For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
Comments
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Jilly, what others have said. Doctors just initially prescribe what they are the most familiar with. Often it's Arimidex because that has been around longest. I don't know if they will, but see if they will order a bone density scan every year (instead of every 2 years) since you already have osteopenia.
Yes, everyone make sure to get your Vitamin D level checked!!! You should remind all your friends to get that done too, even if they don't have BC.
The whole depressed or at lose ends feeling is a combination of a lot of things everyone has mentioned:
*When you are in 'active treatment' your life revolves around appointments, treatment etc. and all of the sudden BOOM, they send you out the door with a bottle of pills and a 'see you in a couple months'.......which is great, but very unnerving too.
*Having the estrogen sucked out of you PHYSICALLY is traumatic to your physical body and it has to figure out a new normal .....I have no doubt that it can upset the chemical balance, which can lead to depression (as can surgery, chemo and radiation).
* dealing with the whole emotional impact of what has happened, possible limitations you may have from treatment, body image, relationship shifts that might have happened during this time, thinking about your own mortality etc. etc......how could a person not be unsettled?
Things that helped me were to be busy, make plans, do some of the fun and interesting things I always said I'd like to do, really live a full life so that I don't have time very much time to dwell on the cancer stuff. Also exercise, exercise, exercise.....which is good for you physically and mentally. If you don't feel better after awhile, or if your mood is severely depressed; ask for help, there are medications that can help you out. This is hard stuff we are dealing with!
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Chtease... interesting you mentioned that about Vitamin D. My dexascan showed osteopenia so vitamin D started. Whoa, my bones hurt. I thought 'this can't be" and stopped it. No pain. I decided to try again last week and the same thing happened... so I stopped until I talk to the MO next week. Strange.
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My hot flashes are much better on arimidex than they were on tamoxifen. I had joint pain, so I went back on Cymbalta (took at the start of diagnosis for anxiety, but had to quit when I started tamoxifen). Joint pain went almost totally away, and I figured the anti anxiety can't hurt.
I tried Effexor when I was On Tamoxifen. It helped for a bit,then stopped. I didn't want to keep upping the dose. None of these are fun to get off of. You get weird brain zaps for like a month, and have to wean off carefully.
My wrist pain is somewhat better, but it still get the tendon roll that stops me in my tracks, it is excruciatingly painful. Ortho doc ordered an MRI before he went heavy into PT to make sure there wasn't anything weird. Apparently I have some degenerating joint issue and some tendonitis, with arthritis. I swear, I had nothing a year ago.
He has mentioned cortisone, surgery and pt. I think I'll start with pt. Those cortisone shots scare me to death as I heard they are really painful. I would like to take a year off from surgeries, lol, so unless something horrendous would crop up, I think I will rule out surgery for this year.
I'm going to ask my oncologist when I see him in May (or maybe before) if I can take a little break to see if my wrist mightclear up.
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Lago wrote:
I very rarely took prescription drugs before this. Seems I like to get the less common SE from all this. I'm so special
I know that feeling and get the same things from meds, but it seems whenever *I* post here about that *I* get rare SE's I always get chided that it's all in my mind and that I read about symptoms previously so it's psychosomatic.
Even have a member jumping down my throat in my own post and mods say it's fine, but god forbid if *I* say anything.
Just wanted to warn anyone who says they get rare SE's - people don't always believe you...or maybe, *I* am just special, and alone get that response.
I'm afraid to say anything anymore
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fluffqueen01,
I had a cortisone shot for trigger thumb and it was pure bliss. I recommend considering it if you get lidocaine shot first and see an ortho hand doctor for the shots.
I was in extreme pain and my thumb was constantly getting stuck, causing more pain when straightening. It was on my dominant hand so I couldn't get away from using it and was extremely limited in activity by the pain and triggering.
I went to an ortho hand specialist. He gave me a numbing lidocaine shot first. Then the cortisone shot, which had pain meds also. Within minutes the pain totally eased and I was driving down the expressway free of pain for the first time in months, kicking myself for not going in months earlier. After two weeks, my thumb was fully functioning and pain free, completely healed in a month.
Now unfortunately a year later, the triggering and pain are back in the same hand. I'm thinking of jumping to surgery. My dr prefers that over a 2nd cortisone shot. He's not certain it's the AI (but my MO thinks it is). Wants arthritis checked out first. I'm going to ask for RA blood work at my next PCP appointment. I've another set of joints showing signs of RA.
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Cee67...I have not started hormonal therapy yet but can't help but anticipate problems. I have always been sensitive to medications and have no clue why. I remember a situation once when, during a procedure that required epinephrine, they started hollering and in comes the crash cart. I was told to make physicians aware I'm sensitive to epinephrine. You can't be allergic to it as it's naturally occurring in our bodies.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that many of us are simply sensitive, for reasons unknown. I can usually tolerate most medications but at 1\2 or 1\4 dose.
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Jilly, I am much like you and sensitive to a ton of stuff. NSAIDS put me into an asthma attack, doc told me the first time I should have called 911 ~~
just this week I started having the itchies from Oil of Olay night cream! have used it for years and now my eyes swell up and get itchie! Nobody believes me at the SPA where I used to get massages as the stuff she used gave me an asthma attack after years of no problem
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It is so weird how our bodies decide something we've used forever is no longer acceptable, isn't it? I was less than happy with the podiatrist I saw for the first time Thursday. I filled out the history and plainly wrote ALLERGIC TO ALL ANTIBIOTICS except doxycycline. Nurse came in and asked about allergies. Told her the same thing. Doc came in and wanted me to use neosporin. I said I'm allergic to antibiotics! He said you can't use it on your skin? ARGH!! #2 Son said I should have asked the doc if you would smear peanut butter on the arm of a kid allergic to peanuts. Needless to say I won't go back to someone so utterly stupid.
