For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
Comments
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I love salads too, but if there is a lot of vinegar in the dressing, I'm in trouble. And I love the stuff. Just a thought.
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IamNancy I have issues with Acid reflux. Had to stop Fosamax because of it. On chemo I was on 2 prescription meds it was so bad. Never had an issue with Anastrozole but I did take it in the evening. If I eat too close to bed time I will have an issue.
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Lago, I have food at bedtime issues too. If I even drink much water when I get up during the night, I can have a problem. What an annoyance. Did you take it at bedtime or after dinner or when?
Spookiesmom, crummy when we can't eat what we like, i.e. salads. I can do okay sometimes for a couple days but no longer. Oh well.
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I always took the Anastrozole in the morning, after I ate something. I never take any pill on an empty stomach unless the directions say I should. I still take my Exemestane in the morning too.
Salads and other greens can make me bloat but I eat it anyway. I have IBS too so I find I can't eat super large meals or I I bloat up.
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I switched to Ranch dressing, don't have as many problems.
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Looks like we covered the salad question quite well! We love them whether they love us or not!
I also take most things on a full tummy, Lago.
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Nancy I also suffered from GERD/reflux for many many years. It got increasingly worse over the past few years. Part of that was that I had a hiatal hernia which doesn't help. After having to go from one strong med to another I was lastly on Protonix for about a year. It no longer helped. I had a lot of sleepless nights and never ate later than 4:00! Finally my gastro doc suggested a surgical procedure called 'Nissen Fundoplication'. It involves wrapping part of the stomach around the esophagus. Not dissimilar to gastric bypass but not as radical and any weight loss is temporary. It involves an overnight stay in the hospital and a rather unpleasant test beforehand to see if you qualify. The surgery itself was not difficult. Five tiny incisions in the abdomen. Recovery was a breeze. I had a very hearty appetite afterwards and ate regular foods pretty quickly. Some web sites I read had really scary limited diets, but my surgeon didn't have any forbidden foods. He said to eat what I tolerated. For the first week I was on a semi liquid diet but was able to eat regular foods pretty quickly. I lost about 10 pounds the first couple of weeks after the surgery. It is all back LOL. The best news is I have not had heartburn, much less reflux, since. I do not know if worsening reflux is a SE of Arimidex, but I know mine was already bad long before Arimidex. I hope this helps! Oh I can eat anything, anytime. That is a curse and a blessing!
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JustMeJanis, so glad you were able to have your GERD corrected! What a relief. Being able to eat anything IS a double-edged sword. Take care!
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Peggy thanks! Yes I have to remember to be careful but it is so nice not to have food restrictions. We still try to eat early and I try not to eat anything after 5:00. That Halloween candy thing though....LOL. Note to self: Do not buy Halloween candy until that day. Ignore sales. Do not go down the Halloween candy aisle at the store.
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I have to buy candy at the very last minute, and that I don't like very much, or it is gone! Then I have to get any leftovers out of the house ASAP or I will eat it even if I don't really like it. I am BAD!
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If you purchase candy early be sure to store them in a suitecase that you put on the top of your closet and need a step stool to reach. Seriously if you make it more difficult to reach for the candy you'll think twice about reaching for it.
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Ladies, I feel lucky. I really don't like any of the Halloween candy. I try to get stuff DH will eat if by some happenstance we have leftovers - not too likely since we usually get about 300 kids IN ONE HOUR! Also means we buy REALLY CHEAP candy.
Good luck resisting the candy temptation!
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Ruth we are both bad here, DH has sweet tooth too so he is no help! We did freeze the last bunch we had. Lago we do try to make it as inconvenient as possible to reach. So silly, we should try exercising some willpower! I made homemade blueberry muffins yesterday. A guy we know just from walking in the subdivision, Bob...he and his wife Margaret are retired. Early 70's my guess. She is from Germany and so sweet. Oh boy am I drifting off subject. Margaret fell and broke 5 ribs a couple weeks ago. When we walk the boyz we see him and he told us last week she was not doing too well. The pain was terrible despite good pain meds. I wanted to make some stew or a casserole but ended up taking them some still warm muffins. I made a double batch, so I also took some to our neighbors behind us. The house had been a rental for years and they had some very bad people in there last year. Landlord got so many complaints, he is in his 70's and said he got tired of it so sold it. We were thrilled when we found out it was on the market. It sold pretty quickly, a middle aged gay couple moved in. They are great guys and so interesting. Arden was married for 20+ years and his wife had him in therapy much of the time trying to cure him. He was raised on a farm and strict Pentacostal (SP?). Coming from a tight knit small farming community you can imagine how difficult this transition was for him. He finally had the courage to divorce, it literally cost him the family farm but he said for the first time in his life he is happy. He is a teacher, he teaches art and sign language to deaf students. He also speaks and signs in German. Eduardo is an accountant for the US/Mexican Consulate and a sweetheart. A very gentle soul. He is still trying to work on his English. Like many Hispanic people he talks too fast and loses us pretty quickly! When I remind him he slows down and that works for us. They have worked so hard on the house and done so much amazing remodeling. We have been there to dinner a couple of times and it is beautiful. Arden also built a deck out back and made a water arrangement and lots of new trees. They have two hens and give us eggs from time to time. I don't eat eggs but DH does, and I use them for baking of course. So...these neighbors all got fresh muffins and we had plenty left. That kept us away from the frozen candy and will hopefully for a few days.
