Hello, I’m one year in taking Anastrozole and am still struggling. I’m trying so hard to keep up with exercise but it’s so hard when everything hurts all the time, l’m trying to stay positive but at times l just want to give up. I’ve tried different brands, some are better than others, but nothing I’ve tried has reduced it to a minimum. I take vegan glucosamine but as I’m also on a blood thinner theres a lot of supplements l can’t take including ibuprofen. I’m trying to keep up with the gym and have just tried to go back to running, l walk the dog every day but my motivation is rock bottom atm due to the constant aching. I was grade 3 ER+ 8/8 PR+ 8/8 so stopping medication is a no go. I hate this feeling of waking up everyday feeling like I’ve been run over by a bus and trying to have a ‘normal’ day.
Just wondering if anyone has any tips that might help me find my mojo again, the thought of another 4 years feeling like this is getting me down 
Hi Janey, Sending you big hugs.
ive just started Anastrozole this year. This week has been a struggle for me with aches and pains feel like ive turn into an ancient being.For my achy joints I have baths using Epson Salts. I also use a magnesium spray on night on legs. I also a muscle rub from Hillside Sanctuary which is a natural lotion Meadowsweet Muscle and Joint Healing Lotion - Hillside Animal Sanctuary
Thats all that comes to mind right now. Put I’ll post any more ideas if they pop up.
Hello
I’ve been on Anastrozole since last August ( 2023) and some days feel about 90! ( i was on Letrozole from January to May 2023 before starting chemotherapy and it was awful so i asked to change once that treatment ended and my team agreed)
Epsom salts are great but i started taking turmeric with curcumin last month and it has halved my aches
Walking every day definitely helps ( with our hound and we are lucky with lots of lovely local walking area’s)
I try and do pilates twice a week and started line dancing 3 weeks ago but have to admit cold weather affects my bones and my mood
I think its a case of knowing there is an end and hoping its doing a fab job in terms of prevention
Talk to your team and see if a swop might be on the table for you?
Good luck
Thank you for this, I’ll give them a go, I’ve heard if magnesium before and am getting some epsom salts for my dog so they will be doubly useful!
Thank you curlywurly, unfortunately due to my blood thinner l can’t take turmeric which is annoying. I’m trying hard with exercise plus I’m having physio on my elbows and hip as they are the worst for pain, like a lot of people I’m sure, it just gets me down and its hard to stay motivated 
Hello jaynem68
I too have been on Anastrazole along with Zolodex for 14 months now, and sadly I’m in the same boat as your good self. I started doing water based exercise groups, I lasted about 6 weeks, as walking and raising my arms is now nigh on impossible…
Oncologist states it’s not the Ambemaciclib I’m also on, causing my issues, but won’t say it’s Anastrazole or Zolodex……?
I wake three or four times a night sweating and in pain all over. So when I actually get up I’m shattered.
But I started reducing dairy about three weeks ago, I started drinking various herbal teas throughout the day, and I take high dose vitamin C.
I’ve started to feel a bit better in my head, not completely in my body, but it’s a start.
You say your on a blood thinners ? and are limited in what you can and can’t take, I’m on Asprin so wonder if I should be more cautious. Like you anti inflammatory meds are a no no, as I had an Abdominal anyrseum repaired by graft in 2021, so I too struggle in controlling the pain.
Good luck to you, and if you get relief anywhere let me know 
Regards
D
Hi @janeym68
You have my sympathy .- truly and well done for persisting with treatment and trying to keep moving.
Yes I agree Turmeric is not an option but I think Magnesium would be ok - I take it for migraine prevention and it’s helpful for joints / muscles and stress. I understand that you can’t take ibuprofen or Diclofenac orally but they might be happy for you to apply the gel directly into your skin over the affected joints - it doesn’t work as well as the tablets but it has helped me in the past and it was my Physio who said that people who can’t have it orally can often use the gel. I also had some benefit from a CBD balm and a friend who has a lot of joint pain has found some benefit from CBD drops . Someone on a similar thread has had good results from taking co- enzyme Q10. The stick on heat patches helped a lot when I had a neck / shoulder injury in 2022 and a lower back problem this year .
I had a Holistic Needs Assessment with my BCN and gave them a list of supplements and my meds and she liased with a Pharmacist on their team to feed back what I could take so perhaps you could do something similar.
