Hi ladies, I’ve been on Anastrozole for 6 months and I too find my joints can be rather stiff first thing in the morning but it soon wears off. I did already have arthritis in my left knee but it doesn’t seem to have made it any worse. Like Ginger Laces I also take glucosamine and omega 3 and have done for years. I know weight gain can be a side effect but I am desparate to shift some of mine and have been following the 5:2 Diet for the last 6 weeks, managing to lose between 1/2 to 1 pound per week, hopefully this will continue but if not I may have to resort to 3 fasting days per week instead of just the 2. The hot flushes don’t seem to be as bad now as they were initially but alcohol and spicy foods definitely make them worse. The SE’s are a bit of a pain but I feel the benefits of the medication far outweigh the difficulties they may cause. Best wishes to you all, Pat
ginette65
If it is yours decision then must be ok. I think for women after 60 - ties is not too bad without hormone theraphy. I know women who refused to surgery and chemo, and she is having hormone theraphy only. In one year her lump shrank from 5 cm to 0,5 cm. Although she is very old, butTamoxifen anyway helps reduce her tumor. She is 80 years.
thanks zibzab
i
made the decision not to take anastrazole for various reasons. apart from the cancer i was 100%healthy, no arthritis,my bone scan was amazing (i was told!) no aches and pains,so i decided i didnt want all these terrible side effects, taking into account my age. if i was 20 years younger i may have thought different. also i think its such an unatural thing to deprive the body of oestrogen.these are just my thoughts
ginette65
Hi all
I have been on anastrozole for about six weeks after taking tamoxifen for about two yeara. I must say my mood has changed and I have been quite depressed at times but assumed that was down to the stress of the last few years.
I also have very low energy. I love going to the gym and working out but have found this hard to do. My legs are stiff especially after I have been sitting for a while and its hard to get going when I first stand up. And my knees and ankles feel stiff at times.
Am thinking of going to docs to see if he has any suggestions.
Any help would be appreciated as my oncologist says I may be taking this for ten years!!
Clare x
Oh dear Clare, that is a dreary prospect!. I thought five years seemed a long time. I have brilliant GP who managed my pain control over the past two years as I have had both my knees replaced as well as breast cancer! . I managed to come off most drugs then got the diagnosis for cancer just before Christmas. I take a very small amount of anti inflammatory drug twice a day which i am sure is helping with the extra pain and stiffness from Anastrozole. Of course long term it is not good to take anti inflammatory tablets long term but GP is monitoring this. Try talking to GP about it. I did pain management course years ago and that helped as it teaches coping mechanisms.
I ty to start my day later or get up earlier if I am going anywhere as once I get moving it gets better. I am 62 and feel 82 somedays!!. It has been a tough two years but determined to get back to some fitness as I could not even walk three a years ago. It is working out a regime for yourself and try sticking to it. Means I have to be selfish at times and say NO to some people as always been a busy person in my community. Trouble is with our aches and pains and the stress from having had cancer ( or still treating it) most of the ladies and gents on the site have said they look well but get fed up with people saying how well they look especially when they are feeling rough or in pain and that is just how I feel. I usually grit my teeth put on a smile and think,if only you knew!!. Take care, Katy.
Well, I’ve been taking it now for almost two weeks, and as yet have no SEs. The one I was dreading was hot flushes as I never had those while going through the menopause itself. I haven’t had any unusual aches and pains. I have an appointment with my rheumatologist next month. If I still haven’t started getting any pains, I’m hoping she WON’T put me back on Methotrexate injections. The idea of that really bugs me. After all, I was injecting it for about 5 years before chemo, then injecting the Filgastrim for 7 days in every cycle. Every day without pain is a bonus, if it comes back I’ll just have to deal with it.
Katy, I was on anti inflammatory drugs for 13 years, but had to stop using them due to internal bleeding. In spite of the fact that I was taking Cimetidene to protect my stomach. Then I was on Prednislone for 6 months, which was truly awful!! so they put me on Methotrexate tablets which made me have nausea, dizzy spells and blackouts. Then they changed it to 25mls injections once a week. But I know what you mean about folk saying how well you look. As you say, if only they knew!!
Poemsgalore xx
I’m new to the forum, but complete my 5 years on Anastrozole on 28 August 2013. Have had many of the side effects others mention - weight problems, lethargy, depression, aching joints and a feeling of utter exhaustion, even when I’ve had a good nights sleep.
Ive been looking forward to coming of Anastrozole so much, but in light of the decision to give preventative drugs to women in high risk groups of getting breast cancer, should I be asking to continue taking it?
Would welcome thoughts from anyone, very confused now and worried that this will be my life from now on, I’m only 59!
Hi have not been on for some time,and came on today looking for help.but first janisM,i had breast cancer first time at 48 tamoxfen for 5 yrs finished,and 1 yr later i got it in the other breast, and i have been takeing Anastrozole for 9 months lots of side efect. but when i have done my 5 yrs,i want to stay on something,i think if i had been on something i would not have got it again,this is my worry has anyone had a small bleed on Anastrozole,i went to see my GP and haveing a scan tomorrow,realy fast which is good but worrid still,it just feels like i am haveing a period, pain in tummy and back.
