Arimidex - Coping with the SE's

I picked up Claritin at Target this evening. Forgot to take it before bed though. Is it ok to tae in the morning? I'm lying in bed and me feet or pulsing as I type. Ugh.



Michelle

I will be starting Arimedex (generic) next week as soon as my rads are done. I'm looking for AI sisters out there regarding the time of day they take the pill and why. I know it will probably end up being an individual thing as to which works best, but I'd like to hear others' experience with this. And just in case, I've already bought a package of Claritin!

I bought one of those 7 day pill counters & put it on top of my underwear drawer. I take it in the morning so I won't forget. It is all a matter of personal choice. If you find that you have some SE after you take it, then you might want to play around with the timing to see if that makes a difference.

Do not be afraid to try it. Most people do not have terrible SEs. It is only natural that people who do have problems post more, everyone else is just out living their lives.

And remember Als are a HUGE gun in our fight against recurrence. Chemo gave me a 20% risk reduction, Arimidex 40%. I am very, very grateful that it is an option and have had (almost 5) great years while on it!

I take mine in the morning-I get hot flashes at night, but I'd rather have them at night than at work-speaking in front of a groups of people.

This Claritin thing is strange - but I know what everyone is saying  - IT WORKS.  So wth is it?  And what are the SE's?

As someone who knocked her blood glucose levels to the sky by taking Niacin, which did WONDERS to reduce my cholesteral, just the BEST NUMBERS since starting on the A Team, almost 5 years ago -

I am becoming (SADLY) aware what a @$%#$!@#^$ balancing act this game is...grrrr...BTW, so HAPPY with my cholesterol, that I'm back taking niacin!!!!

Were any of you given the Onconotype Dx test?  I am really mad that they did not offer that to me and that I have been waiting since Feb for the genetic testing people!! I am gonna call around and see what I can get. Going to MO today,scared to death,cause I quit taking the Arimi after long list of side effects shortness of breath,extremely high bld prz,swollen mouth and still being treated by gen phys after a mth for these side effects.

Layla

No I wasn't given any tests like that...in fact never heard of them until I came on this forum...hmmmmm now I wonder too!

I think Claritin is cetirizine. I suspect it works to reduce the body's over reaction. At least that's how it works for allergies. I take it during the Spring for reaction to pollen.

I've taken Claritin for two days now and the improvement in pain is remarkable!  I still have some, but it's not the grinding, gnawing, burning pain I usually have!  Yay!

I bought Claritin this morning and will begin taking it tomorrow morning. I sure hope it helps me. I'm one of the unfortunate ones who has a lot of pain daily from Arimidex. I've tried several things and nothing works, so this will be a welcome relief if it does.

Re:  Claritin

"Claritin" is a brand name for the active ingredient "loratadine" (http://www.rxlist.com/claritin-drug/clinical-pharmacology.htm  ).  Claritin is an antihistamine -- hence its use to treat symptoms of allergy.  The drug blocks the "H1" type of histamine receptors. There are also "H2" histamine receptors, but that's another story.

Cetirizine is similar to Claritin but they aren't the same drug. Cetirizine is the active component in "Zyrtec', which is another antihistamine that blocks "H1" histamine receptors (http://www.rxlist.com/zyrtec-drug.htm ).

I suspect, but don't know for sure, than Zyrtec was developed by a different pharmaceutical company to compete with Claritin. Both were prescription-only at first, but are now available OTC. It would be fun to do an experiment, to see if Zyrtec has the same effects on bone pain as Claritin seems to have.

Confession:  I had bone pain with Neulasta, but never tried Claritin. The pain was truly awful after my first tx but wasn't so bad with subsequent tx's.  I bought some OTC generic loratadine, and it's still sitting in the medicine cabinet. If it's not too old, I think I might try it for the AI pain.

I have no idea why Claritin (or Zyrtec, or perhaps other antihistamines) might work against bone pain from Neulasta, much less the aches and pains from an AI. When I was reading about all this during my chemo adventure 4 years ago, I developed a theory -- a real, live, physiologically plausible explanation -- that I thought might explain the effects.  I'd been reading about possible causes (the "pathogenesis") of the bone pain, and it made sense that an antihistamine might counteract that process.  But it was a tenuous theory even then; and chemo brain seems to have erased it.

otter

schatzi14-I've been on it Arim 1 month and 2 days (yes I'm keeping track).  Hot flashes seem to be it for now, although I am noticing some general achiness in my neck and shoulders-but that could be age or any number of things.

Layla-I was given Onc tests (2, one for each breast).  They were expensive-insurance doesn''t cover the whole cost. I was happy to pay it though, since my scores were low enough to keep me from having to have chemo.

mrochon-I take almost the same laundry list of meds, except fish oil.  I'm going to add Claritin to see if I get rid of the general aches.

Layla, I had the Oncotype test done. Usually it is given to node negative women, and a low score indicates a low chance of recurrence, so a low score means you may not need chemo. I had a positive node but I was eligible for a clinical trial, so was able to get the test. My score came back right on the line, and I decided to get chemo to do everything possible to prevent recurrence. Since it is a fairly new test, and expensive, I think the testing varies depending on where you are treated. I'm glad I got it, the more information the better.

I am having a lot of pain with anastrozole, and tried Claritin today, and had a better day. We'll see tomorrow, I hope it works for me. It is plain Claritin that is recommended, not D. 

schatzi14

one of the many things I've learned as a BC THRIVER, is we really have to be our own advocates with some of our doctors.  My oncologists are wonerful, caring, and THEY ADVOCATE FOR ME. Which is how I think it should be, but know many aren't.  

My PCP's - I hvae to FIGHT for everything. It was my ONCOLOGIST on a check up visit who tested my Thryoid when I complained of being s-o-o-o-o tired, WOW.  TSH was SO HIGH, came back to PCP, who fought with me about taking meds.  Changed PCP ;-)

SERIOUSLY - I think we are responsible for making sure we are routinely tested for cholesterol, blood glucose levels, TSH ( thyroid stimulating hormone) levels, and Vitamin D.

Susan:  Most insurance covers Oncotype test now, and Genomics is VERY good about working with patients to get the test covered.  VERY GOOD.

My experience has been that Claratin also works for the dry eye and associated problems of Arimidex, as well as with the joint pain. I wish someone had a scientific explanation for this.

My only guess is that  some people may have a threshold allergic reaction to Arimidex, or to some of the fillers in generic Arimidex? It sure would be good to get to the bottom of this, and it does not seem that any of the internet information or any of the package information is very helpful.

Maybe something to do with histamines? IDK.