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I can't help but wonder if it would be beneficial for our oncos to do a hormone test before prescribing one of the hormone blocking drugs. I took Prempro after I went through menopause at age 48 for severe hotflashes but it eventually gave me uterine fibroids so in my early 50's I had a complete hysterectomy, after which I continued taking Premarin until I was diagnosed with BC and was told to stop taking it. My cancer is estrogen and progesterone receptive. I used to wake up 10-12 times a night dripping sweat and had hot flashes all during the day. It's not as bad these days but I have to wonder if us older gals really have that much natural hormone in our bodies to warrant taking pills for 5 years.
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JustMeJanis, we also live in an interesting neighborhood - very mixed up: old, young, black, white, Hispanic, gay, straight, singles. Love it!
Blownaway, from what I understand (and it may not be correct), any estrogen we produce is too much. We each need to decide if taking these pills is worth it.
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The answer is that your adrenal glands continue to secrete estrogen as does excess body fat so yes, you need to stay on AIs for five to ten years depending on what your onc tells you - that said, I have been so highly allergic to the AIs that I was only able to stay on for 2-1/2 years - better to stay on the pills if you possibly can.
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Aaaahh - those dang adrenals...
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I scared a young woman at my gym when I said I was going through menopause for a second time....she freaked as I sort of think the first time was not great to her!
but the AL sort of puts you into round 2 of menopause!
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ProudToSpin, that's so funny! Must have made your day! It would have made mine..
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Blownaway, my onc did do hormone tests before prescribing the Arimidex. I had them checked a few years ago by my gyn and I was still in peri-menopause. But when they were checked again this spring I was deemed post-menopausal.
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I did apologize to her and explained. I am fierce when women say they do not do mamos as they are too "uncomfortable" or busy, I give a description on how "uncomfortable " breast cancer is~~
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Good!
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I was tested for 5 months to be sure I stayed in chemopause. I was permimeno before chemo. I started with Anastrozole not with Tamoxifen.
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ProudToSpin, good for you. A few minutes discomfort for a mammo and they can't be bothered? I don't think you should have apologized to begin with.
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Amongst all my family and circle of friends, I am the pretty much the most healthy and health conscious specimen. When I got my diagnosis, they all ran to get mammos as fast as they could. It was one trend I was glad to see, even though I wish I didn't have to start it.
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Blownaway that is almost funny....them all getting their mammograms. Sad that you were the catalyst by getting BC, but at least it inspired some women to do it.
I lived in Houston many years ago, late 80's and early 90's. Too big (and hot) for me but they had some restaurants I still miss!
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justmejanis - Try wearing a wig in Houston during the summer. Sometimes, I just wanted to rip it off my head and fling it at my hubby and scream "You wear it!".
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Oh my gosh I can imagine! That would be rough to say the least. That humidity just about killed us moving for a very dry climate in Denver. I actually missed winter and the beautiful snow. It did snow one time when we lived there, a couple weeks before Christmas. I worked at Target and it was our busy season. I made it to work fine but saw so many accidents on the way. It was a skeleton crew that day but not a lot of shoppers either so we managed.0 -
Blownaway, I too lived in Houston during chemo and radiation and umx and I agree about the heat and the wigs. I wore them for about two weeks and then I switched to hats and even went bald completely, it shocked some people at work but my comfort came in first.
Aurora
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I had a friend who was at an outdoor family wedding in Mississippi. During the dance, she got SO hot that she yelled 'To hell with it!", yanked off her wig, and spent the rest of the evening dancing 'topless'!!!
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