For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
Comments
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Spookie, if you ever venture North, let us know! We'd love to have you!
HUGS!
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Suladog There are a bunch of us triple positives on these boards. Check out this thread: TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP. It's pretty active and some great gals over there. BTW my MO considers the er/pr part separate from the HER2+.
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lago,
I'm trying to find an HER2+ person here on the boards who also is on arimidex, my MOs have been far more concerned with the HER2+ stuff than the ER + stuff. I wondered what your docs thought of all this.
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Suladog, I'm also triple positive. I've seen three MOs and they all felt the ER/PR part was just as important as the Her2 part. I'm 90% ER/PR so I suppose that could also make a difference. I've been on Arimidex for almost six weeks now. I'm experiencing a little stiffness and occasional warm flushes. The difference for me is that I'm 42 and premenopausal. I have to get Zoladex shots to keep me in menopause. From November to February I was stiff. I figured it was from chemo but it slowly went away as I came out of chemopause. It's now back after becoming menopausal.
I was having a hard time losing the eighteen pounds I gained during treatment last year. Even exercising 5-7 days didn't seem to help. I'm not sure what happened but all of a sudden I just started losing and now I'm down fourteen pounds. It would have been more but I seemed to overindulge in food and alcohol memorial weekend.
My MO told me I'd only need to take this for five years but I have a terrible feeling it's going to be longer by the time I'm done. Boo!
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Peg, I'm sorry, you will have to come south. I don't go past Atlanta anymore. I have out laws in Cincinnati I won't go see.
If you've seen Blondie around the board, she is coming soon, from Pa, trying to get a meet up arranged.
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Spookie, I hope you and Blondie can get together. Sorry you won't come North but I get it.
HUGS!!
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mommato,
Thanks, hoping I do as well. My docs seem to think I will be ok with it. It's not that they don't think the ER part is important , it's just that most of the emphasis for me has been on the taxol and Herceptin as evidently I was strongly HER2+, now that I'm done with chemo and just doing herceptin and arimidex I'll be investigating more about the ER part
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mommato,
I meant to ask did you do taxol or herceptin?
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Peggy - picture is great - looks like you all had fun!
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IamNancy, we certainly did have fun! Our special BC connection has led to very special friendships in person.
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Great picture. Get-togethers with BCO sisters are the BEST!
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Ruth, that they are! I'm so glad that we've met in person. And these gals are FANTASTIC!
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Hilarious story duckyb !!
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Suladog, I did adriamyacin/cytoxan then Taxol/Herceptin/Perjeta. I guess I didn't realize that there was a difference between being Her2+ and strongly Her2+. There was no doubt I was Her+ and 90% ER/PR too. The way I understand it, being 90% means an AI is very beneficial to me
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mommato,
I was diagnosed around the and time you were and UCSF was going to put me into the TDM1 trials for small early HER2+ stuff but they rejected me because I 'd had bc before. Anyway this was around the time that the Dana Farber Study came out about the treatment of small node negative HER2+ Tumors below 1 cm , (mine was between 6 and 7 mm. ) with Taxol herceptin once a week for 12 wks then only herceptin for a year so that's what I did
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well I just took my first Anastrozole pill tonite and plan to keep a log and see if I develop any weight gain or side effects.
Hope not!!
Funny how the progesterone and estradiol patch I was on for 7 years and I believe is cause of the breast c didn't worry me with potential side effects but this pill does
And when I was not in my late 50's and I was much younger I didn't bat an eye over potential side effects from birth control or fertility drugs.
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Florida, I was birth control pills from about 1964 on (back in the days of Envoid 10s!!!). Side effects weren't discussed. Just happy to have birth control! I did find over the years that the newer variety of pills didn't agree with me as much. I had 2 or 3 years of HRT that I didn't want (or need) because that was the thinking back then (later 90s). I had no problems with the mild hot flushes since I'm always cold. I don't think my HRT caused my BC - more likely it was the stress I was under caring for my DH. Only medications I have really worried about SEs with are antibiotics (I *can* take 2!!).
You're wise to keep track of everything. I've been tracking my weight for years. And I've varied a couple pounds up and down since I've been on Anastrozole. Good luck!!
HUGS!
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thanks Peggy!
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BTW, Florida, I take my Anastrozole in the morning. Several of the posters here mentioned that it kept them awake. Well, I'd rather be awake during the day so chose morning. Don't know if it actually matters in my case but I'm sleeping well at night
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Florida..........all the theories about what caused BC as far as I'm concerned are "hogwash".........I never took any kind of meds........never worrried about SE's from anything I did take.................never wason birth control..........never did HRT.........did not change life till 56, and went through menapause not even knowing it was happening....right from my last period too 0..nada, no more........
