Arimidex and numb hands?

I had exactly the same situation on Arimidex. The numbness was so bad at night it would keep me awake. I mentioned it to my oncologist and he told me that it couldn't be the Arimidex. Of course, every side effect I mentioned he told me couldn't be from the Arimidex. Well, I finally went off the Arimidex and back on Tamoxifen, and the numbness went away completely. Go figure...

I have several side effects with Arimidex. I wouldn't say numbness in my hands, but they hurt! I have pain in my joints, and bones. I have a dry mouth and eyes. And of course since I am meno. (hystrectomy in Aug) I have vaginal dryness. I told my oc this past visit to take me off!! I did better on tamox.  She said give it 6 mos. I started in Oct. I told her I would try a total of 6 mos, but if its not better. I can't stay on it. I know with tamox...it took me  about 5 months to adjust to it.

We will see.

I hope you get some relief and answers. I take an Aleve once a day...definately helps.

xoxo

Lisa

I have been on the Arimidex for 8 months now. I too experience numbness and achy joints really bad. I told my onc about it and asked if i could switch to Tamoxifin and he said it is not as effective. He basically told me to deal with it. My achy bones are the worst for me. I can no longer sleep in my bed becasue it is an extra firm mattress, so I had to buy an air mattress. I do love it though, it is like sleeping on a cloud. Anyway I have been scared into sticking with the Arimidex!  

Hi All.  Yes, the hand pain/numbness, etc. is from the Arimidex.  I just saw my medical onc last Thursday and he said, yep, that's the Arimidex.  I have been on it for about 3 and 1/2 months and have gone to cutting it in 1/2 and taking it every other day.  My doc said okay, even though it may not be effective, but he knows how hard it is to take this drug.  He said because of my dx he was okay with what I was doing and to stop Arimidex if it interferes with my daily activity. He said I would then go on Tamox.  He said it is very hard to tell who benefits from these drugs when the dx is similar to mine.  I told him that I would "fight with the devil that I know" (Arimidex) for a little while longer.  I'll see if I can stay on it or not, but if my hands continue to be really bad I don't think I will be able to do it.

I wish you all the best and hope that these doctors stop not telling the truth.  Mine is very honest and very knowledgeable.  E 

Seashell -- your symptoms sound exactly like mine.  It started with some pain in my wrist.  Lots of numbness at night in my thumb and first 2 or 3 fingers.  Now, I have lots of pain in my wrist and in the morning I don't have full range of motion.  My onc says it's carpal tunnel.  Google it -- the symptoms are identical to what you describe.  It can definitely be caused by the Arimidex -- my onc says it's on the spectrum of joint problems from Arimidex, but less common than joint/muscle pain.  Onc recommended I take a month off from the Arimidex and see a hand specialist.  I see the hand doc tomorrow, so I'll let you know what I learn...

i suffer from minor hand and wrist pains and problems, mild carpal tunnel, numbness,  as a pianist.  I find that wearing silk  gloves at nite, and wrists bands during the day (like for tennis) really helps... that and nsaids which i am loathe to take.  I am a big fan of rice bags (rice in a sock that you microwave for warmth).    In a nutshell, stretching for mobility is good and cold is bad.

i don't know if these noninvasive techniques could counteract side effects.. i'm hoping because i have them.

I began having the numbness and tingling a few months into taking Arimidex. I had other SEs too, primarily pain in my shoulders and back of the neck, so I switched to Aromasin. I had the same problems, but after about one year the joint pain abated, leaving me only with the hand issue. This had gotten increasingly worse and, so, my onc referred me to a hand-specializing orthopedist. He ordered an EMG which definitively diagnosed carpal tunnel syndrome. Although the docs, at first, refused to believe that the CTS was related to the AI, they've now seen enough cases to concede that it is. In fact, someone told me that the Arimidex website now lists it as one of the possible side effects, but I haven't verified that. In any event, I began having cortisone injections every six months or so and they worked like a charm until recently (I've been on the AI since 10/05), so I just had the surgery to release the nerve and it now feels significantly better. I think that if I had it to do again, though, I'd stick with the cortisone shots for awhile longer and see if that one ineffective one was a fluke.

~Marin

Hi All.  It is so sad to read these posts.  The Arimidex causes one problem after another and to have to have hand surgery or CT surgery is just unacceptable.  Why can't the drug companies do something to develop other medications?  Why isn't there adequate research so they discover why so many women are getting BC?  I feel so bad that this is happening to so many of us.  Having surgery, etc. for BC is bad enough, but then to have to have more invasive procedures because of treatment is just terrible.

Sorry to express this - but it is how I feel.  Thanks for listening. E 

Hi Seashell,

I have been on Armidex for over two years and have numbness and tingling in hands and feet. I am post-menopausal and never took Tamoxifen.

Sent you a PM as I am from near your area.

 Iris

Hi,

I also had the hand numbness at night on Arimidex. I had the joint pain so bad, that I was switched to Femara. I only last 2 months on that because my feet hurt so bad that I could hardly walk. They put me back on Arimidex. After 6 more months on it, I was ready to quit it all together after only 2 1/2 yrs. My oncologist put me on Tamoxifen (which I was never put on because I decided to have a complete, ovaries, everything, hysterectomy at a premenopausal 43, right after my radiation, and was then postmenopausal). After 3 months on it (with only hot flashes as a side effect), I had to be taken off because of my high liver ezymes going up even higher. I am now on my first week of Aromasin. So far I've had a headache everyday (I never have headaches). If the joint pain comes back too, I'm done. I've been on these drugs for a little over 3 years now, and I just want to feel my age, not like an old lady anymore! I took effexor for 3 years for the hot flashes (brought them down from 30 a day to 10), I decided to come off it and try nuerotin. I took me over a month to wean off the effexor. I got dizzy and my ears were ringing, and nauseous, it was awful. The nuerotin is working about the same as effexor, but I don't feel like a zombie without emotions like I did on the effexor.

Good luck!

Lynne

Seashell49 wrote

Hi All.  I contacted  Astra-Zinca when they were putting Arimidex in that horrible cardboard container that you couldn't get the pills out of.  I talked to a nurse there, but she really wasn't any help.  She was sympathetic, but remember, she works for these big pharms.

Sue - my med doc said that with diagnoses like mine (yours appears to be similar) that it is unclear who is helped by Arimidex. He said that women work very hard to stay on these drugs because they are always fighting and wanting to work to do the most they can for themselves and their children, etc.  He said that if a guy had the diagnosis we had there is no way they would be on the drug and deal with the SEs.  I have to tell you that he is not sexist either.  He is just very realistic and deals with all kinds of cancer and cancer patients.  Also, Sue, Tamoxifen is not a bad drug.  The benefits to taking Tamoxifen versus an AI are not that great.  My rad onc said he would rather see me on something than taking nothing.  He said if you can't do the AIs do Tamoxifen.  We'll see.

Take care everyone and I sure hope we can figure something out about this crap that we have to put in our bodies.

E 

Over the last few months my hands have been getting numb in the night to the extent it keeps me awake some times, it feels horrible. I realised it has only been happening since I've been on Arimidex so I am assuming it's very possibly a side effect.