For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
Comments
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katcarooo1, I'm sorry I don't know. Hopefully someone else can respond with an answer.
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HI, Does anyone know is there is a program to help pay for Exemestane like there is for Armidex? Even the generic is over 100 a month with my insurance. The MO left me on Tamoxifen for the time being as I tried Femara and Armidex(generics) and could not tolerate them. He says he would like to start me on Exemestane in a year and I am concerned of the cost.
Thanks
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NDgirl, you do know that Anastrozole is generic Arimidex, don't you? You said you had tried it before and had trouble. Perhaps a different manufacturer's anastrozole could make a difference.
HUGS!
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Thanks Peggy I had that confused. The one my MO wants me to try in a year is Exemestane as it is the only one I have not tried. I am not sure if Exemestane is the generic or not. I just know it is expensive. I should try to find the Exemestane blog and ask there since I know it is a diff drug.
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windyacres - Check out the topic Treating estrogen responsive cancer naturally for info on more natural options - I am taking TEVA Brand Arimidex, but still check things out on this blog as am trying to add in natural options as well.
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Windyacres...there are women on this forum that do not take anti hormones, including me. Please take a look at the alternative thread and a few other ones that address this issue. Good luck to all.
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Haven't posted for awhile but thought this link might be of interest: https://academic.oup.com/jnci/article-abstract/109/10/djx041/3114122/Treatment-Restarting-After-Discontinuation-of?redirectedFrom=fulltext
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Interesting study that concludes that over half of us discontinue anti hormone treatment either temporarily or permanently. I'm not disputing the importance of it or its impact on recurrence rates with compliance. However I am saying IMO those stats confirm that anti hormone therapy is not an effective treatment because too many of us can't tolerate it! We need to speak up for better treatment options!
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thanks golden01, I for one had positive lymph nodes so Im giving it a go. Just started
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nancyjac- I was taking Arimidex with dinner and it was making me nauseous, bloated and giving me heartburn. Now I am taking it before I go to bed and so far no nausea or heartburn
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my DH has prostate ca. He gets an anti hormonal shot called Trelstar to drive down testerone in his system. Gives him HORRIBLE sweats.
But he has labs every 3 months to monitor his levels.
It’s a mans world.
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I managed to complete 5 years of anastrozole. 3 years in, had to add fosamax as my bone density had gone bad. Am scheduled to see onc early November and had hoped to stop both meds.
But, now I am experiencing low back pain, worse at night. Had an x-ray which showed sclerotic lesions--which in all likelihood is bone mets. Scheduled for MRI on Monday.
This is no longer good. Scared shitless.
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Sherry, keeping you in my prayers. Please let us know what the onc says. We're with you.
HUGS!
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Sherry, there might be other reasons for your symptoms and sclerotic lesions seen on X-ray. I hope it is not what you think it is.
Big Hugs!
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Re: "Interesting study that concludes that over half of us discontinue anti hormone treatment either temporarily or permanently."
This was a study about the effect of restarting treatment after a discontinuation of a specified duration. In my view, the conclusion is rather different than stated:
"Conclusions: Our study provides—for the first time to our knowledge—evidence that restarting adjuvant hormone therapy is associated with better breast cancer outcomes. Clinicians now have further evidence to encourage patients to restart their treatment after discontinuation of adjuvant hormone therapy."
As explained in this short feature in the New England Journal of Medicine, the He (2017) study was designed "[t]o determine the impact of discontinuing and then restarting endocrine therapy".
Here is some of the explanation of what they did and what they found:
"Women who received a diagnosis of breast cancer between 2005 and 2008 and had received a prescription for adjuvant tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor were followed until 2015. Restarting treatment was defined as filling at least two prescriptions after a discontinuation of at least 90 days. Of 1819 participants, 1607 were categorized as treatment continuers, 953 were treatment restarters, and 511 were treatment nonrestarters.
Disease-free survival was significantly improved in treatment restarters versus nonrestarters (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.61; P=0.006)."
Dr. Gradishar summarized the significance in part as:
"These results demonstrate the benefits of restarting adjuvant endocrine therapy for breast cancer patients and provide clues about which patients tend not to restart."
BarredOwl
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My estrogen levels were less than 5, so I figured they couldn't be higher than 4. I felt it was so low that the anastrozole wouldn't make much difference but it did. Many of the side effects are similar with these medications because they all do the same thing- lower estrogen. However the SERMS like tamoxifen do it different than the AIs. The AIs lower your estrogen more completely and have better success rates than the SERMS. You know the pill is working when you have side effects. The side effects are what happens to your body when estrogen is reduced. The reduction will have different effects on different people. Your doctor can't prescribe different amounts of the pills because there is no research data on that. there is only a limited amount of data available. That is part of the reason they don't test the levels. The American Cancer Society has a good post on its blog by a neuroendocrinologist. His wife got breast cancer. He did not recommend she take antihormonr medication because of the side effects. However some people don't have many side effects. He explains the risk reduction on his post. It is very informational. I think if you can tolerate it, it will reduce your risk by 2-4 percent if you had DCIS.
