Switching from Tamoxifen to Arimidex

Frostecat

I have been on Tamoxifen for 2 years, and the Dr. is suggesting switching to Arimidex. I have a couple of questions:

1) Did you have a wait time to switch from one to the other? I am reading some took 4 weeks off between the switch. My Dr. didn't mention to me any wait time.

2) I don't like how I feel on Tamoxifen, and am happy to get off of it, only to learn that the side effects of Arimidex can sometimes be worse. What is your experience?

Mommato3

I switched to OS/AI from Tamoxifen after I came out of chemopause. There was about a 3 week period before I started Arimidex. She suggested that because we wanted to make sure my ovaries had enough time to be suppressed. I didn't have any side effects from Tamoxifen. Some women give it 2-4 weeks to make sure the Tamoxifen is out of their system. I've been on Arimidex (Anastrozole) for 13 months now. I'm more fatigued and have some stiffness when getting up from sitting for a while. Part of that could be from menopause though. Overall I've done pretty well.