switching from arimadex to tamoxifen to mitigate bone loss

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Nancyh120
Nancyh120 Member Posts: 3 Member
in Breast Cancer #1

Good evening all and Happy New Year

After being on Arimadex for about a year and a half, I have taken a bit of a hit to my bone density. I am only 48 and will be on some kind of hormone suppressant for atleast another 3.5 years. I am strongly considering switching to tamoxifen since it doesn't seem to be nearly as hard on the bones. I know the AI drugs are superior, but I am looking at my life as a whole. I am extremely active (martial arts, hiking, running, etc). I don't want to allow this to progress to full blown osteoporosis and I do not want to take any more drugs, Has anyone had their doctor recommend this switch to prevent further bone loss? I feel like most doctors are just so hellbent on keeping the cancer away (which is good) but don't take the entire long term picture into consideration.

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  • LovesPrimes
    LovesPrimes Member Posts: 95 Member
    #2
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    @Nancyh120 Hello and welcome here!

    That is awesome that you are so active! I totally understand how you want to take the anti-cancer med that works best for keeping cancer at bay AND allows you the best quality of life possible. I’m curious if you previously took Tamoxifen?

    Please understand that each of us is unique in our journeys and our responses to various cancer treatments and meds. For me, I was told Tamoxifen was the ONLY choice while I was still pre-menopausal. (I was 52 at diagnosis.) I did not tolerate Tamoxifen well at all. I felt like it was crushing me. No energy to do anything. Felt like my brain just wasn’t working at all. I chose to force menopause by getting oophorectomy and then my MO was able to switch me to anastrozole (arimidex). They did a bone density scan before I started and I’ve been taking it for about 3.5 months. There are definitely side effects. Joint pain. Hot flashes. We’re working on mitigating that. But overall SO MUCH better, for me, than Tamoxifen.

    If you otherwise tolerate arimidex well, I wonder if they can mitigate the density loss? I hope you find what works best for YOU, not just cancer-wise but life-wise.

    Best wishes!

  • Nancyh120
    Nancyh120 Member Posts: 3 Member
    #3
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    https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1712415#Comment_1712415

    Thank you for your response. I have never taken tamoxifen. My doc went straight to forcing menopause (via quarterly Lupron shot) so I can take Arimadex right out of the gate and I do tolerate it well in all other aspects. No hot flashes (except the occasional mild night sweat, but barely even anything to mention). Some joint pain, particularly my elbows loll but otherwise fine. I even trained and ran my first full marathon 2 months ago.

    My take on tamoxifen is if it makes me feel like garbage , then I'll just switch back. What do I have to lose otherwise ? The only thing I have been told can help mitigate the bone loss while on arimadex is drugs and I'm not into that at all. Those bone drugs are not a fix, they are a bandaid by stopping old bone turnover but they don't build new bone so what you are left with is a bunch of old crappy bone that fools the dexa scans. no thanks.

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