For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
Comments
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stage1 - the surprising thing about the Fitbit and counting steps is that I was unaware that the days I spent at the computer, involved my taking so many fewer steps in a day. At first my goal was to get to 10,000 steps and I was discouraged because it involved making such an effort to do so. I lowered my goal to 7,500 and found that walking my dog around the block four times got me really close to goal. The last time I was at this weight and size was in the early 80's when I was exercising three times a week and jogging two miles each time. That was not sustainable in my lifestyle and I gave up. So gradually my weight crept up. Walking around the block is doable for me - good for my health and our dog's health too. The funny part is that I asked for the Fitbit at Christmas and gave my husband one also. He is competitive and I am not. So I received comparison comments from him until I figured out that the golf cart he rides in counts bumps as steps. Each round of 18 holes adds about 5,000 steps to his count for the day. I let his challenges roll off my back and know that at least he is making an effort to walk with me! When we drove our motorhome north to Washington this summer, I found that the bumpy roads also counted steps. It's not perfect but works for me.
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thinking about buying one now but have to laugh on the bumps counting as steps!
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Golden When I was on Anastrozole I started at Walgreens then went to Costo and finally CVS. I prices shopped. At each place I had a notation I would only accept Teva. When Costco refused to give the same price for Teva brand as the one from India I switched to CVS. At Costco and CVS I had to order it (take a day) from the warehouse but I got it… and I always checked before I left.
First time I saw a fitbit I wanted it but not on the budget yet. Also I do try to power walk daily. I believe I'm doing 3.5-4 miles. I do work to stay at the size I am with both exercise and diet. Eventually you'll get used to it. I find I have more engergy when I exercise.
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Thanks for the info on specifying the Teva manufacturer. I'll follow up with my pharmacy.
I love my FITBIT! Helps me know when I slack off but think I'm getting those steps. Love the golf cart story. When I first got mine, I put it through the washer and dryer and got 10,000 steps in each! It dried out fine.
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BosumBlues if you are having unusual weight loss and you are eating properly you need to contact your MD. I would let both your MO and PCP know. Loading up on carbs and sugar is not a healthy way to put on weight. Best weight to bulk up is to strength train and of course eat healthy and large enough portions. The AIs are usually associated with weight gain not weight loss to my knowledge but I might be mistaken.
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Lago is right on the money BosumBlues. Don't dink around if you are eating well and still losing. Worry will do it too, but with a C diagnosis, don't blow it off.
I don't have a FitBit, I have a 15.00 gizmo from Walmart--tracks my steps, distance, calorie burn and time....
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Oh no, lets start the "Fat Chicks" board (just kidding) I always had to worry about my weight but since the pill I turned into a rolly polly - nothing is firm and my abdomen sticks out further than my boobs!!! Now we may not be benefiting from this Arimidex - Well where do we go from here....
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Jenny Craig????
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5LuvBugs even if you were thin everything turns to much. I may not have a weight problem but things are a bit more squish and skin kinda hangs more. It's called aging… so glad I'm alive to do it!
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Hi all. I just started Arimidex 3 days ago. My MO has never really pushed me to take it - my onco score was low (11), I've had a hysterectomy, and my tumor was
small. She told me that I should at least try it since without AI's, my chance of recurrence was 13%
and with it - 7%. I've had a hard time wrapping my head around that
statistic. Is a 6% lower risk worth the other possible side effects
from AI's?My question to all of you is this: Have there been any studies on AI's and the benefits and risks it has for Stage 1 breast cancer? I usually research everything to hell and back, but for some reason I have resisted knowing what's out there for AI's. My dx was a year ago, and I have popped into this thread occasionally.. only to run for the hills when I see all the problems with bone pain, depression and fatigue. I have enough of that without Arimidex!
Anyhow, what I found today was a lot of studies comparing AI's with tamoxifen, and the lumping together of all early stage stats. Has anyone found studies that apply to AI's and stage 1 breast cancer, and could you point me to them?
Thanks!
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PRB1956, I start Arimidex on the 17th. I want to do everything I can to make sure my BC never comes back. There was never any question about me taking an AI, it was always part of my treatment plan from minute one. And remember, not everyone has problems with it. A good friend of mine has been on it for several years with no issues. Each of us has to decide the merit of AI for ourselves because what is right for me may not work or be right for you. Definitely no "one size fits all" for BC, is there?
