For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
Comments
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Blessings2011 I still have more stiffness in my feet and hands when I wake up. When I move around it's gone in less than a minute. I sued to have that problem in my legs too even when I sat for an hour but that went away over a year ago. If you just have it for a bit when you wake up that's not too bad.
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My sister, who has had constant pain and numbness for decades (due to a bad,bad car accident), has recently started having acupuncture treatments with AMAZING results. I know other people on these boards have mentioned that acupuncture has helped them. So I think that it would be definitely worth a try.
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Several other BC susters suggested I try Claritin for my joint pain. a bunch of us took it regularly while undegoing chemo and getting Neulasta shots, famous for creating pain. I've bee using tne Claritin daily for about a week and do believe it's helping.
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I posted this on another thread and thought I would post it here too.
Had my six month 3D mammogram and all is well. Yeah!!
I have a question, after I take my Arimidex in the morning about 2 hours later I feel really tired and I read something somewhere that it might be an electrolyte imbalance. I feel fuzzy and seem to be shaky. What can I do? Is it from the Arimidex? Also I am taking Neurontin and have been taking it for a month. Not sure what is causing this issue.
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Timbuktu - yes - sleep (good quality sleep) is essential! Glad the GF diet is working for you!
Lago - the stiffness tends to abate as I move more, but the pain remains. Sometimes it's pretty severe, but I have so much experience with it (fibromyalgia), I tend to ignore it for the most part. When I sit too long, I can barely get up... it's not the stiffness, it's the pain - especially in my lower spine. Oh, call the WAAAAAAAmbulance!!!
Ruth - A few years abo (pre BC) I tried acupuncture for fibromyalgia pain for about six months. Never saw any real results, and I just got tired of being stuck. Others, though, swear by it. It's totally worth trying, especially if it can spare you having to take more drugs!
WaveWhisperer - I do take a daily Claritin (10 mg Loratadine), and even though I still have pain, it's a relatively cheap and safe way to potentially ease the pain and stiffness from the AI. Does it work for me? Who knows... I could be in much worse pain if I didn't take it, so I do.
Congratulations, ClaudiaMetz, on your six-month mammo! As for your Arimidex fuzziness, it may be a number of things. I would probably suspect the Neurontin first, though, as it is a much stronger drug. My friend took Neurontin for years, and she called it "Morontin", because she said it made her dopey, and difficult for her to think straight. The benefits for her, though, greatly outweighed the SEs, and she stayed on the drug. If it were me, I'd check with my doctor and my pharmacist.
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The reason I love this forum is that we can all contribute and we can all see what works for some and doesn't work for others. I've learned so much from everyone who has made suggestions... and even the most offbeat ones can have their own kernel of truth. I think it's worth it to try a variety of methods to relieve SEs.... and sometimes, try things again even if they didn't work the first time.
For me, exercising more brought on more pain, so I stopped. I need to get back to a more gentle, regular workout routine, and not go hog-wild when I have a bit of energy and try to landscape the back yard in one day.
Thanks to all you ladies who contribute to this thread!!! Keep those great ideas coming!
(Now where did I put those dang prunes?)
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ClaudiaMetz congratulations on 3D clearance. I highly recommend you call your onc and tell her/him you are having this issue. Since you have a combination of drugs that might be specific to why this is happening to you.
Blessings I don't have pain with the ESD. If exercises causes pain then don't do that type of exercise. Be sure you are doing it correctly. You don't want to injure yourself either.
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I do believe that the Neurontin has helped with some of my pain issues caused by my auto immune and my joint and back issues. I also know that you can't just stop it. I have an appointment with my onc the first part of July. I may just see how I am doing on it during June. I will let her know if it continues for gets worse.
I thank all of you for your postings. It has given me more information than my doctors.
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lago, I was thinking the same thing. These are really new drugs and mixing other drugs with them worries me, The did find out that anti depressants lessen the effectiveness of Tamoxifin. How long did it take until they realized this? How long did it take until they realized hormone replacement therapy was causing bc? A long time!
I'm really nervous about interactions.
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Timbuktu do you need the "shit doesn't happen all the time" speech
Life has some risks. At the same time you can't assume there is an issue. I'm sure me living in the city might have added to my risk of breast cancer… but I'm not moving. I love living here. Also half the drugs they advertise on TV have SE that sound similar to chemo SE including "may cause cancer." They usually don't though.0 -
Blessings, find those prunes!!!!!
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I'm new to this thread.....what's up with the white raisins thing? Thanks!
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for arthritis-like symptoms: buy a box of white (golden) raisins and soak them in gin in the fridge for two weeks, then eat 8 raisins a day.....
