Arimidex

smalldoggroomer said:

Hi Patricia,
         Glad to

Hi Patricia,

         Glad to hear your doing well. Thank you for posting that. I had to stop taking Arimidex after 9 months because of joint pain. Hoping yours don't come back. I''l be waiting to hear about the MRI and praying for great news. Keep us posted OK. Take care Darlin

Good luck with your MRI!

Different Ballgame said:

I stopped Arimedix after 7-8 months

Arimedix affected both hands with neuropathy.  It affecrted my knees.  It gave me  a fast growing rash on my torso and back.   First sympton was right heel pain.  My reactions did not start until 4-5 months after being on it.  From that point on, more side effects developed with each month.

Other people who take Arimedix have no problems with it.

Good luck, Patricia

 

I did some research on the internet. Grape seed extract contains a natural aromatase inhibitor.

It can not replace real medicine but if you can not tolerate any aromatose inhibitors, after asking your oncologist , if he or she allows you can try grape seed extract.

You can google it or check on wikipedia and take these information to your oncologist

I had been taking Arimidex for a little over 2 years.  I would swear that it had absolutely no negative side effects.  That is until I had to stop due to a new CA. 

Now that knee arthritis that creeped up slowly is completely gone.  Who would'v thunk it!

Guess I was wrong about my side effects.

Cindy

Sobina said:

I'm about to start Arimidex treatment

Hi Patricia,

I'm about to start Arimidex (Anastrozol) treatment and very concerned about it's side effects, even though the drug description qualifies all possible side  effects as 'Less Common'.  From what I read on this site I can see that my concernes are not pointless .   Seems that everyone who takes this medicine has a problem. You are the only one who mentioned that "others who take it have no problems".   How many those lucky people do you know and how long time they've been taking Arimidex ?

 

Hi, everyone reacts different to the same med for no explained reason sometimes. I have been on Arimidex (generic Anastrozole) for a bout 10months now. In the beginning I may have had some joint pain and have gained about 5 pounds (which I needed). I still have occasional aches and pains a little more than I did before but really very seldom. I do exercise regularly, do some stretching and light yoga too. Once I started that, almost any negative side effects seemed to diminish. I also found that taking it in the evening gave me less problems, I take it right before going to bed and it does not bother my sleep. There are others with positive comments, hopefully they will chime in.

Hi Patricia,

I have been taking Arimidex for about 6 months and really didn't have too much difficulty, just hot flashes and occassional joint pain.  2 weeks ago however I started developing extreme fatigue (had to take a nap after grocery shopping) and now everything hurts, a lot (spine, back muscles, elbows, knees, hips).  My onc also recommended that I stop the Arimidex for 2 weeks and then either restart it or try a different aromatase inhibitor.  When you stopped for 2 wks, did you feel any change/improvement in your numbness and tingling?  I am really determined to keep taking the anti-estrogen meds for as long as is recommended because I really want to survive this thing, but I have to admit that after working so hard to recover from everything and get back to working full time, this is very frustrating.

Hope your MRI went well, have you gotten your results yet?

Take care,

Penny

maureenb said:

On Generic

I am on the generic of Arimidex and have all the side effects that go with it.  I have been on it for  1 1/2 years.  I am afraid to go off because I don't want the cancer to come back.  I also get the pains in the joints, my feet, my bones, and I also get a real bad rash on my legs that itch and bleed, and I am tried all the time.  Just a hot mess but it is the only thing I can take.  My doctor said I can go off but it will increase my chances of it coming back.  So you grin and bear it. You ladies are the only ones who truly understand what we go through and I may not always post but I read it every day.  Thank you for being there.

Maureen

 

but my reasons are different.  I tolerated Arimidex well.  It's just that all of my hair did not return after chemo 2 1/2 years ago and I have exhaused numerous avenues, including rogaine.  I had all the necessary exams, biopsies, and lab work to determine if there is a medical reason (thyroid, autoimmune stuff, etc.).   My only conclusion is it's the cancer treatments - either permanent hair loss from Taxotere which is rare, but does happen, or it's the arimidex (I assume because of how it works to inhibit the conversion of enzymes to estrogen by blocking production of aromatase - or something like that).  The Rogaine actually may have made a difference, but not enough, so this latest "experiment" is to rule out Arimidex as the culprit.  Since Tamoxifen works differently, by blocking hormone receptors on cancer cells, this change might make a difference.  Frankly, I think I'd be fine without either but my onc doesn't feel comfortable with that.  The bottom line is I had a full head of hair 3 years ago and now I don't.  The only thing that is different is that I had cancer and they gave me chemotherapy.  It all fell out but it didn't all come back.  I really think it's a no brainer to figure out.

This year I've developed a lot of arthritic symptoms, but I'm 65.  It's probably not the arimidex because I've been on it for 2 years now without joint issues previously.  I believe I'm one of those women who tolerated Arimidex with absolutely no side effects.   I'm not convinced the hair thing is from Arimidex, but we'll see.  

So yes, there are some of us with no known side effects from Arimidex.  I put off starting them because of the fear of the unknown, but I really do think I did well on it.  I've been on Tamoxifen for 2 weeks now and am tolerating that well, too.

And I do have to say, those of us who will remain cancer free for the rest of our lives won't know whether it was Arimidex, Tamoxifen, or the luck of the draw.  If we do have a recurrence, we also don't know if the hormone therapy failed or if our cancer was just smarter than it.  I suppose if we don't take it and have a recurrence, we could say we should have taken it, but it only decreases our odds by something like 50% anyway.   We can still have a recurrence.  I wish there was a way to determine who of us has remaining cells to deal with and who doesn't so putting us on these yucky drugs was based on more than "just in case". 

Suzanne