Hi, . Had radiotherapy but no chemo and did not have any side effects until i finished radiotherapy - now have some chest pains which are apparently an after effect of the rads and sharp breast and arm pains which last for minutes only. I have been on anastrozole for 4 months with the main SE being night sweats - has anyone tried the chill pillows? do they work?
Also take the calcium + vit d tablets twice a day.
Some days I feel like a feel like a wind up toy that has run down! Too much effort to do anything. Had not put it down to a side effect of the hormone tablets but reading above posts I suspect it is. I asked my GP [who is also a friend]about exercise etc and was told I was overdoing it already and no way was i to start at the gym [the gp’s can make referrals] Being basically lazy and retired I was surprised he thought I was overdoing it, but even driving from A to B and attending meetings etc can tire you out.
Yes, people do say how well I look - but when you’re not doing anything stressful or strenuous it can be frustrating when you feel feeble inside
Hi all - I’ve been on Anastrazole for about 9 months now after MX and chemo. I had the DEXA bone scan and they saw slight thinning of the bone in one hip but reckoned that could be just down to age anyway (I’m 58). But GP also prescribed Calci-D tablets - 2x twice daily. You can ask your doctor to prescribe it - presumably you have an NHS prescription-exempt card (all us “had cancer” people can get one) - so it won’t cost anything. I sometimes get achey wrists and knees but manageable - it gets better as the day goes on. Definitely no hot flushes - just the norm in this hot weather! Some days I do lack energy but I am putting that down to just time getting over the effects of chemo - they say it can take up to 2 years before you are back to your normal energy levels. So in my experience, no really bad side effects - good luck to everyone!
Jan. x
I started Anastrazole a few days go. I haven’t noticed anything yet. When do the side effects start?
I’ve been on it 4 weeks now and still no SEs. In spite of the fact I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, I don’t have any aching joints. My Dexa bone scan also showed some thinning of my bones - I’m 62. High risk due to RA, also my mum and gran both had osteoporosis. I have been taking a multi vitamin (including D) but my onco says that won’t be enough, I need to go on high strength calcium/vit D tablets. I’m still waiting for them!!
poemsgalore, why don’t you just ask your GP to write you up for some Calcichew if your onc is slow to get around to it - I’ve been taking them for a couple of years.
I like the lemon flavoured ones.
Two a day - yum yum!
Blackswan,
They can’t give them to me until they get the letter from my onco. It was she who sent me for the DEXA scan, not my GP. Lemon flavour - oooooh, I hope I get those.
Hi Maryland for info I take Tamoxifen and I told my onc I had low vit D and I buy my own calcium and she prescribed it for me. I get the opinion that this is automatically prescribed for anyone one on the other drugs which are harder on the bones. I am post menopausal and probably was when I started taking tamoxifen but my onc said she would let me take it for two years. I recently asked her if she wanted to take me off it as I wasn’t keen on doing a different drug ( not keen on this one either but reluctantly agreed to try it) anyway she now says she would prefer to leave me on tamoxifen for ten years based on recent research etc… Not really keen on that but the point I make is that if you are not happy on these different drugs you could go back and ask about going back to tamoxifen even if you are post menopause.
Hi Carrie 35’ I’ve been on Anastrozole since Jan and wasn’t automatically prescribed calcium tabs. I had a DEXA scan not long after I started the hormone therapy which came back as ‘within the normal parameters’ so was told I didn’t need any additional medication.
Hi Blackswan, I have been on it since Febraury and at first it was headaches, that was just a couple of weeks after starting, but they only lasted a couple of weeks . The aces and pains everyone refers to depends I think on your age and if you are prone to arthritis or rheumatics. .
i already had these, so did not really notice any real difference until about three weeks ago. Definitely more stiff and slower first thing but this goes once I get moving. Just allow myself longer and more time first thing.
The surgeon who did my op said it would make my aches and pains worse and she was right but it is manageble so far . I take a couple of paracetamol if bad which is not that often. I have been on some anti inflammatory drug but decided yesterday I am going to try without it as do not want to take that for five years as well!. Will see how I go. Started on glucosamine as others have suggested on this site and stronger dose of cod liver oil tabs.
Think how it will affect you depends on your general fitness.
Told my GP last week I was getting more aches and pains. She said she can change it to Tamoxifen if it gets unbearable but I told her the oncologist said Anastrozole is better drug , especially for my type of cancer, so will stick with it if I can. Five years, well in fact that will soon be 4 and half years at the end of August!. Take care, Katy.
I had surgery and reconstruction at the same time followed by 15 sessions of radiotherapy.
I’ve been taking arimadex for the past 3 years. had ups and downs with it. Mainly troubled with terrible aching joints and itching.
Gained loads of weight and recently had abnormal Liver function.
I have now started with a personal trainer and feeling the benefits, much fitter , losing weight, the joints not as achy probably from the weight loss, still get the itching. My Gp gave me antihistamines to help.
Still got another 2 years to take the medication, and new reaserch suggests should then have tamaoxifen for another 5 years.
The side effects are a small price to pay to ensure no recurrance of the cancer.
IHi
I was automatically put on Calcium & vit D supplement with Arimadex, I was told by my oncologist should continue this all the time i’m taking the arimadex.
Hi Vi, interesting that you were put on Calcium and Vit D. Will add that to my pill list! Thanks Katy.