this recipe that my mom & aunt used with great success : buy a box of white (golden) raisins and soak them in gin in the fridge for two weeks, then eat 8 raisins a day.....
this is why it works:
1. Golden raisins- the ONLY type of raisins worthy of the recipe- require sulfur or sulfides in their processing to make them golden. Sulfur is an active ingredient in 2 effective natural arthritis supplenents: glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate. Golden raisins come from sultana grapes and are cultivated under the name Thompson seedless grapes in the U.S.
2. Sultana grapes contain proanthocyanidins which are thought to help fight infections and reduce inflammation. Grapes also contain resveratrol, a powerfrul anti oxidant that is being studied for many of it’s disease fighting properties.
3. Gin is flavored with juniper berries and juniper berries contain Terpinen. Terpinen has anti inflammatory properties. The essential oil that is in juniper berries contains more than 100 compounds including myrcene (an anti oxidant), catechins (anti oxidant), and flavanoids (anti oxidant). Test tube studies have shown that juniper berries can inhibit prostaglandin synthesis. Prostaglandins help mediate an inflammatory response and increase the sensitivity of nerve endings to pain. By inhibiting their production, a reduction in pain can occur.
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Hi RuthBru, I have heard about the Gin Raisins before but never tried them. Question......do you eat all 8 at the same time? I suppose I would have to eat them after work so I don't have Gin-breath!
Have a great day everyone! One more week and I go back to MO to get my script for the Arimidex/anastrazole. A friend of mine has been taking it with no problems, I hope that after all the "adventures" that I have had that I will have an easy time!
Martha
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You only eat 8, so I think it is safe to eat them whenever you feel like it. My mom & aunt were both teetotalers, so we always got a kick out of them having to sneak into a liquor store to get the gin......kind of like the old ladies on The Waltons with their 'recipe'!
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Last month at my 6 month physical and yearly mammo (which was normal) my onco scheduled me for a bone density test as I am approaching 2 years on arimidex. I went for the test and my onco called me yesterday to say nothing has changed in the 2 years and my bone density is remaining "exactly" the same, which she said is good news. I am osteopenia but have been even before my diagnosis. Of course I asked the silly question that if arimidex is not affecting my bones is it doing its job. She replied that was not an indicater of the drug not working. She reiterated that I was doing well, remaining stable and keep taking my calcium and vitamin d. I don't do structured weight bearing exercises but I do try to walk every day and the nature of my livelihood is quite physical. We live very remotely, operating a lodge and I do my share of lifting, wood hauling and stacking, plus on my feet a lot during our busy times. Guess that is helping. I am one of the fortunate ones whose side effects are minimal though I am hot and sweaty most of the time. I could stand to lose 5 to 10 lbs also and there may be some mood swings. But I haven't had much In the way of arthritic pain. Hope that continues. I like Ruth's idea on the prunes. May try that soon.
Best to all,
AM
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Walking, lifting, stacking etc. are exactly the kind of weight bearing exercises we need! Remaining exactly the same is GREAT! Off to eat some prunes myself!
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lisa2012 don't let the scanxiety get to you. My endo tested my for bone cancer when my calcium was a little high... No bone cancer and my calcium level went back down. They do this crap to drive us crazy I swear.
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Raisins and gin sounds good to me. That with the chocolatey carmels that provide calcium and vitamin D (caltrate) and there is a real snack in there somewhere!
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and don't forget the 70% cocoa dark chocolate to reduce blood pressure
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BosumBlues, I am taking 1000 IU Vit D every day and 1260mgs of calcium. I take 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 in the evening.
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I eat those Caltrate little chocolatey things every day - 1 in morning and 1 at night. My MO suggested calcium and vitamin D and these looked yummy and easy. She approved them. They seemed to be the recommended amount of both.
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I am taking 5000 units of D3 a day, and am planning to add another couple of thousand units, getting to 7 or 8 thousand. My Vit. D. has always been low. Even with taking 5000 IU year round, my blood level was recently 46. It should be in the 40-60 range. Some say for cancer it should be in the 60-80 range. I'd like to get my level higher. You don't know how much you need unless you test regularly. Everyone is different. I have a mediterranean complexion and live in a northern climate.
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as far as the calcium chewies ...check the soy lecithin ingredient. I don't want soy additive in my diet, taking these daily might be too much.
Another comment about bone health...I was so frustrated, as my baseline dexa is no good, as they change machines often, so readings are not compared:(. This is Kaiser.
Thanks to all, I love reading all your ideas and makes me feel not alone in this:)
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BosumBlues Yes too much D is not good especially long term. You can also get advice from your Primary care about how much you should take. It was actually my former primary care MD (retired last year) who discovered my low D and got me started on the supplements.
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I started taking D3, after being tested and found to be low, for fibromyalgia. Waaaay before bc, was the only thing that helped with the pain. I'm in Florida, tested out at 17.
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A couple years ago I heard a nutritionist speak on Vitamin D and breast cancer (she, herself, is a survivor, so you might say she has a vested interest in the information she gave). Here is her take on it:
Vitamin D is a big deal.....she recommends getting it tested (should be between 40-50 ng/dL). She recommends 2000 iu a day to maintain a good level. Many, many conditions are associated with low vitamin D; heart attack, cancers, rheumatoid arthritis, muscle weakness, asthma, diabetics, multiple sclerosis etc. etc. etc. There are over 200 different body tissues that have been identified so far that have receptors for the vitamin D hormone and they need it to work properly.
