Going off of Arimidex due to side effects
So about my appt…Basically dr. doesn't want me to go off medication and wants me to try another drug. I told her I won't take the ones that have the same side effects as the one I'm on. Have reduced bone density, joint pain, don’t sleep well, hair is thinning, etc. The only other one is tamoxifen which can cause blood clots so I have to speak to the neurologist to see if he recommends me taking that one because I might if had a mini stroke last year, which I'm pretty sure I did not !!( that’s a story for another day) She said to take a two week vacation from the pill and we're going to have a phone conference in two weeks to see where to go from here. We talked about recurrence and she said if I have a recurrence it's stage 4 and is incurable! I said-Whaaattt!!! Not sure how you can make a blanket statement like that!!! So I'll think about taking tamoxifen but unlikely that I will. Going to see what other options I have.
Comments
-
Hi msspiro601,
It sounds like you are on a hormonal treatment call an Aromatase inhibitor, which stops the production of estrogen in postmenopausal women to reduce the chance of breast cancer from coming back.
You can read about them HERE.
There is also a podcast on that page that has suggestions on how to reduce joint pain.
There are three aromatase inhibitors, and many people end up trying different ones, looking to reduce side effects.
- Arimidex (chemical name: anastrozole)
- Aromasin (chemical name: exemestane)
- Femara (chemical name: letrozole)
Depending on which you are on a switch may be worth considering, with the guidance of your oncologist.
Arimidex and Femara have similar chemical structures, while Aromasin has a different structure.
Do you know what stage your cancer was?
-
Hello there I have had the reoccurrence but again was in my lymph nodes. Cat scan and MRI did not show any where else. But I have completed my chemo, and surgery. However like you I did not want to be on any medication with side effects. Funny but my oncologist scared me the same way. He said, you have a 50/50 chance. Well, don’t we all? I am on my second week of tamoxifen. Good blessings to you
-
Thank you for replying. I was in stage 1b, it was in my lymph nodes, but only one. I had HER2positive. Ihave looked in to the other aromatase inhibitors, but each basically have the same side effects. I’m thinking about tamoxifen, but might try naturally to lower my estrogen.
Be well, Mindy Spiridigliozzi
-
thank you for your reply. I hope and pray you are doing well. Can I ask how long after your first diagnosis did you have the recurrence?
Be well,
msspiro -
msspiro,
Since you are HER2+, did you have chemo and Herceptin?
And what type of surgery did you have, a lumpectomy or mastectomy?
Arimidex, the other AIs and Tamoxifen all reduce the risk of both a localized recurrence (in the breast area) and a distant/metastatic recurrence (when the breast cancer cells move to and develop into a tumor in another part of the body). The biggest concern for an Oncologist and for patients is always a distant recurrence, because while that can be treated, it is incurable. So I'm thinking that is what your doctor was referring to.
-
hi Beesie,
thank you for responding. I had chemo every three weeks for 18 weeks, then lumpectomy with one mode, then 20 rounds of radiation, and continued targeted therapy once a week until it was a full year Very scary if it comes back somewhere else it is incurable.Thank you again,
Be well,
msspiro -
The side effects of Arimedex are awful. I exercise daily and work to stay very healthy. Has anyone gone off the meds for a while to get some relief? Is it possible to not use any hormonal therapy? Not sure it is worth the side effects. Please advise
-
Hi qkalake and all on this thread, I am having terrible bone/joint pain from Anastrazole (a form of Arimedex). Awful to me: I feel creaky and old suddenly where before I had none of this type of pain in my life at all. I am also not sleeping well and am way too moody. I am thinking of going off totally. This med is supposed to reduce chance of future BC from 11% to 7% or so. Not sure if it's worth all this pain and upset. So I totally understand your feeling of wanting to go off of it.
-
Hi Old lady Blue and others- I took a break from the Anastrazole for 2 weeks but did return to the daily regime once I got better clarification of the risks. According to my doctor, the risk is not the return of BC but rather the risk of metastic cancer to other parts of the body... most often showing up as bone cancer. So Old Lady Blue, I get your concern with the side effects vs the risk because if it was a return of BC, I would then get a mastectomy ( I have had 2 lumpectomies in same breast plus targeted radiation... a procedure not often offered but highly successful especially in the Northeast). So that is what changed by mind - the thought of metastic cancer vs the joint pain for 5 years. If it is any help, you might want to request a bone density test if they did not require one already as I have found out I have osteporosis and that excerbated by the Anastrazole. The osteporosis treatment was Fosomax but I was seriously unable to tolerate so changed to a yearly infusion which only had 3 days of side effects. Hope this helps.
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team