Extreme fatigue on Arimidex

3 months in and the fatigue is intolerable. I’m productive enough at work to get by, and the basic household chores are getting done, but that’s it. I know exercise would help, but when my muscles feel full of sludge and all I want to do is try to nap (never actually manage it) the thought of exercise is insurmountable. When I do manage a walk, I’m depressingly slow and feel … not short of breath, exactly, but as if my cells aren’t properly processing oxygen. Just plumb out of steam. I decided today to ask to go back on tamoxifen, which I was tolerating reasonably well. It’s that or nothing, as letrozole gave me horrendous joint pain and I don’t have a lot of faith that the final option would be any better than the first two.

Well, arimidex both generic and name brand did not work out for me due to horrible allergic reactions. My oncologist and I were ready to give up on the hormonal treatment and just be monitored but then she read about new studies being done on exemestane that three days a week is almost just as effective as taking them daily. So I will try this for now. She said if they also cause severe side effects we will then try DIM supplements.

It was recommended that I try exemestane first, so I've been on that for about 3 weeks. The 2-week drug holiday between meds was wonderful. The brain fog cleared up within a couple days of quitting the anastrozole — not only did I feel a lot more alert, but my ability to recall things like names of obscure items suddenly returned. It gave me hope that if I can ever get off this stuff, I might actually get back to my old self. If I can't tolerate the exemestane, I'll go back to tamoxifen, but it is going better than the anastrazole was. I should add that I made several other changes along with the drug change: taking it in the morning instead of before bedtime, several dietary improvements, and starting on an SSRI for anxiety. In hindsight, I could have tried those changes before switching AIs, but at the moment I'm just glad to be feeling better. Thanks for asking!

Dr Jim Roach, in his book, “Vital strategies for cancer” suggests a three times per week dosing of AIs. He said it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. For myself, I have declined all AIs because I am low risk and find the adverse effects of AIs to be far riskier. We all have to make our own choices. Don’t let your doctor intimidate you. For me, it’s a quality of life issue.