For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
Comments
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If you are looking for exercise and/or weight loss buddies check out the "Lets Post Our Daily Exercise' and/or 'Wednesday In' threads, I think they are both in the fitness forum.
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dwill, I don't think you should be having such a dramatic effect from the arimidex after only a few weeks. Would you please contact your MO Monday morning? Most likely, he will be able to put his finger on exactly what's going on and help you start getting rid of that puffiness almost as quickly as you would like!
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Degenerative disc disease happens as we age, my neurologist says it starts in our 30's. I've had back issues since my early 40's. Degeneration and bulging disc's, 10 years before BC Dx. You have to have a back MRI to show degeneration, so maybe you did have previous issues to your back before Arimidex.
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I had an MRI prior to my start on AIs (Femera then Arimidex) - now after trying off and on for five years to stay on them my recent scans show degenerating disks and arthritis throughout my body - my onc and my PCP both agree that it is a se and I've had to go off the Arimidex once again - I am stable at present (I am Stage IV now however) next step is Faslodex - going through major hip problems presently and having U/S next week (already had X-Ray) - some of us DO have se's from these drugs.....
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208sandy I agree that some of us do have SE… but some of us have fewer than others. The only way to find out unfortunately is to go one it. Hopefully one day they will have a better solution, cure, drug with less SE so others don't have to deal with this.
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Mybee....re the l-carnitine....I saw it may be useful for restless legs syndrome, so I'm taking it for that. It is recommended for fibro, too. No listed counterindications, so I figured it was okay. I think it takes a few weeks to be effective. Hard to imagine my primary or onco knowing much or caring about me taking it....docs don't do the supplements route much, do they? If it helps AI nerve issues, all the better.
Funny that it's supposed to be for pre-exercise/body building. I just blew my knee jogging (a decades-long jogger) and can hardly walk. I don't blame the L-carnitine nor the AI for that however! Fortunately it's swim season, so I can limp over to the pool for some exercise at least.
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I have not been on site for a few days. I am in the process of getting something for anxiety from my oncologist who is out this week. Her assistant suggested Celexa instead of ativan (since they won't prescrib unless I got to psychiatrist). I am waiting for her to come back since my insurance won't pay for the doctor they suggested. I am tired of waiting but I have no choice and I don't want to see another doctor. I was told by her office when I was in last time to let them know if I needed anything. I guess having anxiety is not something they do not want to treat. Anyone use Celexa?
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my docs gave me celexa, I use it on....bad days when something is stressing me out (off time work related or waiting for some stupid test or its results)
it is a lo dose but takes the edge off, I hope it works for you
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Chris, be cautious of taking an amino acid supplement, which carnitine is. Almost all proteins need the complete assortment of amino acids to be made. Some amino acids are what's called essential, meaning we can't make them. Their absorption from food is competitive, so if you overload your system with one amino acid, the others might not get in and you could wind up with a protein deficiency over time.
Celexa is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and needs to be taken daily to work. So proud, it won't do much for you if you just take it here and there. It takes about 3 weeks to build up in our systems, so I suspect you are experiencing the placebo effect. ;-)
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Jane, been told to take it daily but not doing it! I just feel that the occasional pill works for me
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Just wondering about Celexa. Prozac is an SSRI too - and there are so many new variations -just curiously wondering what (if any) different effects it has from Prozac. Yes, all SSRIs need to be taken daily over 3-6 weeks to slowly accumulate in your system - it is not a speciific anti-anxiety med - such as Ativan - and I suppose one has to see a shrink to get that prescribed because of the potential for addiction - but it must have some anti-anxiety benefits along with the antidepressant benefit.
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Flannel the newer drugs (Effexor and Cymbalta) are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, but they also slow the reuptake of norepinephrine. They work well for many people, but are very hard to get off of because of side effects. I take one of the older SSRIs (Paxil) and it has helped me immensely with anxiety and also seems to have made it so I went through menopause with no hot flashes or night sweats. I just cruised through and then got this diagnosis, so we'll see if the Paxil can beat the Arimidex.
I took lexapro for years and celexa for a few months to see if they helped my anxiety, and they didn't do a thing. So Paxil is my life saver. However, because everyone is on the newer drugs, I have to call my pharmacy a few days in advance of filling my prescription because I guess I'm the only one in Northeast Indianapolis who takes it
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My ativan story: it was prescribed by my BS office in between initial BC diagnosis and additional biopsy after an interim bilateral MRI revealed three more 'areas of concern'. I was a basket case for a couple of weeks. Was not required to see a psychiatrist. I took the ativan for a week or so (3x daily I think) and then quit after negative biopsies and decision to move ahead with BMX for peace of mind. That was in October 2012. A couple weeks ago I took one pill after two days of the fatigue weepies and it did the trick. I'll probably ask for a refill when I see BS in August just because I've got four and a half more years of Arimidex fatigue to deal with and I'm sure she won't hesitate. It saved my sanity when I needed it.
