For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
Comments
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Thanks doxie, just knowing what others have experieinced and how they have dealt with it helps. I will let you know how it goes.
Sleep- I have been taking Resitol for sleep, but have been trying to stay off of that and use things like hot tea before bed.
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dseko...hope you are drinking decaf tea...or herbal tea. There is caffeine in tea too so not a good idea before bed but I am sure you knew that.
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schatz14, yep it's all herbal or decaf, but thanks for the reminder, I went and checked to be sure.
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dseko,
Welcome to the club. While it's good to be forewarned about Al, and possible SEs, that doesn't mean you will get them! Maybe you'll be lucky and then don't go and look for SEs that aren't there! It's also possible that you only get one SE or just a little bit. I certainly hope for you that you won't get all the bad stuff some people get. (In the worst case, they switch to something else) My major issue is stiffness in the knees but that is only so when I sit too long or in the morning. I am also sure it is bad for my bones, because I already have osteoporosis, having been menopausal for almost 20 years. I just take the CA and vitamin D, as well as Fossamax and hope that will keep the condition from getting worse. Other than that, AL doesn't seem to bother me, and I can only wish that will be so for others as well. So check it out and good luck!
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Thanks dassi52, keeping all my body parts crossed.
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Hi all. I just stared anastrozole in january. More hot flashes than tamoxifen and I feel more tired and run down and elbow and ribs ache. Why do I get anastrozole and arimidex? Should I be asking for the arimidex? I am freakingout about the bone and joint pain and goingto onc on Friday. I also experience light headedness. Anyone else??
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I'm on Anastrozole which is the generic Arimidex. Most insurances won't pay for non generic anymore because it's much more expensive. Have you contacted your onc about these issues. I found that exercising really helps me with the stiffness. I'm actually better this year than I was my first year on it. I don't have the hot flash issue but my hot flashes on chemo were not that bad either. Just lucky I guess.
But if this continues there are other AI they can try that might be better for you so do let your onc know.
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I am also on the generic Arimidex which is Anastrozole...you wouldn't be taking both.
I am starting my second year on Al and I have no SEs at all except the odd ache due to sitting too long. Sadly, the hair thinning continues.
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I too have a lot of joint pain and stiffness and it frustrates me so. It is terrible early mornings. Often the pain wakes me up and I will take a pain pill and muscle relaxer. I have such awful neck pain I can barely move, seriously. Lago is right about moving and exercise. During the day if I sit too long I am very stiff and sore, but moving around helps a lot. Unfortuantely I cannot take NSAID's, they trash my stomach so badly. I am taking Protonics for that and if I take Advil I am up all night with with reflux and heartburn. I am so relieved that winter is likely gone here. January was bitterly cold and our Christmas snow did not melt. That is how I fell and broke my arm, just going out front with my dogs to let them go for a romp.
I saw my MO a couple of weeks ago and mentioned that my arm had been broken. He didn't react much so I assume he doesn't think it was related to Anastrazole at all. I don't know what to think. Arm is healed but still so sore and another big pain early in the mornings. Overall though I feel good, mostly finding that pain most difficult early mornings. My neck, knees, hips and hands seem to be the worst. For me my neck is the worst. My orthopedic surgeon says I do have bad arthritis in my neck. My mom had arthritis and my dad does so I wonder how much of this is the med, and how much is just a natural progression due to my age. I am 58.
One day at a time, but I firmly believe each day will get better. I feel good. The pain so rarely keeps me down for long. I am looking forward to spring and gardening and all that fun stuff!
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janis...have you ever had whiplash? Perhaps never thought about it at the time?
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I've had wiplash twice now… last time was october 2011. My shoulder/neck pretty much bother me all the time especially if I sit too much. If I didn't do strength training my back would hurt too.
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Thanks everyone. You have all be so helpful.
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schatzi, what an interesting question. I haven't been in a car accident. However, about 12 years ago my friend and I were horseback riding late at night. Full moon and we were having a blast. My horse got too close to the deck and he spooked and I was tossed. I had no medical insurance back then and never went to the doctor. I woke up the next morning in so much pain it was scary. Neck, upper right arm, shoulder, tailbone. I finally broke down and went to the doctor. It was just one of those no appointment necessary places. I didn't have a regular doctor. Anyway I can't recall what they did but not much. Since I was up and functioning he didn't even do x-rays. Poked and prodded and decided I had a lot of bruising and sore muscles. I had to work, I was the Kennel Manager for a vet/boarding facility. It was a physical job and I had a very rough couple of weeks. This was the second time I was thrown, the other time being many years earlier. I do know that my neck pain began about ten years or so ago. It has gotten much worse over the years. I have had numerous x-rays and an MRI several months ago. that revealed the damaged disc but also arthritis. I don't know much about whiplash. If I have it apparently whatever it does is not revealed on an MRI. I have pretty severe pain and bad stiffness.
