For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
Comments
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Nancy, you might want to get a prescription for sleeping pills, because, really you do need to sleep!!! You could use them for awhile while you body gets adjusted, or on a few days/off a few days for as long as you need to.
Sleep was already an issue for me before I started & was even worse all during cancer treatment, including the 5 years of Arimidex. So, I did use sleeping pills off and on the whole time. My doctor and I felt that not having a recurrence trumped any concerns about sleeping pills. Now that I'm done in my 5 years, I have not needed the sleeping pills anymore, and am back to the semi-crappy sleep I had before the whole thing started.
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Apple, I am coming up on 5 years of the meds and actually, feel better joint and muscle wise than at the start of all this crud! Crazy huh? not really as I started to work with a trainer right after endind rads, have been off and on with dif trainers all 5 years but have gone from gym 2 times a week (spin and swim time) to 4 times a week with weights, stretching and machines added to my lovely swimming time.
I recently reconnected with my first trainer andas we chatted, I said I was feeling great and thanked him...he agreed, starting my workouts when I did meant that I did not get stiff!
go stretch girl pal! find a gym if you need the push! hey, my health insurance actually covers $400 a year towards gym membership!
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Applechan....two weeks ago, I did a personal best Seattle-to-Portland cycling event. That is 200 miles over 2 days. I did all the hills for the first time. So I am stronger cycling than ever in my entire life. I am saying this, because anastrazole has NOT slowed me down. I do get some cramping which is worse if I don't get enough salt. Most of the time, I can't wait to drop into my bed.
One thing I will mention is that after a certain point in life, we need to focus on keeping moving anyway. All sorts of other things we don't want that exercise helps. And on top of those benefits, I personally feel better. I look better; my brain works; I sleep well; my mood improves; and I have more energy.
Plus, who wants to be sitting there with the bus tour when they can be HIKING or SKIING those mountains??? Or swimming in the waves??? Or cycling the back roads??? - Claire
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Apple: I too already had crappy sleep problems prior to Arimidex from menopause. I've been using various OTC sleep aids for 6-7 years already (on Arimidex since Dec 2012). Tylenol PM, Ibuprofen PM, melatonin, Simply sleep, Sominex. YOu name it I've tried it. I seldom go a night without taking something to help, even with intense workouts several times a week (not nearly as intense as Claire_in_Seattle, though....Holy Crap!).
On the bright side though, the initial fatigue I was experiencing with Arimidex seems to have gotten much better. I do second what Claire said though. It is SO important to keep active, strong and flexible as we get older. I have many family and friends who are now paying the price (in their 40s and 50s!) for leading lives that have been much too sedentary and calorie filled for way too long. They are a major part of my reason for staying as active as possible.
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Absolutely exercise and keep active; reduces recurrence risks, SEs, lowers your chances of getting all sorts of other dieases, makes you look & feel better.....and, like Claire points out, gives you more options for having FUN!
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I take the generic equivalent of Unisom. It's different than other OTC sleep meds. It's not Benadryl, but it is another antihistamine. I get equate brand at Walmart for $4.00 for a months supply. I wake up rested and alert.
Paula0 -
Thank you for your warm replies. You can see that was my first posting in this forum. I was desperate to seek suggestions, here I found so many smart women who could give me wise suggestions.
The fact is that I have been always healthy and active, and I also joined a fitness club doing 1000 meters lap swimming three times a week, plus Agua Zumba. However, six months after I took Anaszrosole, I felt pain doing Yoga and even Agua Zumba. That made me became panic. I had only stage 0, according to recent research, DCIS in stage 0 should not even be called Cancer, and should be called IDLE (Indolent lesions of epithelial origin)
I did not know whether it was worth to sacrifice my health and good quality of life by taking this medicine. I will talk with my doctor and definitely will try all your suggestions. Thank you.
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Hi Ladies,
I have a question maybe someone can answer.I have been on Anastrozole for about 21/2 years.Some side effects but nothing I can't live with.My feet just recently have started to hurt and kinda feel numb.Anybody ever have a problem with pain in your feet?Thanks for any advice:)
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I just noticed today that a few toes feel numb. I assumed it was from chemo but chemo was over a year and half ago.
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I didn't have chemo.But my feet feet kinda strange,kinda hurt but feel numb too..I thought it might be from side effect of Anastrozole.
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Running has done wonders for my feet in terms of flexibility. Also boosted my walking rate. I was noticing I was racing around the offices of the nonprofit where I work today. So a bit of a hazard.
So a lot more power from that area, and not just my core.
I have been doing evening runs, and will do one this evening. Have a 6 pm conference call, so will be after that. - Claire
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Ruthbru thanks for the suggestion - I will see how it goes for a few more nigths and if still lacking sleep, I'll get some type sleeping pills..
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I went Gluten free almost 2 years ago and I had almost no arthritis pain in my hands and knees. After one week on Anastrozole, my hands are more stiff and painful than they ever were! I feel like I just wiped out all my efforts of the past 2 years! Advil really isn't helping either.
I also noticed that I was dizzy and light headed about an hour after I took it in the morning , so I switched to the night. We'll see how this works.
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Walley I too have been on Anastrozole for about 2.5 years. I do have some nueropathy (left heel) from chemo but I also believe some of the pain I get from my feet when I walk is not neuropathy but from the anastrozole. I won't know for sure until I get off the drugy.
Sleep issues. I swear by 40 blinks sleep masks.
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Yawn! Just woke up. It's after 10 pm and I fell asleep around 6 pm. This is how it goes for me. I will be up most of the night now, but I just can't get through the day without falling asleep!