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I did take Ativan a couple of years ago when there was a lot of stress in my life and I wasn't sleeping sound. It really worked and then seemed to not be working for the sleep. They took me off and put me on sleeping pills and they worked for a while. My new PCP only wants me to take the sleepings meds 3 days a week. I understand you build up a tolerance to them. Then my BC and surgery hit and not only am I not sleeping good but I am really stressed. I don't want something I have to take all the time for the stress. There are days I can handle it and days I can't. Why can't they understand I don't want something I have to take all the time. I have never abused meds, but when the stress really gets to me I need something. Believe me I have tried every natural remedy.
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Take sleeping pills when you need them and don't worry about it (this is the advice my GP gave me). You have to be able to sleep to manage all this crap!
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Flannelette, post rads, I was in quite a funk, and asked my onc about prozac (took it probably 25 years ago for a year) but he said celexa has fewer drug interactions, so I'm on the lowest dose of that.
Proud, celexa is not supposed to work at all until it has a chance to build up in your system (two-three weeks), but I saw a little improvement on day three or four. Of course, this improvement continued for several weeks, and has now levelled off. I mentioned the couple of days to my nurse friend and she said, "Your brain must have really needed that serotonin!" If you're feeling like a single dose makes a difference, either your brain really, really needs to be fed this stuff on a regular basis, or your natural healing ability is kicking in all by itself. I'd certainly discuss this with your prescriber, as it doesn't sound like this is the drug for you.
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I know that the SSRI's are not supposed to work until you've taken them awhile but I feel the effect immediately. It doesn't cheer me up. It makes me nauseous and out of it. It may not be the good effect but it's some kind of effect! lol
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My rule of thumb is to only take meds as needed. I had a doc in the past who was huge on handing out scripts and did not followup on results of the med! I had dreadful response to a statin once and it took a friend to tell me to read a NYT article about the side effects that I had been having. So now, I ask, do I need this med? What are the side effects? and is it habit forming?
ps, the doc who gave me the statin, she wanted to give me valium to counter the side effects of the zocor.....I found a new doc! Switched to a dif statin and no valium needed as no side effect!
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I do not want to take medicine without a reason or "all the time just in case you need it" unless there is a medical need. I know when I am stressed and I do not want to make anxiety medication that I have to take all the time and is hard to get off of. My doctor was determined that I should try trazodone for my sleeping problem. I had a bad reaction to it and after a few days I called the office and he had me come back in. When I told him how I was feeling he told me to go off of it and only take the Ambien 3 days a week. The other days I take benedryl and melatonin (at times this will work).
Concerning research on cancer all I can say is I am 62 and most of my adult life all we heard was in the next "_______ years" cancer will be a thing of the past. We hear about it and then we don't hear anything else. I know there has been better treatment for breast cancer and I am thrilled but I hope we can find out why it seems like there are so many more people developing cancers and some at such an early age.
I just lost a friend to multiple myloma (spelling) and I wash him go for a trail but nothing worked and he was in such pain and he died in September.
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The head of Sloan gave a talk about why there is more breast cancer today.
l. For years they said that hormonal replacement did not cause breast cancer and now they know that isn't true.
Hormone replacement did cause cancer and breast cancer has been on the decline since they stopped handing it out to everyone. Personally I find it amazing that anyone would doubt that giving extra estrogen to menopausal women would NOT cause cancer,
2. Women are living longer due to the conquering of infectious disease. One hundred years ago many young girls were killed early on by infectious disease and today those girls live to reach middle age and older, when breast cancer kicks in, When I think of my own family, my great grandparents died in a Typhus epidemic in their 30's. My grandmother died at 65 from a stroke. There were no effective blood pressure meds at the time. It's hard to know if they'd lived longer if they would have developed cancer.
3. Most young girls in the past were half starved and sick in childhood, With very little fat on their bodies they did not start to menstruate until much later than they do now. Maybe 17 or so. They worked hard, physically too.. Early menstruation is a risk factor for developing breast cancer. More fat means more estrogen.
4. When girls finally did menstruate they married early and got pregnant early. They had fewer menstrual cycles.
They spent their lives being pregnant and then nursing. Then many died early in childbirth, or of TB or other diseases. No chance to get breast cancer!
5. His conclusion... a great deal of breast cancer is a result of our success, plenty of food, the conquering of infectious disease, delayed childbirth, fewer children, etc. So now we have to find a way to conquer this disease as we've conquered the other diseases.
I too, was skeptical about the 10 year prediction, No one knows the future. But there's nothing to be lost by hoping.
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Thank you for posting this. I refused hormonal therapy and had to argue with every doctor. I did start my period very early and only had 2 children. My grandmother died 36 years ago at 90. She had several children and worked a farm. I guess we have to find out why this connection.