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janis...that is exactly what I was talking about. Sometimes we have accidents and the results show up much later. As for me...I had a 25lb wooden box hit me square in the forehead about 30 years ago. I saw stars and cried for a sec, but other than that, I didn't even get a headache. I started to get unexplained headaches (I never had headaches before that) that got more severe thru the years and were usually in my face/eyes. They said I had sinusitis but never Xrayed me or anything.
I went to a chiropractor...tried acupunture all to no avail. About 10 years ago I had a MRI that showed 3 herniated bulging discs at my cervical spine C4,C5,& C6. That explained it all. There is also arthritis there now.
Now I am careful about not bending my head back (yesterday at the hairdressers, I had to kneel on the chair to get my hair washed) and only sleeping on my back and one side. I used to be a tummy sleeper. It's things like that ...I take 3 Gabapentins a day which are usually for seizures but also neuropathy pain. Seldom do I get the severe pain I used to get but I still have to get out of bed when the pain starts and sleep in my recliner to avoid horrendous pain later! That is my life. Only time I had NO pain was when I was having chemo that had steroids...that part was almost worth losing my hair for.
I forget where I was going with this........OH YEAH neck pain NOT due to Arimidex! Perhaps that is the case for you as well.
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But I think it is important not to blame everything on Arimidex. Otherwise you might be missing out on what may actually be causing a concern.
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Couldn't agree more!
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I looked up the se of arimidex again and see that many of my symptoms r probably related to those. I am still going to see my oncs pa tomorrow just to have her check out my rib aches. I have not been exercising really at all lately been busy with my horses and get lots of exercise there. I saw someone mention whiplash, I was in a car accident several years ago, was struck from behind. And I clean 2to 3 stalls everyday so that may be contributing to my back and rib pain. I am getting a massage today at lunch so that will help. Have a great day all!!
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I prefer to blame anything related to my breast cancer and treatments on my old asshole boss.
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You go girl...............LOL
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Lago.....hehehehehehehe!
Schatzi my MRI just showed my C-4 disc was toast. Plus the arthritis of course. I was so hoping the surgery would help my pain. As I said before, it did give me a lot more mobility but the pain is still dreadful. I have talked to my MO about this and he told me that Arimidex is known to cause joint pain. I try not to blame Arimidex for everything of course, but I did not have joint pain/stiffness prior to taking it. This morning was a perfect example. Pain drove me out of a deep sleep at about 3:00 AM. My neck was agony, but also I was hurting sleeping on my right side, my hip was screaming at me. Both of my hands and wrists hurt, and I had a difficult time hobbling to the bathroom because my knees were so bad. I did take a pain pill and a muscle relaxer and managed to go back to sleep. I slept until about 6:00 and the pain had returned. I do take pain pills but almost always just in the mornings. During the day I try to move around a lot and never sit for any length of time. Some days are just worse than others. This is a pretty dry climate here but the humidity is way up today as they are calling for showers this afternoon. My body knew before the weatherman told me!
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janis..try the Claritin and see if it helps..it just took me a month of taking it for the pain to go away. That was almost a year ago. Just make sure you get the right kind.
Did I miss something? Did you have surgery on your neck?
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You rock, Lago!!!
As for me, I am blaming EVERYONE ELSE for EVERYTHING these days.
Works for me....
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I saw a page or so back that someone was saying that they were taking the generic form of arimidex because their insurance would not typically pay for non-generics. I just wanted to make sure everyone knew that you could do the AstraZeneca Direct to Patient Program (not sure if it is worldwide or just available in the U.S.). It costs me I think about $40 a month. I actually read about it on this website about a year ago.
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Generic from Costco cost me a little more than $40 for 3 months.
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Anastrozole at Walmart Pharmacy was $30 for 3 months!
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Yay for Canada; free for 5 years though it is the generic. We pick it up every 3 months at our cancer agency. I start March 8, 3 days after my surgery and only got a month first rx to see if it is OK for me. Bloodwork ordered in March and a visit to the MO too. March will be busy for sure with MO, BS, PS, physio, bloodwork! Oh well it will keep me off the streets...
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Wow! I'll have to recheck what Walmart is here but when I started the AstraZeneca Direct last year, Walmart was costing me $90 for the generic a month. I'm in the boonies and they don't have as much competition so maybe that is why or else they have just come down a lot in a year. I tried the name brand to see if my joint pain would ease but I don't see any difference in that between the generic and the real thing.
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Cowgal I know that when I first started going to Costco over a year ago it was over $50 for 3 months. Now it's around $40… so the price for generic does seem to drop.
Here is the current prices at Costco for both generic and non-generic: linky
I would also see if Target has a good price too. I might check Walmart if the one near me has a pharmacy.
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Marian....yay for Canada is right....my Letrozole is totally free also....I feel sorry for my
sisters south of the border with all their expenses......as if we don't have enough to worry
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Scottiee....I am not sure if that applies if you are under 65 and have no medical insurance. I would assume you would have to pay for Arimidex etc. I wonder if the cancer society would pay for it?
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