For Arimidex (Anastrozole) users, new, past, and ongoing
Comments
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IamNacy no it doesn't. You might be buying a Hasbro or Mattel toy (both American companies) but they manufacture all over the place especially China/Taiwan/Thailand (I'm a former toy designer). Same goes with drugs. The largest toy manufacturer is McDonalds. All their toys are manufactured in China/Taiwan as well.
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lago - how do I find out? and does it matter? does it make a difference where it is really made?
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It didn't matter to me.
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Rohanna, I have been on Lexapro since April and have done fine on it. It makes me a bit drowsy in the afternoon but I can deal with that.
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IamNancy, it doesn't really matter if you are not having an issue with the drug. Sometimes the fillers used by the different manufacturers can cause side effects not associaed with the drug ingredients. If you are tolerating yours just fine, then I wouldn't worry about it.
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Often it is the filters that cause the problem, which is why a person might do better on one brand than another.
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lago--Tell me you designed BRATZ and my real Favorite MONSTER HIGH. I dont have them,just love them. How about SMESS,the dummies chess game? Please,please,please.----kad2kar
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IamNancy You can contact the company. There really shouldn't be a difference. My concern is about counterfit drugs. Just feel this could happen more in Asia/Africa than other places. I might have watched too much 60 minutes.
That's why I want to try to stay with companies outside of these areas. Still not fool proof though. So if you have typical SE it means you are probably getting the drug.kad2kar I left the industry a long time ago in the 90's.
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Thanks for the answers about Lexapro. I'm still doing some research before I take it.
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Sorry I haven't been on lately. I just started back to work Monday and it has been really hectic and is taking some getting used to.
Thanks BrooksideVT. I will let my Onc know what's going on. My SEs are more than I can take. I took the Arimidex for a month and I could hardly move. My joints hurt so bad. I also had no energy at all and had headaches. I felt like a 90 year old woman. I stopped it for two weeks and started feeling better almost right away.
I split it in half and started taking it again this past Sunday. I did fine until today. My joints are aching again and I've had a headache all day. I feel totally drained.
I will call the Onc tomorrow. Something has got to give. I may just have to take my chances with the 70% chance of no recurrence vs 80%.0 -
Arimidex (mfg. AstraZenica)vs. Anastrozole (Generic) I have noticed that you girls are talking about different manufactures of our meds. Well I did some research myself and found that although the mfg of my Anastrozole says Breckenridge it is most likely made in India and distributed by Breckenridge. I was told by someone who took both meds that the Arimidex doesn't cause as many side effects as the generic (ie mood swings, (you know - bitchy!!) so today I called and changed my med to the Brand name Arimidex, even though it costs a little more it may be worth it. Anyone else have opinions about this?
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Rohanna, I took Lexapro for about a year 10 years ago and didn't have any problems with it...it helped me get through a bad place in my life and I am grateful for that.
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Ladies - Just yesterday I just posted on what I found out about Breckenridge... here's the basics:
On the bottle, it says "Mfr: Breckenridge"
However, on the Patient Information Sheet, in the tiniest print, at the very bottom, it says
Manufactured by: Natco Pharma Limited, Kothur – 509 228. A.P. India
Underneath that, it says
Distributed by: Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc., Boca Raton, FL.
Did it make a difference in my SEs that I took generic Anastrozole instead of brand name Arimidex? Who knows...
All I know is that thanks to my awesome MO, I'm now off it for 8 weeks, and I probably won't go back on that, or any other drug when my holiday is over.
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Actually, my husband has been on Lexapro for over 4 years. It helped tremendously in the beginning, People commented at work that he was smiling for the first time. He never seemed very depressed but he was often very tense and angry and difficult to live with, Lexapro worked miracles them. But now he's back where he started. I've asked him to tell the dr. Lexapro can stop working after awhile. But he hasn't done anything about it...except make my life miserable. When he first took it all of "my" problems were solved. Now we're back to "go". It effects everyone differently. I wish it had helped me when I took it.
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I use TEVA and get it at Walgreens
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5luvbugs: interesting. I must be one of the lucky ones because I just checked and I'm on the generic. My SEs have pretty much disappeared except for maybe some fatigue. Even Ambien isn't helping my sleep much at all so I get tired late afternoon early evening.
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FYI printed on my Teva bottle from Cosco:
Manufactured in Israel by:
TEVA PHARMACEUTICAL IND. LTD.
Jerusalem, 91010, Israel
Manufactured For:
TEVA PHARMACEUTICAL USA
Sellersville, Pa 189600 -
I've been taking Arimidex for a year now and found that Mega Red for Joints has really helped. It only takes about three day to start relieving joint pain.
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Clair, I am going to think of you everytime I get down on myself... I am going to get up!!! I am going to get an indoor cycle because I am so afraid of falling off my real bike -don't want any broken bones. Oh but I must say I never sit around, rarely watch TV, I am very active and watch my 5luvbugs (grandchildren ages 2-10) and have watched all of them since they were 6 weeks old - problem is I also cook lots of meals for the whole family....
