For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
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Schatzi, it is paid for by BCCA as are all other drugs like Tamoxifen and no age barrier.
Scottiee, my MO called yesterday and said that anastrozole and letrozole go head to head so am happy with that answer. Bone density has spine in normal and femoral neck right side shows ostopenia but I don't think that i new and with my level of weight bearing activity I should be fine along with Vit D and Calcium. Am having a Vit D blood test with my next blood work.
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My prescription for generic Anastrozole is free to me under my insurance, Regence BlueShield~ I get my monthly 30 day supply at my local Rite-Aid pharmacy.
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Marian...not sure what you meant...BCCA? Am guessing here...British Columbia Cancer Assoc???
I have no clue what our provincial insurance pays for outside of the hospital. It was a moot point for me because I was over 65 and covered under the Ontario Drug Benefits. Not sure what is covered if you don't have private insurance. Anyone know?
I am referring to the Canadian Health system.
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Schatzi I was slightly osteopenic before chemo. Not to bad but the combination of chemo, chemopause and anastrozole had not been kind to me. I do take extra D, calcium, strength training with power walking even before diagnosis but I'm still losing. My neck is -2.4 right now!
Sometimes doing all the right things doesn't help. I just turned 52. I'm too young for this. I'm scared to fall.
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lago...not sure what measurement is what...MO just told me I was -1.9...that's all he said. I need to ask more questions. I saw my PCP and he asked did I want to start meds for osteoporosis and I said...not yet. I take enough crap now...can hardly keep track of it all. I was borderline before the DX so not too sure what would have happened anyways. Are you taking anything to prevent any more loss? Fosamax or Boniva?? I know they come with their own warnings
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Oops I stand corrected my neck is only -1.5. It's my spine that's -2.3. Osteoporosis is -2.5. My spine has lost 9% since just before chemo! That's a little over 2 years.
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So you have been on Al for 2 years? Will you take meds?
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OMG yes, yesterday made 2 years. They predict I will need meds in about 1.5 years. My onc and PCP do not treat osteopenia.
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Wow good for you...any hair loss? That is my only SE now. My age is against me too. My Drs don't really treat osteopenia either...my PCP just asked in case the MO advised it. I'm on hold until the next DEXA.
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Michelle, I've been on Anastrozole for about 8 months and have not found that it increased my anxiety/depression. I've been on a mild antidepressant for years and have not had to increase the dosage.
Dseko, I hope you're able to avoid some of the common side effects of the AI's, but I'm one of those for whom joint pain and stiffness came on like gangbusters -- from my fingers and wrists to knees, hips and shoulders. My MO said women with high cholesterol tend to have more joint problems, and I do have high cholesterol. She also said more women have problems with small joints, like wrists and fingers, than with larger joints, altho, as I mentioned, I have pain in almost all joints. (My only relief came when I was on a 3-week course of Prednisone for a bronchial condition. I knew I couldn't stay on it, but it sure wiped out all that pain!)
And the AI also worsened my insomnia. My MO and PCP have worked with me and I've tried almost everything (except Ambien, which I cannot take): Gabapentin (which does help with neuropathy but also happens to be a good sleep aid); OTC and prescription Melatonin (Rozerem); and finallhy Clonipin (Klonipin?), which helps 9/10 nights.
I also have hot flashes, but they are diminishing.
Again, I hope your side effects are minimal. I believe these AI's are our best defense against estrogen-driven tumors, so it's worth it, altho I feel about 20 years older.
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schatzi, drugs plans are provincial in Canada, I'm over age 65 and have to pay the same $$$ as everyone else in British Columbia, no freebies due to age, however as Marian mentioned - cancer 'take home' drugs, such as anastrozole, are treated the same way as chemo drugs here and free if obtained through a hospital pharmacy. I get mine from my local hospital so I don't have to drive to the cancer Aaency.
Marian I've been taking anastrozole (Arimidex) since May 2010. Arimidex went off patent (in Canada) in October but my last pickup in January was the exact same Arimidex package as before. The pharmacist said it will depend on pricing what I receive in the future and it could very well remain the same. I will be curious to see what you end up with this March.
Kathy
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schatzi14 I have a little receding but I had that before. Actually a lot grew back after chemo but it's starting to recede again. I do use Minoxidil in those areas once I finished chemo because I was using it before. My mom has the same issue. I'm sure it's due to lack of estrogen but my sister finished menopause at 53. I just turned 52 so I would probably have this issue anyway. Lets just say I'm still wearing my hair super short (bangs a bit longer). If it gets really bad I'll be parting my hair on the other side. For some reason the left side is much worse. Everything on the left side sucks.
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lago...Mine was the left side too....my hair thinning is not receding but thinning in the crown. There is more scalp showing. I had my hair cut short like Jamie Lee Curtis (mine is almost as gray as hers too) and it seems to help. I was noticing gray hair everywhere. When it's washed, it looks thicker but by the next day it's time to wash it again.
