Has anyone else have to stop taking Arimedex?

smalldoggroomer
smalldoggroomer Member Posts: 1,184
in Breast Cancer #1
I went to the Dr today, Told her about all my side effects I've been having from the Arimedex with my feet mostly. So she changed the Rx from Arimidex to Femara. I am hoping some of these side effects will disappear. Has any one changed from Arimidex to Femara. Have side effects? Did they improve? Some times the pain is so bad it is hard to walk. I'm hoping this will help. Soon..I usually tuff stuff out but this is going to be five years..I'm not that tuff any more LOL
Any Pros and Con's on Femara. Thanks in advance Take care All Kay,

Comments

  • mwallace1325
    mwallace1325 Member Posts: 806
    #2
    Hopefully
    Hopefully you'll not have any side effects from the Femera. I was just the opposite, I have a page long list of S.E. from Femera so when I switched to arimedex (generic anastrozole) I really havent had any problems. Praying that the reverse works for you as well. I know there are alot of women on here who have had no problems with Femera.
    Good luck with the new meds.

    marge
  • jphilpo
    jphilpo Member Posts: 177
    #3
    femara
    Hi Kay,

    I started out on femara and after 6 months of side effects, was switched to tamoxifen. It's a little better, but am managing with pain meds.

    I hope it works for you,

    Jean
  • gagee
    gagee Member Posts: 332
    #4
    Tried both and many side
    Tried both and many side effects so decided to not take any. Praying that is the right choice. Still have problems from side effects and been off meds since Nov. and Dec. 2010. My prayer are with you. Diana
  • natly15
    natly15 Member Posts: 1,941
    #5
    Kay I took arimidex for
    Kay I took arimidex for approx a month or so and quit it on my own. I told my onc I'd take my chances without meds because I had no quality of life on arimidex. It put me into a tunnel of depression and I was taking an anti-depressant with it. He put me on femara a year ago and I recently switched to the generic letrozole. Since switching, I do have joint pain at nite and sometimes finding it dificult to fall asleep, but NOTHING compared to arimidex. Wishing you good results with Femara. Please let me know how it works for you. I continue to say how amazing our bodies are and how different we each react to different treatments. I see my medical and surgical oncs next Tuesday at the new centr. Hugs to you Kay.
  • smalldoggroomer
    smalldoggroomer Member Posts: 1,184
    #6
    natly15 said:

    Kay I took arimidex for
    Kay I took arimidex for approx a month or so and quit it on my own. I told my onc I'd take my chances without meds because I had no quality of life on arimidex. It put me into a tunnel of depression and I was taking an anti-depressant with it. He put me on femara a year ago and I recently switched to the generic letrozole. Since switching, I do have joint pain at nite and sometimes finding it dificult to fall asleep, but NOTHING compared to arimidex. Wishing you good results with Femara. Please let me know how it works for you. I continue to say how amazing our bodies are and how different we each react to different treatments. I see my medical and surgical oncs next Tuesday at the new centr. Hugs to you Kay.

    Hey Natly,
    Nice to see you.
    Hey Natly,
    Nice to see you. I was at the new center today. I was the very first patent!!!!
    It is a very nice place. I will go to Moffitt north though from now on, just closer for me.
    The only thing I found strange was they don't have a pharmacy..I always seen the Dr and got my Rx's . So when I left there I had to go to Moffitt north to get my scrips. And patients cant have chemo on the same day as Dr appointments because they have to send orders to Moffitt north for the drugs and wait till they get them back the next day. They hope in the future they will have one. But no plans in the works as of yet. But it is a beautiful place and they have all the Ct's, bone scans, MRI, all the bells and whistles. Very nice!
    Take care Kay
  • SIROD
    SIROD Member Posts: 2,194 Member
    #7
    Arimedex to Femara
    Hi Kay,

    Arimidex gave me no real side effects. I did fall ending up with 3 vertebra fractures. I tolerated this drugs with out complaints and remained NED the total time.

    Femara was awful with the bone and joint pains and then it progressed.

    However, until you try you won't know. Everyone reacts differently to drugs. I certainly would try it, hope for the best. Who knows, it might just be fine with your particular chemistry.

    I wish you well, Kay on Femara.

    Best,

    Doris
  • cahjah75
    cahjah75 Member Posts: 2,631
    #8
    Kay
    sorry to hear you had bad SE from Arimidex. I've been on it (Anastrozole) since Jan 2011. My arthritis pain increased some. Hot flashes are still bothersome but so far I've been able to stick it out. I see my onc next week to see how things really are. Good luck with the Femara.
    {{hugs}} Char
  • shelbyhome
    shelbyhome Member Posts: 145
    #9
    Kay,
    I took Tamoxifin for 5
    Kay,

    I took Tamoxifin for 5 years in 2001 and had joint pain but tolerated it now since being diagnoised last year with the real deal ( I had pre bc then) I have been on Arimidex,Femara and now am on Aromosin which is in a different base of drugs and my cheif complaint is hot flashes and joint pain but I am alot better. I had side effects that the dr didnt like with the others so I am roughing this out as it is the only thing left for me to try.
    I hope that things go well with you
    Hugs :)
    Robbin
  • DebbyM
    DebbyM Member Posts: 3,289 Member
    #10
    jphilpo said:

    femara
    Hi Kay,

    I started out on femara and after 6 months of side effects, was switched to tamoxifen. It's a little better, but am managing with pain meds.

    I hope it works for you,

    Jean

    Hoping your side effects
    Hoping your side effects will disappear now for you Kay and that you will feel much better!


    Hugs, Debby
  • smalldoggroomer
    smalldoggroomer Member Posts: 1,184
    #11
    Thanks every one, I have
    Thanks every one, I have been on Femara now for about a week and already the pain in my feet has stopped. I still have joint pain and some swelling though. I don't expect to be free from side effects but my feet were getting so bad it was getting hard to walk... Hopefully there will be more improvement. We'll see what happens. Thanks again Kay
  • mckevnic
    mckevnic Member Posts: 71
    #12
    smalldoggroomer said:

    Thanks every one, I have
    Thanks every one, I have been on Femara now for about a week and already the pain in my feet has stopped. I still have joint pain and some swelling though. I don't expect to be free from side effects but my feet were getting so bad it was getting hard to walk... Hopefully there will be more improvement. We'll see what happens. Thanks again Kay

    on Arimidex
    HI Kay,
    I've been on Arimidex since Jan 2011 and boy, did I want to quit! The joint pain, stiffness and swelling I had was unbelieveable. Doc kept saying, stick with it, it will get better after 6 months. Well, I didn't think I could wait 6 months to find out. But I did, I perservered and here I am at 9 months and I have to say, it has gotten better-a little. I still can't wear my rings (fingers are too swollen), and it takes me about 2 minutes to get up off the couch-instead of the 10 minutes it took before. Steps are still a challenge but I take it slow. I was afraid to switch to something else because I already switched from Tamoxifen when I was premen, (had ovaries removed) so they switched me to Arimidex.

    Glad to here your pain is going away and I hope the join pain and swelling will soon follow!
    Keep on fighting! Here's hoping for better days ahead for you : )

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