For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
Comments
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Janett2014, if I'm not being too inquisitive, what made you decide to have a bmx? From your profile, it would seem that the lx you had in March would have be been sufficient. Was it your family history? You've obviously had a rough year. Hugs!
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PontiacPeggy, I had my routine mammogram in Dec. which indicated a problem. Needle biopsy in Jan. showed IDC on the left. Two weeks later I had a pre-lumpectomy MRI which showed something on the right side which had not been caught by mammo or ultrasound. In early March I had lumpectomy on the left and biopsy on the right at the same time. Results from that surgery: positive margins on the left, IDC on the right. BS then recommended BMX.
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Hi gals - Xanax just before bed lets me sleep peacefully. I started taking it when my husband was sick and I would awake and then obsess about the future of his disease. Now it helps me sleep with no side effects at all.
I also take a supplement called Protandim. It is made up of turmeric, milk thistle, green tea, bacopa, and ashwandagh or something like that. It purports to reduce oxidative stress which causes joint pain. I started taking it a month after my Anastrazole. I was feeling some mild joint stiffness back then, but that ended soon after I started taking the Protandim. You can read about it I'm sure. I have no idea if it's helping, but don't want to stop now while I'm doing so well. The MO reports I'm doing amazingly well.
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Janett2014, thank you for sharing. Again, many hugs!
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This might be a dumb question, but is the oncotype test only done with breast tissue? I have no record of an oncotype test when I had my LN biopsy that showed my second round of cancer. And they found no cancer when they did the ALND, so I guess they couldn't do one then either. I will have to ask my MO when I see him in a couple weeks if one was ever done.
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Bren,
Oncotype DX is not done on HER2+ tumors because chemo is standard, certainly at your stage. With HER2- and ER+ tumors chemo is only a clear choice in a low percentage of Stage 1 BC, generally those with Grade 3 and/or more than micro mets in lymph nodes.
In my case with Stage I and Grade 2, my score of 30 made it very clear I would benefit from chemo.
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thanks doxie, that makes sense.
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Bren Doxie is correct. Us HER2+ girls go directly to chemo, do not pass go or collect $200
Hot Flashes. Try to figure out your triggers. Mine is certain spicy peppers like Jalapeno and some chile peppers. Wine too. Granted mine aren't too bad but if I eat a lot of hot peppers I can wake up more than once with my light hot flashes.
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Gailani how did you make out at the Onc regarding your joint pain? I've been on Arimidex since April 2013 and I still have lots of joint pain, fingers, elbows, feet, knees and it really doesn't get better - I take Aleve...My onc was going to put me in a trial to see if a med would help people on Arimidex but I would have to take it for 13 weeks and might only be getting a placebo - I chose not to bother. The drug (I already forgot what it was) had enough side effects and I didn't need any more. Take Aleve!!!0 -
I don't know if this will help anyone, but I had terrible joint pain on AI's, but then I stopped eating wheat & my joint pain has disappeared. Literally my knees hurt so badly that I couldn't have them touching in the night, to now, where I have no pain whatsoever. HTH, GG
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Have any of you seen the new "study" posted today from 2012 that says Arimidex doesn't do an adequate job of reducing the estrogen levels in overweight women......I am about to stroke out on this one. Said that they tested women with BMI of 30 or higher and women with lower BMI at intervals and the overweight women, after being on the drug still had TWICE the amount of estrogen in their bodies as the skinny ones.... Just go out to the main page and read it....0 -
Ps- I am a "fat" gal.
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I'm pretty fluffy too, but if the joint pain is any indication the stuff is working!
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I'm overweight too and been on Arimidex/Anastrozole for 10 months and my last scans say may bone mets are starting to heal, so I would say it does work for some of us on the "heavier" side.
Aurora
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My MO did say I was high risk for reoccurance. I was so shocked at that all I could do was whisper, why? He said my weight. I was so upset, I don't remember much else that day. Apparently it wasn't enough to get me to try to loose it.
Oct 11 is 2 years since last chemo, I'm NED
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Where would I find this study? This is very upsetting......
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BC Survivors, if you've been tested for the BRCA genes and do NOT have them, you might be interested in participating in this study: BC Survivors Tested for BRCA Gene Study
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this is scary ... I couldn't be any fatter yet with this pill I can't lose and only see my belly area getting fatter and fatter and fatter...
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Would someone mind posting the link to that study? I don't seem to see it anywhere.
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I still remember the shock I felt when my MO explained that even though I went through menopause 15 years ago, I still had hormones in my system and in the fat I had stored in my body. I've never been able to lose weight and must have had a lot of places to stash away fat in my 5'10" frame. In the year since my diagnosis, I have lost 50# and was on Anastrozole 6 months of that time. I claim no credit for that loss because I think it is psychological as I started viewing the food I eat and the fat in my body differently. I used to crave sugar and now it runs right through me if I take a taste of my husbands ice cream. The only other change I have made this year is to wear a Fitbit and aim for 7500 steps a day. I'm grateful this has happened and wish that it could be this way for all of us BC ladies.