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Rohanna, my daughter, who is now 32, has been on Lexapro about three times for several years each time. Each time she started it she felt pretty awful from the side effects for a couple weeks, but after that felt much better and it really pulled her out of her depression. She is pregnant now and it pulled her out of a scary post partum depression when she had her second child four years ago. She will have a prescription ready to fill at the first sign of post partum depression this time. My sister-in-law has also taken it with good results.
My anastrozole is also manufactured by Breckenridge, which as Blessings said, is probably manufactured in India. Since I am doing ok with it, I'm not worried about it at this point.
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Hi ladies- reading through some updates here. I went to my gyn yesterday and she found I am having some dryness in the "nether regions" as someone so nicely called it. I knew I probably had some things going on as the AIs dry things out, but she said I have a high amount of irritation and inflammation and gave me some topical estrogen creme to use. She said to use it around the urethra to help with the bladder, which apparently suffers from all this too. For those who are needing something for intimacy, there are also additional things to use if you need them. Your gyn can really help with the SEs that affect our other girl areas.
Still having some SEs with joint stiffness and sore feet. Icing my feet, soaking them, and getting foot massage helps.
I too have gained weight on the AIs. I lost 40 pounds last year and have put on about 12 pounds since I started the arimidex in March. I need to loose weight too.
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I took Lexapro for years for anxiety and it didn't help at all. So my doctor moved me to Celexa. Same thing, nuthin. Then she started me on Paxil, right before the diagnosis, and holy mother of pearl does that work for me. I went through all of the treatments without an ounce of anxiety (except the MRI because I'm claustrophobic).
So give them a try, but if they don't work within a month or two, asked to be switched to another one. With the serotonin reuptake inhibitors, we definitely need gene testing to see who responds to which ones.
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Jazzygirl - you are absolutely right about "nether region" issues! Even though I'm 100% ER+, my MO told me it was o.k. to use a small amount of Estrogen cream (a "dab") around the outside. And I did find that using it on the urethra helped with bladder issues.
The only problem was that it can only be used for a little while (she recommended daily for two weeks, then every other day for two weeks, then once a week, then "as needed"). Sheesh! I found I needed it daily to prevent the spotting and pain and irritation from thinning tissues.
When I saw her last week, though, she said that in between the times I was using the estrogen cream, I would need a daily lubricant to keep the tissues moist.
She recommended a product called "V Magic - Intimate Wellness Cream" made by Medicine Mama's Apothecary. It's completely organic and natural, costs $19 for a 2 oz. jar, and is available online or at many natural food stores.
I’ve only used it for two days, but it feels heavenly!
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I have been on Arimidex since last September. Almost a year now. I am 52yo and suddenly I feel 100. Not so much wrinkles, but my hair came back gray and CURLY and I can't do ANYTHING with it. Then, all my joints hurt, I can't sleep, muscles sore, get short of breath walking. One year ago, I was doing duathlons and running half marathons, riding 100 mile bike rides. And I feel like I have chemo brain all over again. And I have gained about 40 pounds. I am still on Herceptin too. And the fatigue.... It is hard to explain to someone who isn't going thru this, exactly what is happening to your body. And if you have any stress in your life from family , work, chidlren....it can be a whole lot to take for one person. If I described 2012 to someone, it would sound crazy. But I am still alive.....and I will get this weight off somehow!!!!
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Nightnurse, have you tried the "Wednesday Weigh In" and "Let's Post Our Daily Exercise" threads? I'm newer to this whole experience than you are, but I'm finding those threads to be very encouraging and motivating.
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Thanks so much for the responses about Lexapro. It's so hard to try to find the right fix for all the SE's. If this doesn't work, I will definitely ask for Paxil. You ladies are wonderful.
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Nightnurse, there is a thread in the exercise forum "Exercise--Working Back to it Before and During Treatment" that I am on. It is for those of us who are taking "baby steps" to get back in the swing. It's a very active group...you should check it out! Lots of support and encouragement, and no judgement. It was started by someone who was intimidated by some of the other exercise threads.
Martha
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Hi everyone - I started Arimidex 1 week ago following chemo and mastectomy. I was unprepared for how completely lousy I feel - hot flashes then chills, nausea, diarrhea, jumpiness, sleep issues. No joint pain yet but I had a lot of pain with Taxol so concerned that might happen again. I am going to call my MO tomorrow, this feels like having a stomach virus and not sure I can hack that for 5 years. Discouraging because - other than the ongoing recovery process from surgery - I was almost starting to feel like myself, have some energy etc. after the long downer of chemo. I have been taking it in the morning, today I wondered if I should try night time instead. Any suggestions? I already take several antidepressants as well as sleep medicine, and have for several years prior to diagnosis.
Diagnosed 3-13 left breast and axillary nodes (Stage 3C, HER-neg and Hormone positive), A-C followed by Taxol thru early July 2013, mastectomy/lymph node dissection and TE July 30, exchange scheduled for 9-4-13 to be followed by proton radiation.
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AndreaLodahl hot flashes followed by chills is common. I had that when I went into chemo-pause. Sleep issues too are not unusual but the other stuff is NOT something you can tolerate for even a fwe months. nausea/diarrhea will make you dehydrated and mess up your electrolytes. Are you on the generic? I wonder if it's the fillers.
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call your doc as some of this is not usual or common and should be checked out
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