Arimidex - Coping with the SE's

Hello, dear new friends, I never dreamed in my wildest dreams I would be staring a bottle of Arimidex in the face again. But I am. I began taking it 3 days ago, this second time around. I was going to say nothing noticeable yet, however yesterday I did put the birthday cake for today's birthday party into the freezer instead of the fridge, and, when I carried my bedroom slippers into my walk-in closet, instead of dropping them on the floor, I threw the iPhone I was holding in my other hand down on the closet floor. Does any of that count?

I've been taking the Arimi after breakfast each morning, but tomorrow morning (Friday) I'm going to the hospital for a CAT scan and Nuclear Bone Scan, and the only way I can think of to do it is to take both Levothyroxine and Arimidex together as soon as I awaken, without food, wait an hour, have breakfast, and then three hours of nothing but clear liquids prior to the procedures, and an Ativan one hour before the first procedure. I hope that will be okay. I did read here that one of you takes her Arimi first thing upon awakening, together with her Levothyroxine, and that information has enabled me to make this decision. Thank you so much for this Arimidex thread!

Thank you, Carole!

JO - am glad to see this thread.

Have only been on Arimidex for five weeks and find the experiences of others very helpful.

Fingers crossed I can stay the course

I have been on Effexor 75Mg for a month and a half.

I am also taking Arimidex 1mg, have been taking it since April, 2015. I would like to know if anyone is also taking both

and if you are, have you noticed any weight gain ? I have a belly that I never had before my stage IIA breast Cancer.

I would like to know if the 2 drugs together are the cause of this.

kiyasmom and mysunshine48, yes there can be SE's with this drug and you may have many of them, only a few or none at all. It affects all of us differently. Weight gain because of the 2 drugs, not necessarily, as many have reported weight gain on arimidex/anastrozole all by its self - it needs no help from another drug. The back and legs issue may also be due to the arimidex.

For the weight gain I suggest exercise, exercise, exercise. Not necessarily high intensity but movement to the best of your ability. Also watch your diet. For the back and legs, it may be due to your body getting used to the lack of estrogen in the body. BC demands a new way of looking at your life and your health. Continue to read through the threads for information but please don't become alarmed with some of the stories as they may not pertain to your journey.

Another thing, because your body is getting used to the drug it may take days, weeks or months but then the SE's may go away or become tolerable. If they don't or you cannot function/live with the SE's please talk with your MO as there are others you can try.

Hugs.

Phyllis

I second that, Carole.

Aviva, the weight gain is definitely SE of Arimidex. Hopefully you have started a movement program to help but also may try and cut out the white in your diet (potato, rice, pasta, bread). I've managed to drop and keep off 30 lbs by watching my foods. (not dieting, but watching what and portions)

I've been taking Arimidex for 9 months now and I have gained some weight, but I need to try and fit in some more exercise. Having lymph node removal restricts what I can and cannot do. I also need a sleeve, but that is another board!

I have stiffness in the morning, so I try to do some stretching before I get out of bed. I still walk a little gimpy for the first 10 steps or so, but then I'm ok unless I sit at my desk too long at work. Then I'm a little stiff again. I've not had any other SE's. Fingers crossed!

lbrewer - I live in Clermont which doesn't have a Y - We have the National Training Center. There is one in Winter Garden near the 429 which I keep thinking I'm going to call to see if they have that program. I just haven't done it because I belong to the NTC

Thanks Native - I figured as much. I'm just thankful that's all I've had (knock on wood). I've heard of some really dibilitating SE's.

While my experience is not a guarantee, I think I'm pretty typical. The joint pain and stiffness went away after I was done, took about 3 months or so. The hot flashes started diminishing within a few weeks of stopping. I can't say they went away completely because after a few months off lupron and arimidex I started natural menopause. The hot flashes I have now are much less intense and much less frequent than when I was in chemical menopause, and I no longer need medication to be able to tolerate them and they rarely interrupt my sleep. So yes, the side effects DO go away once treatment is done.

Dear sebm9,

Thank you so much for this information! I will be getting the results from my Oncotype DX test this Tuesday when I see my MO.

I just googled "Breast Cancer Index test" and downloaded the brochure. I will ask my MO if he can order this test as well. It seems that the Breast Cancer Index test is to Tamoxifen and AIs what the Oncotype test is to chemo.

Since this test relies on the tumor tissue from my surgery, I don't see why I can't order the test now (my surgery was last month) since, in five years, they'll still test same tumor tissue from my surgery, correct? Why wait five years?

I'm interested to learn exactly what this test will show as I am ER+/PR+ HER2- like you.

I'm not concerned about a second 5-year prescription of Tamoxifen or AIs but rather, do I even have to go through with the first 5 years taking them??

Again, they're sampling my tumor that was removed last month. The test won't show anything different in 5 years than if I did the test now.

What are your thoughts or experience on this?

It would seem that if you have node involvement it would make more sense to continue the AIs. I had high ER+, but node involvement

Fitz, I took arimidex at night, too, and that schedule worked for me.

I also take It at night and have had few problems. My MO said it might make me sleepy. I can't really tell any difference; I'm usually a pretty good sleeper. I do have hot flashes, but they're tolerable. I was having aching feet so I switched to the Teva brand. My feet do seem to be better. I still get the aching occasionally but not as often as before.