My mother-in-law, and her sister took HRT for close to 10 years.......and both got BC......back then they didn't even know what Braca was...........
You hear people say "obesity" causes you to get BC because of the extra estrogen fat produces......I know women doubl my weight, my age, and have not a damn thing wrong with them......
Another think, I know men who brutally abuse their bodies....smoking, drinking, excess weight......they are still alive at mid 70's to over 80............my husband did not smoke, nor drink, and was in perfect shape (Carpenter).......and died at 57 from Pancreatic cancer...........went from amazingly healthy to dead in 2 year 9 months.
So I don't believe its how heavy you are, your age, your life style, 'the' food you eat.........it is fate............the luck of the draw.............some just get a bad hand............
Plain and simple.....all we can do is hope and pray, and sometimes even that doesn't work...........to end this.....my husband's brother is 79....he has bladder cancer, kidney cancer, and had prostate cancer.....doing fine.............
His father lived to be 103, and died on valium, not another pill....................his Mother lived to be 96 after having......BC with node involvement at 71,(no chemo)...no tamoxifin ...just Rads.....hip replacement from a fall, and triple bypass.....all at 90........lived for 6 more years...and the the cancer never recurred...............need I continue................LOL
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when I was diagnosed, I was still working and remember my boss's wife saying gee, I lived a much healthier life than her as I eat healthy and worked out regular. Course she was one of those folks who said that my cancer was easy since I did not need chemo....easy huh?
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florida: don't panic if you do start having some side effects. I had pain in my knuckles that would wake me up at night, and sometimes my knees ached. I stayed active, went to the Y every day, and after a few weeks it dawned on me that I wasn't hurting any more. I've been on anastrozole/arimidex for 7 months. Was also able to lose 9 pounds. Hoping for the best for you.
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proudtospin...your cancer was easy cuz you didn't need chemo ???? When people say that to me I want to smack them ! NOOO far from easy..just cuz I didn't have chemo or rads DOES NOT mean my treatment (and prob yours too) was easy !! I have had 6 surgeries since august and getting ready for another one in two weeks. Im not saying chemo and rads oare easier by any means BUT this is a DIFFERENT recovery..in my opinion, a longer recovery. It makes me sooo angry when someone discounts what Ive been thru JUST CUZ I DIDNT HAVE CHEMO OR RADS..no, altho I didn't have a choice, I DID HAVE MY CHEST CUT OFF GRRRRRRRR !!!!!! Sorry, rant over
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ganz--she was a selfish spoiled woman so her opinion just showed how unfeeling she really was
I could list many such comments she made to me
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proudtospin..I don think ANYONE understands the effects (no matter the treatment) until they go thru it themselves
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ganz, I totally agree! long term it has changed how I make decisions and live my life, recently I retired and met with financial folks to figure out my savings and investments
stupid folks wanted me to tie up my funds in case I live to be 100 or more
really, they think I will live to 100? dumb folks and no way can I tie what money I have up in that long term stuff
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Iris, you gotta wonder about some of those financial planners!
I would suspect that I was just as clueless in the past thinking that if you don't have chemo, you have it easy. If you haven't been exposed to someone with BC who was fairly close to you to know what they were going through, you DON'T understand all that's involved. Everyone knows chemo sucks. But "everyone" doesn't realize that the other treatments we go through are challenging too. So try to remember that not everyone knows what's involved in treating BC, they aren't being flippant - they think that what they are saying is true because they don't know otherwise.
HUGS!
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Suladog I was on Anastrozole (Arimidex) for 3 years till I switched to Exemestane (Aromasin) last year. My oncologist didn't want me on Tamoxifen. She wanted me on an AI. She has also hinted at another 5 years on these drugs after the first 5 years due to my tumor size. I was 30% ER, 5%PR. When I mentioned that she said it doesn't work that way. (Kind of like being a little bit pregnant)
I did taxotere, carboplatin and herceptin
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Peggy, I did get lucky, I lived lean and pulled poverty during treatment and came out without debt. But did it by not spending on fancy vacations, clothes or cars. Got 7 year old prius, keep wondering when it will give up on me! gonna keep it as I hear some prius go to 200M miles and that is my goal!
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Very smart of you, Iris! I drive the newest car - a 2011 Chrysler minivan. And my sons have 2008 and 2005 cars. I think the 2005 is pushing 200k miles. I am very lucky that I had absolutely NO out of pocket expenses for anything during my diagnosis and treatment! Thank you Medicare and the right supplemental plan!
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