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However no one can really tell you what your odds are. The antihormone treatment only works on estrogen positive cancers. Even if you had estrogen positive cancer, you don't know that that is what you would get with a recurrence. If you have a metastatic recurrence it means some of the cancer spread before your surgery and was resistant to your treatment or not in the area where you had treatment. I had an aggressive cancer with microscopic invasion. No nodes were tested because I was initially misdiagnosed. I have to accept, as many of you, that no knows if my cancer spread. No one knows if the radiation killed any remaining cells. I just have to make the best decision for me and how I respond to medication, which is poorly, and hope for the best. Two of the doctors told me they believe I will get cancer again and that I should go out and do what I want to do while I can. That is my plan. I will also get regular screening and consider BMX at some poin
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sherry .. prayers for you that its not what you fear...
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Sherry-
Sending positive vibes your way
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I just reached one year on anastozole (Teva). I switched generic after first month. My first 6 months were difficult (crazy both elbow pain), but I stuck with it and symptoms settled down for the most part....but now my blood pressure is creeping up and getting frontal brain fog and dullheadaches at times....and more hot flashes. I do not have h/o HTN...so will discuss with MD soon
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BarredOwl....thanks for the detailed description of the study. I do understand that the conclusion is that restarting anti hormone therapy is beneficial. However the study did also state that over half of breast cancer patients stop the treatment either permanently or temporarily. All I'm saying is that issue needs to be addressed.
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hi mandycat
can you please post the link to the ACS blog about the doctor with wife with breast cancer? I looked on their site and can't find.
Thanks!
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Hi dtad:
Others might be deterred from accessing a study of considerable interest to them if the conclusion of the study is not accurately described, hence my clarification. It looks like you have a similar understanding regarding conclusions of this study, so I guess you misspoke when you said, "Interesting study that concludes that over half of us discontinue anti hormone treatment either temporarily or permanently," and were instead referencing the background to the study.
Here is the full text for those who might be interested in the findings of this recent study:
He (2017): "Treatment Restarting After Discontinuation of Adjuvant Hormone Therapy in Breast Cancer Patients"
Abstract
Background
Over half of breast cancer patients discontinue their adjuvant hormone therapy, permanently or temporarily. We aimed to identify predictors of treatment restarting after discontinuation of adjuvant hormone therapy and to test the hypothesis that treatment restarting is associated with better breast cancer outcomes.
Methods
We conducted a population-based cohort study by linking data from the Stockholm-Gotland Breast Cancer Register, the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register, and a self-reported questionnaire. We followed women diagnosed with breast cancer (Stockholm, Sweden, 2005–2008) from their first prescription of tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors through January 31, 2015, and categorized them as continuers (n = 1 607), restarters (n = 953), and nonrestarters (n = 511) of adjuvant hormone therapy. All statistical tests were two-sided.
Results
Factors that decrease the likelihood of treatment restarting included younger age (<50 years), higher Charlson Comorbidity Score (≥2), smaller tumor size (<20 mm), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative, lymph node negative, family history of breast cancer negative, using hormone therapy, using symptom relieving drugs, and switching therapy between tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors. Restarting adjuvant hormone therapy was statistically significantly associated with prolonged disease-free survival, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.61 (95% confidence interval = 0.43 to 0.87, P = .006) for restarters vs nonrestarters.
Conclusions
Our study provides—for the first time to our knowledge—evidence that restarting adjuvant hormone therapy is associated with better breast cancer outcomes. Clinicians now have further evidence to encourage patients to restart their treatment after discontinuation of adjuvant hormone therapy.
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Cali, my understanding is that with the generic names, the companies use various different "fillers" which some people can be very reactive to.
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pollicakes - thank you for the info. I will try to get arimidex instead of generic.
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Last time I saw ONC, told him that my hotflashes had diminished greatly. They got worse when I started the anastrozole. Now, they are almost gone. The ONC actually jumped up and down! He said that was what was wanted and showed the AI was working.
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BarredOwl....got it! Would never want to deter anyone from taking anti hormone therapy. Just trying to push for better treatment options for those who cannot tolerate it. Sorry for any confusion.
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Picked up Anastrozole refill last night and they (Walgreens) switched from Teva to Accord. Went back today to get the Teva & they only had 25 pills due to a manufacturer's production backlog. Got the 25 & will wait for 5 more Teva. Just wanted to let others know of this situation & to be sure that if you want Teva, that is what you get. Had a discussion with pharmacist about Accord & they have now noted ONLY TEVA. I seem to recollect some discussion on this topic about problems with Accord - can anyone using scrip manufactured by Accord chime in?
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My first fill of the anastrozole prescription was Teva as I asked my pharmacist for that. When I refilled, I got Accord. I went ahead and took it and noticed no difference at all. I've now completed two months of Accord with no problems. Each of us reacts differently so I guess I'm lucky.
MJ
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I had an allergic reaction to something in Accord. Tongue and lips started tingling after 2 days. Probably alergic to a filler.
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