Kathy...thanks for the info but I am still confused. In BC do you have a provincial DRUG plan for those over 65? I am 69 and I get MOST of my meds free (not just cancer meds but synthroid, lipitor, gabapentin etc) at my own pharmacy (no need to go to the hospital pharmacy). Some like my sleeping pills (Temazepam) I have to pay for myself. Now that my hubby has retired we have no extra insurance so I rely on ODB (Ontario Drug Benefits).
It is an automatic thing here as soon as you turn 65...the drugs are paid for by the gov't and anything after that MIGHT be paid by your group insurance. They paid so little, we decided we wouldn't continue it after retirement.
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Can't recall who said they had watery eyes, that too is how we realized I've the dry eyes. Mine's mostly caused from Occular Rosacea, which for me is where the lashes connect at the eyelid. Seems to collect debri, skin cells, etc. Treatment is to apply warm compress and gently massage the eye for a minute or two twice daily, and also non-preservative eye drops for lubrication used as one drop in each eye four times daily.
I have to say that it does help overall. The new drops don't have the sting as the OTC ones.
We were checking my cornea to see if it was showing a problem due to auto-immune issues. Cornea was fine, but Dr saw inflammation under the eyelid edges.
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Hey you BC people-I am pissed off. Not only is your weather better,so is your healthcare. I had to pay $180 a month for MY arimidex. For about 3 years. I would get cute freebies from whoever makes it, with a pink thing to carry it in...yeh, at $6 a pill I should get a hostess gift. Meanwhile in the US it had gone generic. Did it in Canada? NO..it sometimes takes longer here..I was told. ..finally, about a year later, the very month it finally went generic and dropped to some ridiculous low amount I turned 65. Great, so from now on I get away with a $4 co-pay. Sour grapes.
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flannelette....who knew?
I remember being grateful at the time of my first prescription that I was over 65...$180 a month is ridiculous!
I think it was about 6 months ago that the pharmacy told me about the generic that I would now be given. I wondered at the time if the SEs would be different but now after taking it a while, it seems no different. I asked my pharmacist if I could pay for the 3 month Arimidex myself and she told me it would be about $340. That was all the incentive I needed to try the Anastrozole. Glad I did!
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sciatzi, as Kathy says, over 65 does not make a difference (I am not quite there at 64) but anything from the cancer agency or as she says, adminstered by a hospital pharmacy, is free. We do have Fair Pharmacare which limits the out of pocket to an amount based on income. This came in handy when I was taking Neupogen and significantly decreased our cost though the Victory Program also helped.
Kathy, the box says Taro-Anastrozole so made by Taro. I bought a 7 day pill dispenser system this weekend as someone on here recommended that~~makes sense with my chemo brain and plan to do that today pre op as post op plus chemo brain should really be exciting.
My bone density came back lumbar spine within normal and right femoral neck osteopenic but I had a couple of bone grafts from front and back in the 70's though don't know if that would make a difference. Not concerned really and my MO says with my weight bearing activity I should be OK. I will carry on with Calcium, Vit. D and also condroitin and glucosamine I have been taking for years other than during chemo and right now pre op.
Time to get cleaning! Bed is getting changed, some cleanind and cooking and a walk (sunny again for second day in a rwo) and then surgery tomorrow!
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schatzi14 - my MO told me my hair loss would probably occur in cycles. It has. When it's bad, you'd think I had a big dog living here. Hair is everywhere. It's especially weird to blow my nose, and see nose hairs in the Kleenex. But then it slows down, and I don't notice it as much. I do take 1000 mg of Biotin, maybe that helps, maybe it doesn't. But my fingernails are growing!
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For me, cost of Anastrozole at Kaiser is $10 for 100 tablets.
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My eyes are REALLY blurry now, but I just realized everything is in bloom around here. ***sigh**** Allergies...
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marian...I am totally surprised at the diference from province to province. So when you turn 65 you don't get all your drugs paid for? I don't believe there is a limit to our ODBs...there is a deductible yearly that amounts to $100 and that goes by quickly. If you are under 65 you can apply for the Trillium Plan which I suppose is like your Fair Pharmacare. That is for people without any private insurance.
I was taking the Neulasta after my DD AC...they were $2700 a shot but the Victory Program got my private insurance (that we had at the time before hubby retired) and the pharmaceutical company to cover the cost 100%.
The only thing I paid for (or my private insurance did) was the expensive nausea drug I took while taking chemo.
I guess I am still perking along on chemo brain because I understand that when you turn 65 only drugs administered thru the hospital are paid for? What about other drugs like BP and cholesterol drugs? I think all I pay is the dispensing fee of $4 per script as flannelette mentioned. Oh crap this is getting more and more confusing the more I write...so I am stopping all the questions and will google it!
Also...good luck tomorrow...make sure you set the alarm clock
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I think it is all about income here as Kathy said but honestly don't know because I am 64 and my husband has not got any Rx lately. Ah but I do know that my mother has most of her Rx paid for but that again may be because of her low income. We had to pay $100/cycle for Neupogen as Fair Pharmacare and Victory paid the rest. I did have to pay several hundred for all the other oral drugs for chemo; IV ones covered at BCCA (British Columbia Cancer Agency.
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Hello there!