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If you go to the main page of breastcancer.org, you can find the hormonal therapy tab and there are articles there. You can drill down under specific medicines. It's wise to then look at the embedded links inside the articles to get more scientific journal type information.
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PRB1956 - If I were you, I'd give the medication a chance -try it.. maybe you won't have any side effects.. and if you do, and you find them unbearable, then quit taking the pill... I think its well worth the 6% lower risk of recurrence for you..
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LuvBug
starting the fat chick board might not be such a bad idea... I would love to have a place to vent ...
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PRB, please, please do remember that those who post here are the ones with the issues. Maybe it's 5% of us, maybe more, but if we were all totally symptomless, what on earth would we have to say on these boards, and why would we be here? You may or may not have issues with the drug, but the only way to know is to try. If drug A gives you angst, you can try a holiday, and you can switch to another, or another, you can add glucosomine or other meds, and you can also quit. Your onc will work with you.
Your stats are very like mine. I think in my case, it is 15% without tamoxofen, and 7% with. As you may know, an AI gives you a couple of percentage points to the good beyond the tamoxofen statistics that oncotype has researched.. So, 15 % or 5-7% chance of recurrence? In my case, I absolutely choose the 5%. Similarly, I'll bet you'd rather the 7% than the 13%, no? A good part of our onc's job is to work with his or her patients to be certain they can manage their treatments. Please do lean on him or her for whatever you need to succeed.
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Ladies, there's a Wednesday Weigh-In thread if you want to lose weight and have support. I will tell you good old fashioned fear is a marvelous weight loss aid. Having a local recurrence, I got really serious about everything that went in my mouth! It's also important to keep your fasting glucose in check. Below 87 is what they recommend and I looked at the glucose I had taken a month before my recurrence and it happened to be 92, so I got serious about cutting back more on carbs and even gave up the sugar in my coffee, which was pretty much my last daily vice.
I exercise a lot, gave up almost all grains, dairy and sweets except one or two servings a week. I never thought I could do this but I did and you can too.
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I understand what you are saying TwoHobbies - tell me, did you also lose weight?
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TwoHobbies - that is spot on! Fear is a real motivator for sure. I really cleaned up my act before my surgery... but here I am a year out and back to my bad habits. I suspect that losing weight, exercising, and eating right would do more for my health than Arimidex ever could. I need to take a look at that weigh-in thread...but I kind of like the sound of a 'fat chicks' board.
Edited - I just read back a few pages here on the thread and noticed the talk about the different brands of generic Arimidex. I get a 3 month supply of the brand name Arimidex for $90. Maybe I misunderstood the posts..I didn't really read through them all.. but if you're interested, the information is on the Arimidex home page
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PRB1956 Not only will it help reduce your chances of recurrence but it will also help reduce your chances of getting a new breast cancer. Once you have been diagnosed with breast cancer your risk is higher than a woman who has never had breast cancer. The average woman has an 12% lifetime chance of getting breast cancer. I believe once diagnosed we have a 10.5% chance (assuming you did not have BMX). If you had a BMX I believe your risk is about 2-3%. Check with your MO on those stats though. Also if your risk is 15% and you're one of the 13% you bet you're going to want to do Arimidex. Unfortunately we just don't know who that 15% is. This gamble could be a gamble with your life. I think I would want to at least try. BTW I made the switch to Exemestane (Aromasin) and I'm doing great now. So there are options. (stats updated)
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The article I found was from Time Magazine's August 27, 2012 issue.
'The Let's Post Our Daily Exercise' thread on the fitness forum is also a great place to get support if you are trying to up your exercise.
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You might think about looking at your numbers this way, it cuts your risk close to half from your current level. Decreasing by about 50% seems like worth a try (13% to 7%).
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PRB, I'm going to weigh in on the AI or no AI. I had a low oncotype. I was otherwise considered healthy. I had a mastectomy and took my tamoxifen every day. I never missed one dose and I still recurred. I had just started to feel good again and had to start all over and do chemo and radiation. So is it a guarantee? No. But at least I knew I didn't cause it myself by not taking the medication that was recommended. I would have really kicked myself if that was the case. I understand if people decide to stop because their QOL is so bad that you don't care if you get cancer again, but at least try it.
