Anastrozole Joint Pain

Chanda25

I was diagnosed with stage 2 invasive ductal cell carcinoma in June 2022. I received 4 cycles of chemo, last cycle was in December 2022. I have been on Anastrozole for almost a year and have started to experience fairly severe joint pain, primarily in my knees. I have also been experiencing carpal tunnel symptoms. I recently moved and my new oncologist is contributing all of this to the Anastrozole and wants to switch me to Letrozole. I am a nurse and am on my feet for 8 hours 5 days a week and am limping into the house at the end of the day. I am almost 45, but my body makes me feel like I’m 90. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

LovesPrimes

@Chanda25 I was also diagnosed with stage 2 IDC. That was March of this year. I had bilateral mastectomy and placement of tissue expanders in May and started on Tamoxifen six weeks later. I did terribly on the Tamoxifen and it was the only option because I was premenopausal. I opted for oophorectomy in September, done laparaospically, to "force" menopause and then they were able to switch me to anastrozole. About 3 weeks after starting the anastrozole, I started having a headache every morning and intermittent joint pain. Despite that, it was still better than my experience with Tamoxifen. My oncologist and PCP are now working with me to help mitigate the side effects. We've added Wellbutrin and though I've not been on it long, I feel like it is really helping. I'm also trying acupuncture.

My reconstruction surgery is tomorrow and once I'm really recovered from three surgeries in less than 8 months, I WILL be walking regularly and getting back to some strength training. I know that will help with the joint pain in the long run though I don't think we can completely eliminate side effects.

Everyone is different and I hope that you can find some magical combination to help you tolerate the anastrozole better or do better on letrozole. (I have a friend who did terribly on anastrozole but great on letrozole. I guess the goal is to keep switching until you can find something you can tolerate long term.)

Best wishes!

Chanda25

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1711781#Comment_1711781

@LovesPrimes My oncologist mentioned the possibility of adding an antidepressant to help with the pain. I just hope something helps because I can’t imagine feeling like this long term. Good luck on your surgery tomorrow!

Pambeck

I was on a low dose antidepressant to help with night sweats. It worked for awhile but no longer helps. I do use some supplements that work well to manage my joint and muscle pain.

Caradavin

I'm here to tell you that, in my experience, anti-depressants do nothing for the night sweats. So far, nothing does. I can't have hormones, so my meds are limited and I haven't seriously pursued anything yet, but I will be because they are just getting worse and worse.