I am joining this thread as I am soon to be starting Arimidex for my hormone therapy. I had a double lumpectomy last Nov, and double internal radiation here in early 2013 (just finished the second side last week), and now moving to this next and final phase of treatment.
My med onc advised me of the SE's that go with most of the AIs, including Arimidex and just trying to prepare for anything coming I may need to manage. I went into surgery induced menopause last fall for something unrelated and have deal with night sweats and hot flashes off an on for years coming up to menopause, and mostly hot flashes since. I am a bit worried about the joint pain, but do yoga and have told that will help.
I have to get a bone density scan next week and then will begin shortly thereafter. Wish me luck and will check in here with you as I go along!
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Jazzygirl for most of us we find that if you are active and exercise the stiffness is minimal. I know the first year I was much stiffer in the morning and when I sat for long periods. This year I hardly notice. The difference (I think)… I am strength training more regularly this year.
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Lago- thanks for your input. I am normally a very active person, but less so with the recent treatments and also some other surgery I had last year. But this coming week, I am going to the gym again and going to work with a personal trainer to put together a strength training program to do regular weight lifting. It sounds like getting started with this sooner than later may help me to adjust and manage the SE's better. Thank you!
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Jazzy, come over and join us on the Lets Post Our Daily Exercise on the Fitness Thread if you want some exercise buddies.
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I had fibromyalgia for ten years before finding that going gluten-free actually reduced my pain significantly. So even though I am experiencing the some of the joint pain SEs from Anastrozole, it's nothing like I used to live with.
Like Lago, I find I need to keep moving. Sitting in one place for very long is a sure fire way to bring on the aches and stiffness.
My hair loss continues to cycle. It seems like I lose a lot of hair (by looking at my bathroom floor
) but there is no noticeable thinning on my head. It is weird, though, to blow my nose and see nose hairs in the Kleenex.I'm also back to using a topical estrogen cream for thinning nether-region tissues, if you get my drift. I've had a hysterectomy, so there's nothing up there to bleed except for delicate tissue.
The good news is that I have absolutely no hot flashes or night sweats. I have had cold flashes, but I can deal with those.
I think part of that has to do with the fact that I was so long out of menopause and hysterectomy, that my body was used to being estrogen-depleted.
The myofascial release massage has been very helpful, too, with pain issues.
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Thanks everyone for sharing your stories. The infomation is helpful.
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jazzygirl I just started anastrozole on Friday and it was not a pleasant event. Since I had my umx, axillary dissection and recconstruction T/E on Tuesday and had only come home from the hospital the day before, I was not thinking too clearly and did not read the S/E page again before taking it. I took it along with my antibiotic and 2 plain Tylenols and 0700 and was really nauseated soon after. Finally vomited and then had nausea on and off all day to the point where I could barely walk to the bathroom without feeling horrible. Nausea in my opinion is much worse that pain and since it was a problem post op too it took me awhile to figure out that it was the IA. I called the pharmacist at the cancer agency and she suggested trying to take it in the evening with a snack. Last night I took Gravol an hour before and just as I was going to bed. The only thing that happened was that I could not go to sleep but that may have to do with the amount of sleep I have been getting the past few days. Schiatzi and Scottiee both advised Gravol and Schiatzi also said she takes it in the morning but her nause hit mid afternoon but this only lasted the first month. One day at a time again!
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marian... the reason I take the Anastrozole in the morning is one of the SEs is insomnia...I tried both but to be honest, I still have sleep issues unrelated to the meds. The nausea for me was a non issue after 3 or 4 weeks...like I never had it. Hang in there...I promise it gets better...cept for me... the damned hair loss
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I have been on Anastrozole for about four months now and am finding it's not too bad. I have never had nausea but I am sure to take it with some food, not on an empty stomach. I take it in the morning after breakfast or at mid day if I forget, which I often do. I have not had any sleep problems, fortunately. I do feel stiffer in my joints and have a low grade ache in my wrists and sometimes elbows. I find that keeping moving makes me feel much better and I seem to warm out of the morning stiffness and the achiness recedes, or perhaps I am not so aware of them, as I get to doing things.
I have started going to a gym a few days a week as I am determined to take off some weight and regain some semblance of shape by summer. I have what my doctor called "chemo de-conditioning", but I call dumpiness. I think even the little bit of exercise I do, as I am not that strong yet, has made the aches fade, so I plan to keep it up.
I have also been using the phone app "My Fitness Pal" and it really has helped me to keep track of my eating. It counts calories automatically for me and has helped me figure out portion control and where to eliminate foods I don't need, like sugary things or crackers. It also shows my daily protein intake which for me is important as my doctors have all told me to avoid red meats and try to eat more of a plant based diet. Best of all, it deducts calories spent doing housework or exercising so that I know if I can eat extra. I have lost six pounds so far and feel much better for it.
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I like that app too Hortense though and it was one of the reasons I "justified" my iPhone purchase. I will experiement with the timing of the AI once I am off the antibiotics and pain meds. Since I too have insomnia issues I will try for the morning. I already have crazy hot sweats at night though not every night and am hoping that as the weeks go by PFC they will diminish.
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