For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
Comments
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I don't take a separate D3 supplement, but between my multi-vitamin and my calcium supplement I get 1300 IU vit D. I also walk for an hour most every day with half of that being outdoor walking, so I get both the benifit of weight bearing exercise plus the extra vit. D from being outside.
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Is arimidex as good as femara at keeping down the return of cancer?
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Yes.
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Hi everyone, I'm new to this post (glad it was started-thanks!)
Ruthbru you are definitely an inspiration when it comes to this arimidex. Thank you for sharing your success with long term Arimidex us.
I started my Arimidex a couple months ago. I usually have issues with starting new meds and was really apprehensive. My MO told me that the most common immediate side effects he hears is headache and some achiness. He advised me to do a slow start of my arimidex-one every 3 days for a week then one every other day for a week then everyday. He said doing it that way gives your body a chance to accept the new medicine. I ask my ddl who has a doctorate in pharmacy if that made sense and she said yes alot of doctors introduce long term meds that way now. I felt much better mentally not diving into it every night of the week with the slow start. Fortunately I had no problems with it so far. So if you are sitting there staring at your new AL but are afraid to start it, maybe a slow start will get you going.
Have any of you been told that any foods counteract the ALs? Pretty much the only thing I have seen so far is soy products.
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JO-5~~~how long did it take to get better after you stopped taking Arimidex? I finished Thursday the 26th.
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Deboyre: Congrats--and this is from someone who just started yesterday.
2FriedEggs: Did your doc recommend this dosage intially because you do have reactions? My doc did not suggest it, and I just took my second one yesterday.
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kjiberty I'm really not sure if my Mo just starts some of the patients this way that are "apprehensive" like I was or if he does this for everyone. When we were discussing my need to take an AL I told him that I was concerned because of SE's and because I seem to have a low tolerance to meds. He said he would slow start me which would give my body time to adjust to the medication. He told me the nurse would explain it to me out front when she gave me my prescription so I got the feeling it was pretty routine at his practice. When I ran it by my phd-pharmacist DDL she kind of chuckled and said that alot of doctors do that with different drugs that it was refered to in class as "start low, go slow". When I ask her why the chuckle she said that it was a very common intro to drugs among the geratric age groupto monitor SE's and interactions when starting a new drug, especially since they are on so many other medicines (she then very quickly covered herself with-"not that you are in that age group or anything"-lol.) But her thought was that the doctor wanted to introduce it into my blood streamand get me acclimated to it slowly since it is working to reduce my estrogen. She said in pharmacy school they learned that for some drugs doing it that way seems to minimize early side effects. But she also saidthat since some people are so leary of starting a new prescription, it is one way to get people who are concerned to actually get started on the new drug with less apprehension and monitor how it's being tolerated. She kind of equated it to the reverse of when you are stopping a medication they will often ween you from it slowly only this is introducing it slowly. Kind of made sense to me. But if you aren't a head case about it like I was, I would just stick to what your doctor told you, but I know that I have seen others on the boards who said that they were just staring at their new AL prescription afraid to start it so they may feel better about checking into a slow start. Let's hope neither of us have any side effects and how we started it will all be moot. lol
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Hi 2friedeggs,
When you say slow start, are you talking about starting a lower dosage or taking it less frequently than daily? No pharmacists in my family but it's an intriguing idea, especially if it helps to allay people's fears. Wishing you no se's!
Caryn
PS: I have been on Arimidex for 8 months. I did have some stiffness in the knees and a few odd aches and pains, which I blamed on the AI but nothing too bad and it has diminished. I do take some supplements and exercise daily.0 -
Exbrnxgrl I was just saying that my doctor started me on the Arimidex by having me take one pill (same dosage that I will stay on daily) every three days for a week then one every other day for a week then one everyday. It did allay my fear of getting started. Thats great that you have no major side effects-very encouraging. I don't have any that I can blame on the arimidex yet but I have only been taking it a couple months. (who is the adorable baby in your avatar?)
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Not to wish any bad side effects on you, but just know that if you do experience untolerable SE's, there are other AI options. I had to switch from one that was horrible (for me-Anastrozole) to one that has virtually no side effects except that I have to take it early in the day to keep from having sleep issues. I just wanted you to know that if one doesn't work for you another may. Good luck. :-)
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Thank you Mini1 I am so glad you were able to make the switch to one that affected you less. I was pretty encouraged when my doctor said "there are several options so don't hesitate to tell me if you are having side effects that affect your daily life". He said that sometimes his patients are helped by just taking a short break from their al followed by a slow start while others changed to a completely different AL and had alot less side effects. So it is reassuring to hear from an actual patient like you that the switch worked. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I continue to tolerate the Arimedex for a while.0
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I switched from one to another with no break in between and started to feel better within a matter of days and was completely back to normal after about 10 days. Everyone is different, so maybe you'll be fine with it. Lots of people are. No reason you shouldn't be one of them. :-)
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Were any of you ever told to avoid any foods or over the counter meds or anything while taking the ALs?
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Nope.
