Taking a one month break from anastrozole

Anonymous

I have enough aches and pains and slower movement at 75 years old to be unclear as to whether they from anastrozole or not. I do know that I'm extremely fatigued almost of all the time. I don't walk enough for exercise but I'm just so tired.

I'm going to Seattle on the 19th to visit my sister following her having both ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as well as a double mastectomy. They wanted to also remove her uterus, but she said no. It's a 3000 mile trip so I don't get to see my sister very often.

I want to have enough energy to help my sister as much as possible. My oncologist said I can take a break from anastrozole for a month...but one month only.

Has anyone stopped taking their medicine for a month? Did you feel better? If fatigue was one your symptoms, did it stop while you were off? Are their any known consequences of stopping for a month?

Thank you.

Ingerp

I’ll be following this. I’m only seven months in but my energy level is really low. I’d love to take a break and see how I feel.

Anonymous

Inger, I'm going to take the one month break with the permission of my oncologist! Make sure you ask your oncologist if it's okay for YOU before stopping your medicine for a short time. If you get the okay, let us know how it goes.

Ingerp

Oh I’m just being whiny. It’s been a long year, I hate my hair, my nose won’t slow down, and I’m settling into the highly-resentful phase of all of this. It wasn’t just the active treatment part—I feel like, despite finishing Herceptin in May, BC is still robbing me of good parts of my life and will continue to do so for years. Grumble grumble grumble. .

Spoonie77

Hi ladies - I just wanted to stop in and commiserate with yall on the fatigue. I know some members here (I think Salamandra and Lewhy) bothmentioned taking Provigil and/or Concerta to help with the fatigue. For them it worked. I've been keeping this in my back pocket so to speak for when I start Arimidex in Sept in case I need it. Here are some studies (below) that I found recently that I'm planning to bring to my MO if needed.

Perhaps this might be something that could help you out too?

ViewFinder - I sure hope you have a nice time with your sister. Enjoy your "vacation" away from your med. Since you don't get to go very often it sure makes sense to me that you should be able to make the most of your time together as you can. Keep us posted on how you feel. I think from what I've read often a short break lessens symptoms, but like for most things, everyone is different. Hopefully yours will fade quickly so you have more time with your family while feeling better. Safe travels!

Narcolepsy Drug Fights Cancer Fatigue (Modafinil/Provigil)

"Provigil Could Benefit 30% to 40% of Patients Who Suffer Debilitating Fatigue, Research Suggests"

A pilot study evaluating the safety and efficacy of modafinal for cancer-related fatigue

"In this pilot study modafinil was well-tolerated and effective for fatigue in patients with cancer. Improvements were also seen in mood, quality of life, and functional status."

Drug therapy for the management of cancer-related fatigue (Ritalin/Methylphenidate/Concerta)

"Fifty studies met the inclusion criteria. Six additional studies were identified since the original review. Only 31 of these studies involving 7104 participants were judged to have used a sufficiently robust measure of fatigue and thus were deemed suitable for detailed analysis. The drugs were still analysed by class (psychostimulants; haemopoietic growth factors; antidepressants and progestational steroids). Methylphenidate showed a small but significant improvement in fatigue over placebo (Z = 2.83; P = 0.005)."

I couldn't get past the pay wall here, but this article "Cancer-related fatigue: Treatment"(Carmen P Escalante, MD 2018) has a list of References that is VERY LONG and very informative about cancer treatment related fatigue and studies that have been done to evaluate various methods on how to manage it: meds, acupuncture, yoga, acupressure, mindfulness, cognitive behavior therapy, exercise, and so on. I spent at least 20 mins looking before I finally decided I should get myself out of the rabbit hole! Interesting stuff to be sure though!

Anonymous

Spoonie7, thanks so much for all the helpful links.

I will let you all know how I do when I'm off anastrozole for a month. I visit my sister for three weeks.

Anonymous

Ingerp , it's okay to grumble. You've been through a lot and I believe we all need time to have a pity party. I suppose i am one of the lucky ones, my cancer wasn't advanced and after a lumpectomy had only 13 days of radiation.

I'm more upset about my sister than I've ever been about myself. The pendulum swings from anger to crying. In my heart, I'm at the "acceptance" stage but still struggle with some anger. I know her treatment will probably save her life and countless others have successfully endured the same treatment.