Do exemestane side effects go away when you stop taking it?

Wumberlog

I just read that exemestane is "a novel steroidal irreversible aromatase inhibitor." Does that mean taking it permanently deprives my body of the benefits of estrogen? How long do you have to take it for its effects to become permanent? Does this mean that even if I stop taking it I will still have the miserable side effects (joint pain, brain fog, fatigue)? Can anyone help?

dtad

Wumberlog...I cannot answer all your questions but I do know that joint issues from aromatase inhibitors can be permanent. I do not think anyone really knows about our estrogen levels after treatment because hormone levels are rarely monitored. Hope this helps

kimberly62

Hi Wumberlog, I was on Exemestane for 6 months and stopped taking it due to joint pain and my fingers were starting to lock up and become painful. My Doctor has me on Evista now. It took several months for my fingers to return to normal, and I no longer have the pain in my joints. I was only on this drug for 6 months, so maybe someone on it more long term would have permanent effects?

Meow13

Well my dry eye from exemestane went completely away, the joint pain improved. Still get occasional trigger finger. I have been off over 2 years.

Murfy

I had progressively painful trigger thumbs and backed down my dose to 1/4 pill for about 10 days until symptoms went away. I slowly resumed to full dose again and have not had a reoccurrence. As of today, I have temporarily reduced my dose again to see if urethra problem goes away (will also co-incidentally see if brain fog clears and wrist pain lessens). But I will resume full dose when problems clear and hope these also do not reoccur.

AIs only decrease estrogen as long as you take the pill. I believe, for me, if I tackle the problem early on, perhaps I can prevent something from becoming permanent.