Aromatase Inhibitor and just walking away.

Octogirl. You are correct. Many of these drugs can cause cataracts. I had cataract surgery in 2006 due to early onset from using steroids for allergies. My vision was corrected by the surgery to 20/20. I noticed a gradual deterioration of my vision after about 6 months on Arimidex. I see a retina specialist for a previous tear in my retina most likely related to the cataract surgery. He was concerned about my decreased vision. I was at 20/50. He was noticing changes in the interior of my eyes that reminded him issues seen in woman in the 90's. When I saw him this year several weeks after I stopped Arimidex my vision was back to 20/20 and he noticed improvement in the interior condition of my eyes. I told him I stopped Arimidex and he said most women needs some estrogen in there bodies to remain healthy. He had his theories on the drug and said that drug has its value but he is concerned that it can destroy quality of life. The retina specialist and my medical Dr. said someone do well on the drug and others seem to have it reduce their quality of life to 0.

I opened the thread to the first NIH study you posted , marijen, and read the abstract. Gawd. (I'm originally from Jersey). What an SOB the AI is. Seeing the MO on Monday for my three month follow up. Will add that to the list of concerns. Thanks for keeping us informed.

MO took me off letrozole today until she follows up with my opthamologist. Although I don't think she appreciated that I brought her the Breast Cancer and Vision study.

What do they expect from us? We get short visits every three months, and it's no Ok to find information on our own. The thing is the fellow who wrote the article with many many references is from the same teaching hospital where I get help. And I pointed that out. Would even the female docs respect us more if we did/say nothing? I also brought her the AIA study because she doubted AI could cause trigger fingers and carpel tunnel.

Sorry if I refuse to roll over and die.

I gather hope when what I've experienced on a med is validated by others' experiences. I too did not sleep well the first 10 months on Arimedex. Felt a little foolish complaining. But then, I identified with a worship song :" What if your blessings come through raindrops, what if your healing comes through tears? What if a 1000 sleepless nights is what it takes to know He's near....." I finally embraced the course of treatment and said "could be worse' and then I started to sleep better. I have played around with the time of day I take it. Usually from 11 am -2p.m. works best. If I don't remember til 5 p.m. I for sure skip it. ANd NEVER do I take it in the morning. I think it has a caffeine like affect. And that really triggered my anxiety. Interrupted sleep is hell. Hope that those of you still struggling with this issue have found a remedy. It is disappointing to see that recurrences have still happened even with this treatment. And I was put on it with no breasts left....so I assume its to help prevent cancer cropping up somewhere else. 3 years down, 2 more to go then the arthritus like SE's should disappear!.

Yes, correct, non-suicidal.

http://www.musclechemistry.com/upload/bodybuilding...

marijen, your MO sounds like too many other doctors, arrogant and unwilling to accept that a layperson can actually do proper research and find out new information. I find I have to be extremely tactful when mentioning medical research articles I've read to my doctors. There's a strange conspiracy I believe amongst many doctors to either downplay or completely ignore their patients' experience of side effects.

Hi-- You will see the meds I have been on in my signature. I have walked away.

I stopped taking Tamoxifen (was going to be on it for 10 years) after my hysterectomy last spring. The other two meds made me feel horrible. My body hurt so bad all of the time--I was having trouble walking, lifting, using my fingers and hands, etc. I couldn't take it anymore. I decided I had to focus on my quality of life now (I'm 47). I feel so much better!! I do worry sometimes though...

debutante, I completely relate to your experience. I'm 46 and feel physically lousy a lot of the time. I'm considering switching to Tam, but know that is not great either. Such a terrible dilemma!

From rxlist.com, this does not sound like a good choice to me.... what about Aromasin?

ARIMIDEX®
(anastrozole) Tablets for Oral Administration

Each tablet contains as inactive ingredients: lactose, magnesium stearate, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, polyethylene glycol, povidone, sodium starch glycolate, and titanium dioxide.

For Consumers

What are the possible side effects of anastrozole (Arimidex)?

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as:

• sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body;
• sudden severe headache, confusion, problems with vision, speech, or balance;
• a bone fracture;
• swollen glands;
• feeling short of breath;
• nausea, upper stomach pain, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice...

INDICATIONS

Adjuvant Treatment

ARIMIDEX is indicated for adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer.

First-Line Treatment

ARIMIDEX is indicated for the first-line treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive or hormone receptor unknown locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

Second-Line Treatment

ARIMIDEX is indicated for the treatment of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women with disease progression following tamoxifen therapy. Patients with ER-negative disease and patients who did not respond to previous tamoxifen therapy rarely responded to ARIMIDEX.

DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION

Recommended Dose

The dose of ARIMIDEX is one 1 mg tablet taken once a day. For patients with advanced breast cancer, ARIMIDEX should be continued until tumor progression. ARIMIDEX can be taken with or without food.

For adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer in postmenopausal women, the optimal duration of therapy is unknown. In the ATAC trial, ARIMIDEX was administered for five years [see Clinical Studies].

No dosage adjustment is necessary for patients with renal impairment or for elderly patients [see Use In Specific Populations].

Patients With Hepatic Impairment

No changes in dose are recommended for patients with mild-to-moderate hepatic impairment. ARIMIDEX has not been studied in patients with severe hepatic impairment [see Use in Specific Populations].

HOW SUPPLIED

Dosage Forms And Strengths

The tablets are white, biconvex, film-coated containing 1 mg of anastrozole. The tablets are impressed on one side with a logo consisting of a letter "A" (upper case) with an arrowhead attached to the foot of the extended right leg of the "A" and on the reverse with the tablet strength marking "Adx 1".

Storage And Handling

These tablets are supplied in bottles of 30 tablets (NDC 0310-0201-30).

Storage

Store at controlled room temperature, 20-25°C (68-77°F) [see USP].

Distributed by: AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP Wilmington, DE 19850. Revised: May 2014

SIDE EFFECTS

Serious adverse reactions with ARIMIDEX occurring in less than 1 in 10,000 patients, are: 1) skin reactions such as lesions, ulcers, or blisters; 2) allergic reactions with swelling of the face, lips, tongue, and/or throat. This may cause difficulty in swallowing and/or breathing; and 3) changes in blood tests of the liver function, including inflammation of the liver with symptoms that may include a general feeling of not being well, with or without jaundice, liver pain or liver swelling.

Common adverse reactions (occurring with an incidence of ≥ 10%) in women taking ARIMIDEX included: hot flashes, asthenia, arthritis, pain, arthralgia, hypertension, depression, nausea and vomiting, rash, osteoporosis, fractures, back pain, insomnia, headache, bone pain, peripheral edema, increased cough, dyspnea, pharyngitis and lymphedema.

In the ATAC trial, the most common reported adverse reaction ( > 0.1%) leading to discontinuation of therapy for both treatment groups was hot flashes, although there were fewer patients who discontinued therapy as a result of hot flashes in the ARIMIDEX group.

Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.

Kira, can you stop it for a week and see if the rash goes away? The fillers worry me too. Especially the polyethelene glycol. Ethelene glycol is anti- freeze. We need a chemist to translate

You misunderstood, I don't know what polyethelene glycol is - that's in the filler. Ethelene glycol is what they use in anti-freeze. I guess some of us just can't take these powerful drugs. Letrozole is the most powerful.

I finished rads on June 28 and saw the MO in mid July. He wants to put me on Tamoxifen. In order to reduce the chance of worsening hot flashes, I'm supposed to get acupuncture treatments first. I plan to start those this week.

He told me my risk for recurrence was between 15 to 20 percent. If I continue my exercise regime - which is 3 hours of cardio a week - the risk is reduced 40 percent to 9 to 12 percent. If I take Tamoxifen it reduces the risk another 50 percent to 4.5 to 6 percent.

I'm really apprehensive about side effects of hormone therapy especially joint pain, eye problems and depression. I don't know that an additional 4.5 to 6 percent risk reduction is worth it. I'm 64, my lobular cancer was slow growing, Stage I Grade I. If I was younger, or if it was a more aggressive cancer I'd take the drugs. I expect to have many more years of being active and healthy and don't want to deal with side effects. It seems going to zero estrogen is just asking for trouble.

What's silly, is I'm worried the MO will get angry if I decide not to take it.

We'll never be at 0 as our bodies continually produce.

This was shared to me today. I intend to discuss with my oncologist.

https://integrativeoncology-essentials.com/2016/03...

Marijen, Yes walking is cardio. The faster the better. That is good. You also need to do things. To build muscle in you arms and upper torso. I guess my question is are you considered overweight? I was told by the physical trainer that I am about 40 lbs over weight. I thought I was only about 20 lbs. I had started watching what I ate just before I was diagnosed and lost 25 lbs. Then I was diagnosed with breast cancer. On Arimidex I gained back 10 lbs, all in the stomach area.

The Dr.s didn't give me a number. They basically told me to loose weight. I don't think that they consider this route for prevention because it requires commitment to changing the way you think about food and activity. So far have lost 9 lbs since the end of June. About a week and 1/2 ago I joined the gym so I could work on my whole body.