IamNancy, I did lose 13 pounds. I was not considered "overweight" by BMI at diagnosis but I was at the top of my BMI so that if I gained 3 lbs at Christmas, I was into the overweight BMI. Too close for comfort. And I was also 25 lbs heavier than my youth and before pregnancy. I had tried to diet almost every day after my son was born, but no joke, 17 years later I weighed the same as I did 3 weeks after. Talk about a set-point! Even though I thought I was eating healthy food, oatmeal, greek yogurt, salads with chicken, my problem was I was always hungry and so a diet really didn't last three days before I was starting to stray. Now I think I was eating too many carbs for me and I do much better keeping my carbs to lots of vegetables and a little fruit for dessert. I eat nuts or eggs for breakfast, salads with protein for lunch, or sometimes I'll just snack on a little meat, olives, avocado, carrots. For dinner I like to do a big plate of mixed vegetables sauteed in olive oil or roasted in the oven and some meat. I eat my fruit for dessert and my cheat is I put whipped cream on it, and a couple of times a week I'll have three Lindor truffles (15 grams of sugar). So that's what I eat, but I can't emphasize enough that you have to find things you like and prioritize what you eat. If I had to eat eggs every day, I'd puke, so finding out I love nuts and its easy to take to work and eat for breakfast was a huge help. And as you see, I have my "cheat" priorities. I'd rather have a corn tortilla than a piece of bread or pasta, so those are my occasional cheats, and I let myself have pizza once every two months or so, but only pizza I love and its preceded with a salad.
I'd be interested in a fat chicks board, or maybe we think of it as a healthy eating board because all of us need to eat healthy and not gain at the very least. One thing I found with the Let's Post Our Daily Exercise thread is that seeing others doing it daily is very inspiring to me - we call it the Voices. I do think one thing the Wednesday Weigh-In thread missed for me is the daily voices. So maybe we start a thread where we come for daily support and 'fess up to what we ate?
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TwoHobbies - I love what you wrote about your food choices. I think the big thing is finding what we can eat and live with. Diets have never worked for me in the past. I could lose a few pounds and they seemed to come right back and slowly go up. When I was told I had BC, none of the contributing factors had a place in my life with the exception of my age of 63, being female and carrying extra weight. There was only one thing I could change - my weight. That was enough to make a difference in my life. Instead of dieting, I have made life choices. If I really want something, I will eat it, because I plan to eat this way the rest of my life. But I think about each choice and it is surprising how many times I change my mind and don't really eat the things that I thought I wanted. Instead of something sweet, I crave crunchy things that have a lot of flavor, and tart (like lemon juice and olive oil on salads). I am grateful it all seems to be working in the year since my diagnosis.
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BosumBlues I'm still here and I've been on Exemestane since June. We still have our past Arimedex experience to share here. I think for those who are having issue we are examples of how there are options other than to quit hormone treatment all together.
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I noticed my new refill for anastrozole is by a new mfg... Accord HEA... It use to be Breckinridge ..wonder if there will be any difference..
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IamNancy, please do let us know if it does make a difference. Where are you purchasing your anastrozole?
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http://www.drugs.com/availability/generic-arimidex...
Here is another source for manufacturers of generic drugs. Seems to have a few more on it.
I always go on the net to double check new manu. even though RX has the info printed on it. Not out of the realm of possibility for mistakes still. The net will also show all binders used.
I'm on Femara rather then Arimidex. I have had Sun Pharma (1st), Apotex (2nd) and now on Roxane (3rd) brand. The Apotex smelled to high heaven, very chemically. The Roxane brand has no smell and neither did the Sun brand. Pleased that Roxane seems to have even fewer binders than name brand.
Question for any of you getting mail order. Does your mail order co change manufacturer frequently? I use local pharmacy but have received sev. calls from Express Scripts. The other meds I take I would not worry about - BP and glaucoma drops. But the AI I would. Not sure I would just trust the word of the person on the phone. I have had insurance in the past that required mail order for maintenance meds but that was b4 BC. Just curious if anyone uses this service. Might save us some money but maybe not enough to convince me to change. DH says it's my choice since I use all the meds.
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I won't do mail order, I don't want my meds cooking in the mailbox, and I've heard too many horror stories about screw ups. I get all of it from Walmart, except arimadex, that's from Walgreens, Teva.
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Spookiesmom, Walgreens is my preferred provider (per my Rx plan) and I'm planning on getting my arimidex made by Teva. From what I've read here, there are few problems with their fillers. I will fill my first prescription of it this week, to start on the 17th. Thanks for the info. Not sure I'd do mail order. Haven't for DH and he has a lot of them.
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