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Cee67 I know my SE are listed in the PDR but like I said just a very small percentage. As far as people from the threads making you feel like crap… I recommend leaving those threads or blocking those people. I have a few folks I blocked from when I was going through treatment. Most of the folks are very nice here but there are always a few
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Ruthbru, thanks, just thanks. You have added so much to this discussion and are helping many of us.
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Peg I can't take doxycycline. I get ulcer's in my throat from it.
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When you are going through all this you don't need the negative energy; especially from people you don't even know. Block them. Set appropriate boundaries to protect you emotions and energy. You need them to deal with the reality of what you are facing. Take care of you first.
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Ladies I have been doing some research and suggest the following links to some papers that may be of interest. I work in the scientific field; but don't let the scientific language scare you in these articles. You begin to get the jest of what they are saying and can learn from them. Also they may be a source of some good questions for your MDs. I am not endorsing these articles; just saying they might be of interest. For example; one suggested acupuncture for joint pain management. I may try that.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC214018...0 -
Lago, DH can't take it either but he can take everything else. Ulcers in your throat sound awful. Ugh. I used to take tetracycline but they quit making it. It was soooo much cheaper. Thankfully, I rarely need antibiotics.
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I am allergic to every antibiotic except the ones that are very expensive & have no generic (what a thing for my body to be snobby about
)! Luckily, I rarely have needed them either.My sister doesn't have BC, but does have numerous other health problems, and she swears by acupuncture. It would definitely be worth a try.
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Always knew you were special, Ruth
Most of the docs I've seen in recent years (including DH's neurologist, think acupuncture is valuable). I know I'd consider it for pain. My thinking is that it can't hurt and if it helps, I'm far ahead of the game without anything invasive being done.0 -
Cee 67 - I agree with you - I have felt unwelcome on some threads because no one wanted to hear about ANY se's from AIs - some of them are still posting to this day but have stopped "preaching" mostly. It's amazing how different we all are vis a vis our bodies and their reactions to drugs. Would love to try acupuncture but neither of my drs could recommend anyone - hoping to find someone soon.
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I started on Effexor also, mostly to try to help the hot flashes. Not sure that really did help but I did notice I felt overall better...so I take a tiny dose a day still and that helps with general good feeling. No real other side effects from Arimidex except the flashes, so thats a bummer.
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gee my lovely cleaning gal just left but told me a horrible time she has been having with allergies, she never connected the dots so to speak but recently ended up in the hospital after a bad reaction to some take out food! She has now done a big round of allergy tests, needs to carry the EPI pens and all. She always felt itchie but never realized it was food and such!
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They no longer make tetracycline! Are you sure it's not just a shortage?
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Not a shortage, Lago. They quit making it. About 15 years ago they quit making my antihistamine that I'd been taking since I was a toddler (pyribenzamine). No money in it. That's when I gave doxycycline a try (and I was scared to death to try it). For once "they" were right and I could tolerate it. I'd really be up sh*t creek if I couldn't tolerate doxycycline.
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Hello! Made it back home safely and other than getting lost in the Amazon once and having to pay a toll to drive across a native reserve with really, really bad roads, it was an enjoyable trip. I had some GREAT news from the hospital - lumpy lump is nothing more than scar tissue!!!!!!!!!! They didn't explain why it shows up more now than before, but I am not complaining. I know you can all imagine how relieved I feel!!!!! In addition to this, I had other great news - after 6 months of no AIs, my cholesterol has gone back to normal, as has my blood glucose. And I am being weaned off atenolol for the arrthythmia I have had since being on AIs!!! All the scans on my heart show that it is ok now!!!
I am extremely appreciative for all of your kind and helpful comments and for being there for me in my dark, panic-stricken days leading up to my check-ups! They tell me I have to continue hospital check-ups for 5 years post chemo, so I hopefully have to make the trip only two more times (every 6 months).
Thanks again and big hugs!!!
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Wonderful news all the way around, Linda!
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Linda, I'm surprised you even bothered with the car. Bet you could have just floated home. That news is spectacular. Can you breathe now? We're glad we could help you survive those awful pre-appointment days. And we're always here. Congratulations and a nice big HUG!!!!
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Hello ladies, newbie here!
Just switched over to Arimidex after 2 rounds of blood clots in my lungs on Tamoxifen. So far, so good, feeling much better than on the Tamox.
Looking forward to meeting you all!
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Yay Linda
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Welcome, Chipmunk! You've had a rough road with your blood clots. So glad you have recovered from them. Very scary. Hopefully you will be like many of us and have no problems with anastrozole. I've been on it for 5 months with no issues. We're here to help and listen any time. HUGS!!!
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Welcome, Chipmunk!!!!!
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Great news, Linda!0 -
Great news Linda - worth the drive (easy for me to say). Peggy I've been able to get tetracycline - haven't asked for it for a while because I haven't needed to - I am allergic to many anti-biotics and absolutely refuse to take some of them because they are like killing a gnat with a cannon - I did get it when I got a bacterial infection in my toenails while undergoing chemo - they didn't want to prescribe it because they said it wouldn't work - well, it did! They had recommended cipro - sorry saving that for another time.
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