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and don't drive
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if you also drink the gin!
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Ruth - remind me again... how many prunes? How often?
(Based on past experiences, I may have to take them with an Immodium chaser...
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I just eat whatever a serving size says on the container. The brand I usually buy says 5 of their prunes are a serving. I eat them once a day as a snack, but if you'd have problems eating that many at once, you could split them up throughout the day. I know you can get individually wrapped ones too....throw a couple in with your lunch or whatever.
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Hi, everyone. Getting ready to try the raisin thing, but for now, I have an arimidex hair question: I've always been a shedder, but now (two months into this lovely drug), it seems there is hair everywhere. Can I expect to need a vacuum following me around forever, or does this kind of slow down after a while? For now, at least, I can't tell for sure whether my hair has lost any oomph, but, as they say, I have my suspicions. Has thinning hair been a problem for some of you? Does it get worse and worse, or hit its own level and kind of stay there?
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BrooksideVT...hair thinning is by far the worst SE I have experienced. It's been going on for over a year now. Also after a year, I am having bone/joint pain. I had hoped I wouldn't get any of those SEs. One can always hope!
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I do not think I have had shedding or thinning on arimidex
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Schatzi (and others), if you don't mind my asking, is your hair still getting thinner after a year? Or has it thinned and is holding its own? This is the side effect I absolutely hate, that scares me, and that I know almost nothing about. The aches and pains are not bad thus far, and at any rate, there seems to be a lot of informaton available on dealing with them. I can't find anything about hair except the word "thinning."
Thanks for your help!
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I started arimidex about 5 weeks ago and was so afraid to swallow the first pill! I had heard alot about side effects but so far not much.. I did really feel tired during the days, but not sure if this was from recovering from surgery or the med which I was taking every morning and now started taking in the evening and that seems to help. I always had hot flashes so hard to tell if the med is causing them now or not! Very pleasantly surprised no SE but I understand I have not been on it too long either. Sure hope the darn stuff works for all of us gals
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Reading all over these boards, I'm beginning to feel the oncs are thinking AI's and Tamoxofen are often as valuable as chemo. I sure hope so!
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BrooksideVT I use women's minoxidil starting 3-4 weeks PFC. I know many others that have had hair shedding and started using Minoxidil with good results. It can' take 3-6 months to see results. My hair line has receded but I know it would have been a lot worse if not for the Minoxidil. Ask your onc about it.
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BrooksideVT I started using Minoxidil 3/31/13, six months after final chemo. My hair has grown in very, very very slow and is extremely thin to point of my scalp being visible. Hair grew in grey--which I expected as I had been coloring for past several years, so was not alarmed, but it is very thin which is worrisome. I have colored once which help my outlook as I could seek hair better, anyway I felt better. And now using Minoxidil for last two months I see new growth as it is coming in grey. I am optimistic that I will have enough hair to be wig free by 4th of July. That's my goal!
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Sometimes the thinning is from the shock to the body of surgeries, other treatments etc. I had lost my hair during chemo but used Nioxin on my scalp (as suggested by my hair stylist) all that time and until my hair had grown back in nicely. Arimdex did not mess up the regrowth for me....maybe because of the Nioxin??
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Thanks for your help, everyone. I tried minoxidil a few years ago (concerned about thinning and receding back then) and found it made my scalp itch like crazy and had to stop. My dermatologist had some shampoo suggestions to maybe make it better, but didn't seem too confident that it would work, so, for then, I decided to pass. Once I'm pretty sure my rads skin changes are resolved (three-month followup next week), I'm planning to see her again. Silly me--I hadn't even thought about asking her about the hair issue! I hadn't thought about the onc, either. He must deal with this even more than the dermatologist, and he's the one prescribing the stuff. Will email him, with hope, and will google Nioxin.
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Brookside....the hair thinning for me is possibly partly due to my age (69) as well and the meds etc. Before chemo, it was fine and I was colouring it. After chemo, it came in grey and I left it. There is no receding hairline, just thinning on the top. It seems to be easing off somewhat altho there is still a lot of hair in my brush when I blow dry it. Now if I could only get rid of the hip and shin pain!
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Brook side-I have worked with 3 different oncologists. Not one had any suggestions for dealing with the SEs except to look at me as if I were being a bit difficult/blankly. One suggested an anti depressant for a low mood; I had already taken Effexor for some time for hot flashes and it did not help with mood anyway.
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My girlfriend sent me info on Keranique with minoxidyl. Anyone tried it???
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My hairline receded but it has grown in pretty thick. I've been taking Biotin faithfully every day since chemo, and I have to think it has helped. I have almost no eyebrows, though.
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