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Redheaded1 yes I have read that the AIs don't work as well in overweight, especially obese women.This is why our doctors want us to maintain a healthy weight. A friend of mine is on her 3rd diagnosis. This time on Luprin/Anastrozole. Sadly she is clinically obese. She's trying to lose the weight. At one point I had gained over 10lbs since diagnosis. I ask my NP is she was going to yell at me. She said that it's those who are really overweight that she is concerned with. So maybe there is a difference between being a bit fluffy and clinically obese. Granted even at my largest I was a tight size 8 (5' 6") so not that large but still overweight for my smallish frame.
spookiesmom we do have different disease but similar. My onc said I was at high risk for recurrence because of the size of my tumor (note I don't have any nodes). Losing the weight would definitely reduce your risk. Try cutting out carbs and sugar. My mom is doing just that and has lost. I know my diet is low in both. Be careful not to eat too much fruit as they are loaded with both carbs and sugar. Also portion size is about the size of your fist.
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This is from the Time Magazine 2012:
"Overweight and obese women may have a tougher battle in store when it comes to breast cancer: a new study published in the journal Cancer finds that carrying extra pounds is linked with a higher risk of cancer recurrence and death.
Previous studies have linked obesity with breast cancer recurrence, but the new study is among the first to find the same trend even among women who are overweight but not obese. The researchers found that having higher body mass index increased women’s risk of breast cancer recurrence and death, even if they had state-of-the-art treatment like chemotherapy and hormonal therapy.
“We found that obesity at diagnosis of breast cancer is associated with about a 30 percent higher risk of recurrence and a nearly 50 percent higher risk of death despite optimal treatment,” said lead study author Dr. Joseph Sparano of the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care, in New York City.
For the study, researchers analyzed data on 6,885 patients with stage 1, 2 or 3 breast cancer who were enrolled in three National Cancer Institute–sponsored treatment trials. The researchers compared outcomes of obese and overweight women with those of normal-weight participants. Aside from their weight differences, all the women in the new study had normal heart, kidney, liver, and bone marrow function and were considered healthy overall.
Over eight years of follow-up, about 1 in 4 women saw their cancer come back and 891 died (including 695 women who died from breast cancer). The researchers found that the association between excess weight and cancer recurrence and death was strongest among women with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer, which is the most common type of breast cancer, affecting about two-thirds of all patients, according to the study authors.
The study wasn’t designed to identify the underlying factors connecting weight and breast cancer recurrence, but the hormone estrogen may play a role, the authors surmise. People with more fat stores produce more estrogen, which may fuel the growth of hormone receptor positive tumors.
Another theory is that heavier people are more likely to be insulin-resistant and therefore to have more insulin, another hormone that is thought to trigger the growth of breast cancer cells. Having excess body fat may also cause more inflammation in the body, which could drive breast cancer cells to spread or cancer to recur. “There are several possibilities and it could be any one of these factors or a combination of a few,” says Sparano.
The authors say obese women may do better with breast cancer treatment strategies aimed at such hormonal changes and inflammation. Perhaps these women need to be treated longer, or would benefit from lifestyle changes that would encourage weight loss — and improve health overall — after breast cancer diagnosis."
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Oh no, just picked up my Arimidex refill and they split the prescription - some from made by Teva (which I have been taking) and some from Accord made in India. Will take the Teva ones first. Has anyone asked the pharmacy to replace a generic brand with another?
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Thanks, Redheaded1 and Wavewisperer, we only went to Catalina Island and barely stepped off the boat in Ensenada, Mexico. Went to see my PCP on Wednesday, I told him no one else in our party got sick, so maybe my resistance is just low from rads. Still going on, but weird, I feel fine for awhile and then not so good again, it comes and goes, he gave my flagyl to start over the weekend if it doesn't get better. Only concern Flagyl causes diarreah, lol so I want to avoid it if I can. Definitely don't want to jump to conclusions about Arimedex, did that last time and can't afford to stop it again. Take care ladies
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The study popped up in the Articles section of this website yesterday....
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Golden01 - Walgreens put a note on my computer file that I am only to receive meds from Teva. The pharmacist actually asked me if I wanted the note added, not at my suggestion. I had been asking questions, and told him I did not continually want to switch makers, he then offered to put the note on my file. Made my day that someone acknowledged how difficult it can be to deal with different makers/side effects each refill.
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Thanks Ruth, I know weight is an issue but now I feel like the Arimidex isn't even helping me. I've had a hard time with
weight the last few years. I need to get my butt in gear. I sure hope it's doing something to help me?
I was wonderingwhat article that statement was from, thanks for telling us.
Thanks Again.....
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gramma, the fitbit works for me, too! I had tried everything, all my life, diet and exercise never worked until I was able to actually see at what point to stop eating, I guess I just cannot feel it when I am full, but the fitbit tells you that you have had enough food in connection to your activity each day. All you ladies that are at your wits end on weight control, try the Fitbit. It is worth the $99.
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BAyouBabe, nice to know that Walgreen's will do that. I start Arimidex in about 2 weeks and I also want just the Teva ones. I was going to call and find out if that is the brand they carry.
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Ladies, the article I saw is captioned Aromatase Inhibitors Seem Less Effective in Obese Women. I relocated it on the main page under Hormonal therapy, like page 2.
That being said, I also have since found an article published in April 2014 titled Interpreting Plasma Estrogen Levels in Breast Cancer-Caution needed. Published in the American Society of Clinical Oncology--what I got from it was that the type of E2 blood test done within the studies makes a huge difference in outcome and conclusions, and a lot of them don't go thru a prepurification step.
Both of these studies were British.
Definitely think this will be a topic to discuss with my MO in Nov. Now for more exercise and plant foods.......My BMI is currently 30.2 so I gotta get that subcutaneous fat off me....
And get this--those of you having such awful side effects----good sign the drug is working for you. Seriously.....
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