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Lago
Thanks for the reply.I guess I will wait and see also.Not that much longer,I guess.Half way done
Have a great week!0 -
Walley I hope we're half way done. My NP was hinting last time that I might have to do 5 more years especially because I had a bit tumor… I told her we'll see.
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Lago,
I hope we are almost done.But whatever we have to do,right? Have a great day!Glad I have all you ladies to talk to.It really helps
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Timbuktu,
Would your schedule allow for planned naps? I rest for 30-45 minutes after lunch (with an alarm) and I find I can stay up until 10 pm instead of nodding off at 8. Of course, I still wake up at 4 or 5 am, but this time of year in Texas I want to be out walking by 6:30 am before the heat settles in, so that's not a problem.
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that's a good idea carpe. It might give me some control over my life But the exhaustion is pretty unpredicable.
I fall asleep in movies, visiting people, etc. But it's worth a try. I think a lot of the stress comes from not feeling in control.
Your quote, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence is one of my favorite quotes as applied to biblical archaeology, among other things. I never thought of it in relation to the cancer but you are so right, I think of it
all of the time. There's really no way to know what's going on in our bodies until it makes itself obvious.
I'm remembering when I first went to the onco and he described all of the "odds". I said "I like certainty! I want certainty!" He said there is none. But that's the way life works, right? We have to somehow come to terms with uncertainty. And the best way is your screen name! Carpe diem. All we have is today!
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Pbrain- SOOO glad to see your post. I am on 3rd week of Arimidex with no noticable SE. Seems like it is rare Not to have SE. Some report months later. Reading up on posts since July 16 or so I was beginning to get kinda tense about problems coming up. I hope and pray that I will skate through w/o bad side effects. :>)
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I dont live too far from Ft worth but go to plastic surgeon there and oncologist. interesting to see someone on this group who lives fairly close.My oncologist is with center for cancer and blood disorders.
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Cloudwatcher,
I'm at the same Center! I started with Texas Oncology but moved to escape a lugubrious mo with a handshake like a wet fish. I've had excellent care and love the exercise and weight management program. However, I'm moving back to New York next month after 30 years in Fort Worth. We'd hoped to move before the summer heat, but building a house long distance took a bit longer than expected. I'm really looking forward to watching sunsets over Cayuga Lake and great Fall color. It's even pretty in winter, as long as you don't have to get to work every day.
Bayou Babe,
The quote came to mind when my breast lump and pleural effusions went undiagnosed for 10 months. I found a reference to Carl Sagan as the author, but then heard it probably wasn't original with him. It helps me keep in mind that we don't always know as much as we think. I've learned to live with uncertainty - If I had to state my philosophy in a sentence, it would be, "Nature is capricious and absurd." That can be positive as well as negative, and I try to appreciate the good friends and experiences that have come my way while dealing as best I can with the downside.
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Cloud watcher- We are on the same schedule,I think,with this med. I looked up trigger finger exercises,and do them throughout the day. I'm also tapped into a super massage therapist( internal body work) and acupuncture. I'm going to make that part of my monthly therapy. Yesterday the therapist did feel the tightening of the tendons in my forearms. I too am waiting for the other shoe to drop. Hope it doesn't!! Wishing all of you wellness on this journey we're on!
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Just celebrated my one year "anniversary" with arimidex. Things aren't too bad. A few hot flashes here and there and sore knees. Other than that, life is good...
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Great to hear kjiberty! I so hope I can handle this drug and hope it does the job they say it will, right now am having some effects of fatigue, only been on about 3 months tho, but I also tend to overdue too, this time of year is busy for me, we love our gardens, flower beds, mowing lawns, etc. anyway I hope I can post the same on my anniversary.. keep up the good work.
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Wally- sore feet is one of my major SEs since I started anastrazole in March of this year. I had some issues with my feet last year before everything started, plantars faciitis in both feet, but it got better. When I went on the AIs in March, I noticed my feet began hurting again. Sort of everywhere but my heel areas where the plantars is seems much worse again. Past couple of months have been really not good.
Going to see my PCP tomorrow for my annual physical and the breast surgeon for a follow up the following day and going to mention this to them. I am being active and swim, do yoga lift weights, but find walking like I used to something I don't do as much because of my sore feet. I feel like I walk funny/like an old lady because of the way my feet feel now!
I also put on about 9 pounds relatively quickly after I started the meds and trying to loose that and some more weight too.0 -
Jazzgirl,
Thank you for the reply.I am sure it is the meds ,too.But by the end of the day my feet just hurt.Sometimes feel numb.But I think i have tried every kind of shoe there is
I will ask my doctor in September.Please let me know what your doctor says.Have a good day:)0 -
I have been on Arimidex for over one year now and besides neropathy on my feet, I now have low back pain, hip pain, knee pain and wrists/fingers pain.. I feel very old and brittle.. what do I do? How do you stop this feeling? Is it time to change meds? Is there anything else? Help!
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B123 I actually feel better, less stiff than I was 1.5 years ago. Been on Anastrozole for almost 2.5 years now. The combination of power walking and strength training is what did it. I don't do major strength training. I do things like squats, lunges, crunches, leg lifts, etc. I will hold some weights but I worked up to using 7lb & 10lb in each hand with some of the exercises. I do it at home with a matt and an exercise ball (to sit on when doing upper body).
Strength train 2x a week. Power walk 4-5. I live in the city so I do a lot of walking anyway too.
For some of us the trick is to keep moving. Doesn't work for everyone but for a lot of us it does.
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