For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
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Blessings-- Love your grinning kitty! I love, too, that bc and anastrozole and, and... do not alter our senses of humor! Strength of spirit and laughter help us all. I was amazed at the difference the magnesium made. Had no clue it was such a vital piece to the puzzle.
Wishing you good days. :-)
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Ruth~ LOLOLOLOL.., so true!
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Greetings ladies! I have been wanting to join an Arimidex thread and this one looks much less daunting than the other very long one. I will start reading here from the first page and hopefully catch up.
I have been on Arimidex now for 11 months. Actually the generic form Anastrazole. In the past few weeks I have noticed a lot of problems with both my knees and my right hip. I also have some wrist and hand pain, but not often. The worst part is my knees and right hip. I am recovering from spinal fusion on my neck. I have degenerative disc diease and had a fuse done between C-4 and C-5. I was doing gre4at (surgery was 6 weeks ago) but started having neck pain again. I saw the surgeon Thursday and they did fresh x-rays. All the parts are in place so everything looks good. The x-rays did reveal some damage from arthritis. Also the doctor thinks that wearing the collar for so long has caused some of the muscles to tighten. So, I start PT for that on Monday.
Now my knees are giving me fits. I have been trying to move around and walk as much as possible. Of course it is always worse after sitting or lying down for any length of time. I am up and mobile most of the time, but that getting up is difficult. My knees were perfectly fine a year ago! Grrrrrr.
I have some hot flashes but really bad night sweats. I sleep in just a very light cotton t-shirt and cotton capri bottoms. I keep a spare shirt right next to me on the spare pillow! I have to get up and change almost every night.
I will be very interested to catch up on here and look forward to sharing stories!
Hope everyone has a wonderful day.
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I have been taking anastrozole for six months. For the first five months, I didn't experience any particular problems. Last month my pharmacy said that the anastrozole in my new refill was from a different manufacturer that what I had been taking before.
I now have noticed increased knee and hip pain, and much worse hot flashes than I had before. Moreover, my hair has started to fall out again. (This had not been a problem for a few years.)
I will mention this to my MO when I see him in two weeks, but I have no idea which manufacturer's anastrazole I was taking before.
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Fem your pharmacist should be able to tell you who the previous manufacturer was.
Blessings
Paula0 -
Hi Jo, long time no see...you know I had really bad liver damage from the chemo..and I have high cholesterol ..I started taking zocor years ago when I was on arimidex..but we started with a really low dose and worked up..they tested me all the time but I was OK with it..now I have been finished with the arimidex since 2006, and still on the zocor, it still works for me anyhow..
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FemTenor, I thought I noticed a difference when I had a change from one anatrozole manufacturer to another. I asked my pharm about it and they said they get different brands from time to time but if I wanted a specific one, they would order it for me. So that's what I did and I've stuck to the same manufacturer now. (Teva) I'm sure the active ingredient is the same in all of them, but fillers can be different, so you might want to see if you can go back to the one you liked.
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JO-5 - In 1982, I had Serum Hepatitis (HepB).... my gastroenterologist later told me that I was the sickest patient he ever had who didn't die
. That was the year I started paying attention to my liver, which was severely damaged.Fortunately, the liver is the only organ in the body that is able to regenerate itself. Eventually, my enzyme levels returned to normal. When my cholesterol levels went up about ten years ago, I begged to try something natural before I took a statin.
I tried Red Yeast Rice, and had no side effects from it. It did actually work, but I later found out that it is a natural statin (in fact, that's where pharmaceutical statin drugs originated) and could have the same side effects as a prescription drugs, including elevated liver enzymes, muscle pain, and yes, nausea!
Eventually, I went on Zocor, with regular monitoring of my liver enzymes. I was on it for years, with no change in enzyme levels.
Last March, I went on a liquid diet for four months (medically-supervised, 960 calories a day) at Kaiser. They took me off ALL my meds. In July, we started adding back foods, using the American Diabetes Association guidelines. I had a temporary spike in my liver enzymes a few weeks into the fast. They said it had to do with a sludgey gallbladder and the trauma of such a restricted diet.
Now, all my labwork is completely normal.
I take only Synthroid and Anastrozole, down from the DOZEN prescription meds I used to take daily.
I did lower my cholesterol (and horrifically high triglycerides) through diet and exercise.
Even though your RYR is not a prescription med, you really do need to check with your doctor, as well as have your liver enzymes checked. RYR can have the same effect on your body as the statins.
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Ladies - yesterday I happened to watch the Dr. Oz show, and saw Andrew Weil talking about his Anti-Inflammatory diet. I was especially interested because inflammation is at the root of so many of our ills today.
The second part of the show was devoted to chronic pain, and Dr. Oz gave 7 solutions for managing pain that were easy to do.
Here is the link to Friday's episode:
http://www.doctoroz.com/episode/dr-andrew-weils-anti-inflammatory-diet
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3:06 AM Mountain Daylight Time. Does anyone else have trouble sleeping? 0
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Yes, slept 4 hours, for which I'm grateful, but up since 3:30.
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Has anyone quit their inhibitors earlier than prescribed? If so how long and how are you doing?