* adequate Vitamin D levels has been shown to reduce the side effects of taxol based chemotherapy
* Adequate Vitamin D has shown to reduce the side effects of aromatase inhibitors
* start with a multi-vitamin, drink milk, eat yogurt (check and make sure it has vitamin D added), and most people will also need a supplement to keep that high of levels
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Ruth, did she specify D3? My onc did.
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I have been taking Arimidex for five months now with no issues. I have gained about six pounds. I tried to blame it on the meds...but guess what ladies - it isn't the meds. Bummer. So, I am watching what I eat and I am exercising on a regular basis. I have already lost two of the six pounds in 10 days.
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Yup, 3D.
Good job, vbishop!
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All your comments are so interesting. Had the scan today, much less of a hassle than I anticipated. will hear probably tomorrow or tuesday. But I bet I just hurt all the time like an old lady with arthritis because maybe I am getting it (at 58) and maybe the stupid tamoxifen is affecting me. I'm afraid to go off it even for an experiment. My nurse said maybe 2-3 weeks to see how I feel. why? So a tumor can get started? Well, more to come. hugs to all
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I have been on Anastrozole since beginning of January of 2013, just a bit over a year now. I was thinking to drop it many times... I tried to do so for one month, and nothing changed in how I feel. It makes me tired, sleepy, my hair is noticeably thinning, I gain total of about 40 pounds since I have been diagnosed, due to pains I can't exercise, very little, I tried yoga, could not even do simple level, also lymphodema will flair up with any little exercise. I have major shoulder joint, hip joint, feet, hands osteoarthritic pains, that to the point I can't sleep at night, have seeing orthopedist and podiatrists, got Cortisone shots in my hip and shoulder that did not help me with pains, I have severe hot flashes that keep me awake at night, I barely function during the day trying not to fall asleep, I work full-time and commute 64 miles every day.
I am very unhappy how I look and how I feel. I was looking forward to finishing my chemo and radiation and start living healthy, however Anastrozole is just like mini-chemo to me...I researched other similar meds - all have similar SEs.
In addition I am now on additional meds for high BP, and was diagnosed with diabetes type II due to having steroids as part of my chemo treatments. The steroids affected my pancreas and altered insulin production. I am also on Lyrica for my neuropathy in my hands and feet that were affected badly during chemo. I also have "chemo brain" that definetely affecting my daily living and working. I had DEXA already 2 times, and will be going through bone scanning every year.
Currently I am enrolled into NIH clinical trial for the effects of Vit D3 + Calcium on osteoporosis SE of Anastrozole. As soon as I finish that study in August, I am definetely dropping the Anastrozole. I don't want to be disabled for sake of preventing cancer recurrence. Not worth it. NIH is conducting this study because many breast cancer patients drop off the Anastrozole/Aromidix...
I'll try to start with restorative yoga to add elasticity to my joint's soft tissues; my orthopedist said these were affected by chemo, that's why we are so stiff when we start moving, and will try to detox my body with herbal alternatives.
God bless and Good luck to everyone with their treatments!
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Raisa - I'm so sorry for all the pain and other issues you're experiencing! Big (((((((hugs))))))) to you. Hang in there sweetie.
And here I was going to complain that I think the heel pain I've been having lately might be plantar fasciitis! I posted about that on the 'Let's post our daily exercise thread, though, so won't go into detail here except to say it really hurts, it sucks, and I'm limping on both feet most of the day now. Am trying to get in to my PCP before what the scheduling folks told me was the soonest opening on May 1st.
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Lisa, I do not recall what you have tried for the heal pain but when I had that, my trainer had me roll a tennie ball back and forth to stretch out muscle. Dang if it did not work. I bought a can of balls and had one at dif places in the house. Did it each morning when I got up and whenever I thought of it during the day
Try it!.
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Thanks so much proud! That's actually one of the stretching options I found today. I do have one tennis ball at home and one at work (I currently use them to roll between my upper back/shoulders and the wall to work out the kinks in muscles for which I can't find any sort of physical stretch to address the burn). Another option instead of a tennis ball was to roll a 15oz can of soup back and forth. Also recommended were calf stretches, Achilles stretches and big toe stretches (bend the bit toe up and toward your shin). Certainly worth a try because this is kinda pissing me off
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understand being pissed off by it...I never did figure out why my heal hurt for a time but was glad the solution was not bad. The can sounds like it would work also.
clean tenni balls not the one the dog has been playing with!
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Anastrozole is an aromatase inhibitor. Kinda gives the same idea but that is not right. It inhibits our body from using estrogen.
Still, good suggestions to check with pharmacist. Let us know.
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Proud - I just did my first session with the tennis ball. It feels just like when I use a foam roller for tight IT bands so I'm sure it's already working on loosening up the tight tissue. Hurts right in the instep when I'm rolling the ball back and forth. This just may work! Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
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sweet, go to Walmart & find the Dr. Scholl insert machine. Stand on it & it will tell you what level insert to use. Buy it & wear the insert in all your shoes. Also wear those good, supported shoes all the time, even in the house. I have had plantar fasciitis & know how much it hurts!
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