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That's good to hear from you Ruthbru since you are our resident Arimedex expert! I just have this fear of something taking away the effectiveness. Are there any foods etc that you have avoided in general since your diagnosis like soy products etc?0
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Twofriedeggs,
Thank you! The adorable baby is my 4 month old granddaughter, my first grandchild. I joke about this photo, calling it baby's first mug shot. It says, Johnny Cash, Folsom Prison 1968. My SIL is a huge music fan so she has many music group/artist onesies.
I do avoid soy in foods,in general, but am not scrupulous about it. I eat soy sauce in sushi, Chinese food etc, the occasional piece of tofu, but not everyday so I don't stress about it. BTW, the best medicine of all is my granddaughter!
Caryn0 -
exbrnxgrl You are so blessed-what a dollbaby! That's funny about the mugshot- I don't know-she looks like she 's going to be able to get away with murder.Maybe she'll be a famous musician then if she is wearing those onsies. I bet she is the best medicine for you. I've been trying to cut back on the soy too as thats the only thing I've seen mentioned but more in general in connection with bc rather than Als. (Well that and alcohol.)0
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My doctor recommended hormone-free food before I was even diagnosed. Besides going gluten-free, I cannot eat any packaged food with more than 5 ingredients and I have to be able to recognize them. The vitamins don't count thankfully. I cheat one in a while and have a GF cookie or brownie, but I stick pretty much to hormone free, very lean meat - no deli meats or other processed meat, fruits, and veggies. It was a little hard at first. I felt like the the food on the shelf was mocking me when I went shopping, lol, but the trade off was so worth it. I feel sooooo much better. She said I may be able to add some "high quality" wheat products in the future, but I don't think I will. I feel so good now, I really don't want too. Well maybe a hanburger in an actual bun, but that's it. :-)
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Here is a link from PubMed for Arimidex (Anastrazole), and also a link for a foods list for ER+ BC patients:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000982/#a696018-specialDietary
I switched from Femara (Letrozole) to Arimidex (Anastrazole) about a month ago and have found that I have less aching and insomnia. However, I also radically changed my diet to exclude gluten and all processed food so cannot attribute the reduced aching to the drug change alone.
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Thanks special K that's just what I was looking for only didn't want such a long list of things to avoid! lol
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The first list is the list of good stuff, the second is the list of stuff to avoid which isn't too bad. When you combine foods to avoid, bad ingredients in cleaning products, makeup, lotion, shampoo, etc. it does seem like living in a bubble is the answer sometimes! I am sure that like anything else once you get the system down it gets easier, right?
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Some of you are so good at all this changing foods and products. I see black tea on the avoid list which surprised me but was glad not to see coffee or green tea. However. I'm kind of like clara in the old Wendys commercial "where's the beef!?" Unfortunately beef,pork and bacon, my favorites, are on the avoid list. lol
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I'm am, or was I should say, a big beef eater. I still allow myself a little high-quality, hormone-free, grass fed beef, but surprisngly, I don't miss it much. I'd much rather have a ground chicken burger (lean, no skin included). Just be careful about chicken or turkey. A lot of companies grind them up skin and all which can make them higher in fat than their leaner beef counterparts. Also, many chickens have been genetically altered to have bigger breast because white meat is more popular. They also fill them up with hormones. I'm lucky that we have both an organic source and Amish birds available to us.
Also, thanks for the links above. I'm always loking for good food info. :-)
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I lost the whole thread. :-( Would someone please post the links of what's good and what to avoid? I'd be realy grateful.
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I don't eat much meat anymore and it is organic when I do however, if I slip up or "cheat" sometimes I don't beat myself up. Moderation works for me. Deprivation isn't an option:)
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At first when I had to change my diet I did feel deprived. Now I don't want most of what I can't eat. I agree with exbrmxgrl, moderation without guilt is key.
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The food recommendations are for everyone to lower recurrence risk, they don't have anything to do with Als (and, in fact, are even more important to our triple negative sisters who don't have the 'cushion' we get from taking them) . I wouldn't add supplemental soy or flax to the diet, but I don't run from the room screaming if served a dish containing them
. I don't drink alcohol very often, and then not more than a drink or two. I do add extra calcium plus vitamin D along with getting in the 2 servings of dairy. I try to eat less red meat and more fish and chicken, more fruits and veggies, less processed food. I am totally ignoring the ingredients in makeup etc. as if I worry about everything I will have a heart attack and be dead anyway. Another thing that seems to lower the recurrence risk is a daily low dose aspirin (of course, check that out with your doctor before starting). 0 -
I have gastric issues that make it necessary for me to be careful, but if I didn't, I'd be the same way ruthbru. I allow myself small indulences where possible. Not eating packaged food makes things much easier. No labels on a banana. :-)
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What about flax seeds in food? I've eaten uncle sams cereal for years and it is full of flax seeds.
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Flax produces a pseudo estrogen effect (as does soy), there is a lot of controversy as to whether or not they make any difference to an estrogen positive woman. I just choose to err on the side of caution and not add extra to my diet. You might want to switch up your cereal and not eat it every single day....eat some oatmeal, it will lower your cholesterol. 0