I am two and a half years of five and quit my Arimedex. I don't want any more cancer inhibitors that causes you hair to be thin. My hair was thin before chemo, lost all of it and before I started Arimedex, I had beautiful thick lashes and hair coming in. Now I am almost bald again around the temples through the crown and I have two and a half more years to go, I would be bald then and back into a wig. I don't want it.
I had eight chemo treatments and three cancer cells in my thyroids removed as well as a double mastectomy. An PET Scan done before my chemo and again after my chemoine. My friends are worried about me, but I am single and I do not want to go through a wig again and hair so thin, you can see the roots throughout the crown. I prefer to leave it in God's hands now.
I have finally fell in love with an old boyfriend I dated in Junior High, after eight months of telling me all the love you, marry me, hang in there..........then off he went, like men do, love and leave you. He was pouting about how he was so stressed, when he came into my life and never knew what I had to endure before he came. I trusted him, because we had history together. I am still hurting after he left four months ago, cutting me off like a knife and running away.
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Susannah I am going to once again try to fall asleep. Sigh. This gets old!
Hope I have only taken Arimidex for 11 months. I am sure a lot of people consider going off the meds. I know it is not an easy choice to make. My hair is falling out and thinning terribly. It is so dry too. I am not fond of this S/E at all! It sounds like you have been through so much already. I sure understand wanting to stop the meds. I hope things begin to look up for you. Hang in there.
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Try Nioxin shampoo and conditioner before you throw in the towel.
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ruth...I am thinning too...do you know any particular brand and would WalMart carry it? We don't have many of the stores you have in the U.S.
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I take Biotin but for some reason lately my hair and nails are really suffering. My nails are so thin and they peel now. If i can get them to grow they snap and break so easily. I am not giving up and will stay on the Anastrazole. I have four years left. I hope my hair lasts that long.
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I take Biotin hoping it helps my hair and nails. Both were not so great before bc anyways. I haven't tried the Nioxin yet for my hair but I have stopping washing and blow drying it every day. I think that is helping it.
schatzi, I saw Nioxin on Amazon.com.
hopefloats4, so sorry to hear what happened. As if bc wasn't bad enough to deal with..you've had to deal with a broken heart. I agree with Ruth about don't throw iin the towel yet on the arimidex. You mentioned your thyroid. If you take meds for that maybe they need adjusting? Hang in there.
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Lee7...thanks but I googled it and we supposedly can buy it OTC in a local drugstore. Will check it out!
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Lee I always washed my hair daily, just part of my routine. I no longer do that either. So much falls out when I wash and comb it out that it depresses me. I am doing my best to keep it neat without daily shampooing. I do think that helps as well. I try to keep lotion on my hands. Moisture really helps.
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schatzi, just curious, do you still have Zellers around? or did Walmart replace them.
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Might be a good thing to have your vitamin D levels in your blood checked. My doc likes it above 40. Mine was low so I started taking Vit D and my hair and nails got much better.
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I use Minoxidil (women's Walgreen's brand) on my hair since chemo ended. I swear if I had not I would be losing hair. My hair is still better than it was before chemo. I lost a little in the temples but not much. I've been on ESD (estrogen sucking drug/anastrozole) since March 1st 20110
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Lee...we still have Zellers for the time being BUT they have been bought by TARGET...some will be closed and the others changed to Targets next year. WalMart opened here after they bought WoolCo.
Walmart is a big thing here enlarging the stores to have groceries etc. which they didn't have in the beginning. I am a Walmart fan
Love watching the Walmartians LOL
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Wow, I remember shopping at Woolco. Guess that really shows how old I am. LOL... watching the Walmartians. I think they filmed some of the funny walmart people youtube videos at my local store.
I get my Vit D at Walmart, great price and I know it works. My level was really low to start and now I'm in the 60's. Maybe that has helped my hair and nails too.
lago, do you have to use minoxidil every day? D you use it with shampoo or does it replace your regular shampoo?
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I use it everyday. It isn't a shampoo. I use the provided eye dropper and put drops on my scalp and work it in after I wash my hair. You are supposed to do it 2x a day but I only do it once. If you want hair to grow I would do the 2X. It can take 3-6 months to start seeing hair growth.
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I loved Woolco. I think it was my favorite! What's it been? Like 35 years?
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It sounds like you don't have to wash your hair each time if the directions say 2x a day. So I might try it just along my hairline to see if it helps. I already have a large forehead...I don't need it to get any bigger!
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You don't have to wash your hair each time but the reason why it's better when your hair is wet is so the product won't be absorbed as much by your hair. Make sure to rub it into your scalp.
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Soteria...I came back to Canada in 1992 and Woolco was still around...think it was a few years later that they all disappeared. Not all were turned into Walmarts ...some just closed forever. Some Zellers will just be closed as well.
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Schwatzi in my area, central Ohio, they closed Woolco in the 70's when K-Mart came in so strongly. I didn't know they were still in business that long. I'd have traveled to Canada to find them.
One of my closest friends is from Comber, Ontario. He's lived here for about 27 years, but his parents & siblings still live in Canada. He goes home to visit 3 or 4 times a year, and his parents who are in their 80's winter in Fort Myers Florida ever year.
Blessings
Paula0