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Very good thoughts, Timbutu. Much of it is because people aren't dying young of the causes you just mentioned. Other things I think add to it are: all the pesticides used on crops, hormones given to cattle, chickens etc., the American fast food diet, even asbestos.( I taught at an old school, for a couple years there was large construction project with 'safe' asbestos removal during the school year.... later, 4 of us who taught there developed BC at fairly early ages....so that makes me wonder if that wasn't a contributing factor anyway.)
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Timbuktu - Interesting info!
~ Started my periods at age 11 (!!!)
~ Took Birth Control pills from age 17 to age 47
~ Took Hormone Replacement Therapy from age 47 to age 57
~ Never had kids
~ Gained lots of weight after menopause
So - I guess there was a poopload of estrogen in my system, eh?
Oh yeah, my mom had BC; dx’d at the same age (60) that I was.
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And let's not forget the improved diagnostic tools we have today too as a reason why it seems so many younger women are being diagnosed. BC is simply being detected much, much sooner than it was 10, 20 and 30 years ago. If we didn't have digital mammography my BC may not have been detected until it was in a much later stage and me a much older woman.
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My hospital just called and asked me to take part in a survey. They asked the usual questions about family history, time of first menstruation (ll) etc. But they asked an awful lot about excercize. Strenuous excercize. And I was shocked myself by my answers. Zero! I've had brief interludes where I joined a gym or rode my bike, but over my lifetime I have done very little excercize and have been overweight. It's so frustrating because these are two risk factors that we can theoretically control. Drinking is another risk factor but I don't drink. And smoking, of course, but I don't smoke.
Those asbestos removal projects drove me nuts. Lots of renovation while the kids were in school. Why not during the summer? I called and complained but was patronized and put off. People are so ignorant, only thinking of the short term beneft. The very idea of removing asbestos when kids are in school...the stupidity is baffling. Then of course there are the x-rays. The person doing the survey asked very detailed questions about my x-ray exposure. I've always been afraid of x-rays but I have had too many, a brain scan, a kidney scan, etc. And the effect is cumulative. But not to the drs that order them. They too only think in the short term. If you come down with cancer years later no one will trace it back to them. You really have to look out for yourself in this world and have the confidence to fight for yourself. NOT easy!
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Blessings, the fact that your mom had cancer the same age as you did...maybe that's all that mattered?
The nurses at Sloan told me that. they said I was born with this. Nothing I did could have changed it.
I had 3 kids, never took hormones of any kind. My mother was skinny most of her life, never smoked or drank.
Never took hormones. She didn't even have it in her family. At least as far as we know. She hardly ever ate meat.
I guess none of this is cause and effect, they are risk factors over large groups.
I have a good friend who's grandmother died of breast cancer. She had 7 children and nursed them all.
My friend's mother was terrified her whole life of getting it. She stayed very thin, ate organic, etc.
Died of the same kind of cancer.
I'm not sure which is more reassuring, that we couldn't have prevented it or that we could have!!!! lol
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Some of it is genetics, some of it is lifestyle/environmental, and some of it is just pure the luck of the draw.
If you want to have some exercise buddies; check out the 'Lets Post Our Daily Exercise' thread on the Fitness Forum. There is another thread too for ladies who are just starting out, can't remember its name. But it sure helps me to be accountable to others!
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You speak the truth! If there's one thing we do know now it's that breast cancer is not one disease,
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The one thing I seem to not be able to get past is what caused my breast cancer. I will never know for sure but agree with Ruth. Genetics, lifestyle, environment, and perhaps luck of the draw the most. When I was first diagnosed, I asked my breast surgeon what I did wrong. She replied "nothing you have done everything right by getting your annual mammograms like clockwork"
Like Blessings, I was diagnosed at the exact age my mom was diagnosed at age 58. My mom is now 84. So I do have family history and I have never had children. Also when I had a complete hysterectomy 11 years ago my obgyn suggested
low dose estrogen for the first few years. He was aware of my family history but felt it was a slight risk. I did not take it for more than two years but now I wonder about that decision. My med oncologist told me breast cancer is VERY common.
I have always been thin and get exercise through the type of work I do but I do need to step it up a notch. My sore knee is all better now so with a knee brace I am back on my mountain bike for short distances. I live in a very environmentally friendly area in a very remote location. Bc still caught up with me. It's a crap shoot.0 -
Allagashmaggie: I hear you on the whole 'what caused my breast cancer' thing. I don't obsess about it but it does run through my mind occasionally. No family history of cancer whatsoever and I NEVER get sick.....not even the common cold! My mom had a partial hysterectomy in her forties but kept her ovaries, so she still had normal estrogen through menopause.....she's 75 and no sign of BC. My sister had a total hysterectomy, also in her forties, but I don't know if she was on HR therapy or not. She's not quite 55 now. I never had any reproductive problems but did get BC at 51....go figure! I'll have to wait another 40-50 years and ask God when I get to heaven.
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