I don’t know if you’ve considered acupuncture which has helped some people and can sometimes be available free if charge via the cancer services at your local hospital .
With love xx
Hi PHBF64
Im sorry that you’re going through the same, the past few nights I’ve struggled to get comfortable and sleep which is a new thing, l’m not sure why?
Re the blood thinner l take Clopidogrel, so any supplement that also thin blood like tumeric are a no go unfortunately.
Im going to try the rubs and although l hate tea l can drink herbal tea so will give that a go. I don’t like dairy so already it’s not in my diet.
I know l need the medication, but can’t wait for the day l wake up and nothing aches or hurts. Sending you love, 
Hi JoanneN
Thank you for this, l’ll try anything so will give the Q10 a go and look into the CBD oil.
I can’t believe that such a tiny tablet can make everything ache so much, a small price to pay though to keep me here with my family.
Im trying to live life as before which l realise after 2 surgeries and radiotherapy is hard to do, my husband is a great support and is constantly telling me to slow down, l just don’t want this to beat me
Thank you for your advice, sending hugs xx
Hi janeym68
I’m sorry you’re not one of the lucky ones who tolerate these drugs well.
It’s great to see what a caring community we have here with all the useful tips, but are you certain stopping hormone therapy is not an option?
I had 2 cancers simultaneously, one in each breast (ILC 11mm - grade 2, ER8, PR8 HER2 neg, the other - 20mm of a less aggressive type but also ER and PR positive, so overall strongly hormone receptive). I chose to have a double mastectomy without reconstruction. I delayed starting Anastrozole for 5 months out of fear of the common side effects AND the ‘rare but possible’ life-changing risks. (See NICE’s drug information re this.)
Eventually, I decided to try. 10 months on and I was in the same state as you. That’s when I decided to decline ALL hormone therapy (because regardless of the drug or brand, they all suppress or render oestrogen impotent … and that’s what does the damage, because oestrogen is responsible for keeping the body functioning well in all sorts of ways). I wasn’t me anymore. Miserable, almost immobile with the pain most of the time, very stiff and painful hands, very poor sleep, ratty. I decided that for the ‘very small reduction of risk of dying of cancer’ it might have, it wasn’t worth the poor quality of life.
All I can hope is that I wouldn’t have been one of the few whose life it would have saved; that I won’t get a recurrence or secondary cancer anyway - drugs or no drugs. I DO know it’s a relief to live properly again; to not spend my days and nights trying to manage all sorts of issues with more drugs or alternative therapies.
The choice about how to move forward after cancer IS yours. Oncologists sing from the same songsheet to deliver a standard approach; they are trained to issue the same advice. Their business is drugs. All I would suggest is read more posts on the subject (see the thread “Choosing cancer risk over medication risks” - there are plenty of others who’ve come to the same conclusion as me and some who got angry with me 
), have the conversation again, reconsider. You might make a different decision … or the same one again.
You always have a choice; it’s only you who needs to live with it. 
Hello!
I am in the same situation and my doctor prescribed me SAMe 200. I understand is a suppliment but I have not taken yet, so I can not say if it works or not.
I’m in the same situation! I’ve been on Anastrazole now for about an year. Last few months have been rough because of the pains and aches. I just got back from an orthopaedic appointment following an MRI. Annoyingly, all I was told was that I have osteopenia and have to manage with painkillers.
After the completion of my active treatments, I was advised by my oncologist to go on biphosphonates which I had turned down due to the fear of side effects, mainly osteonecrosis of the jaw. But now I’m thinking I should.
It’s all so frustrating. Even though I’m being strong and positive mentally, I feel quite low physically.
I see that a few of you take turmeric supplements. How does that help?
I hope we all find some relief soon!
I currently take letrozole and have minor joint pain. I do Pilates which is easier on the joints.
I also take
Supersmart - 99% Pea Supplement 1200 mg per Day (Patented) - OptiPEA PalmitoylEthanolAmide | Non-GMO & Gluten Free - 60 Vegetarian Capsules
Read about it on a neuropathy thread and then read the European studies. You take 2 a day for 30 days and then once a day. It really helps and even my husband takes it for his aches and pains. I notice a difference if I don’t take it.
Hi again @janeym68
I read on another thread that someone has been taking tart cherry extract - and I think I’ve seen it on a thread quite some time ago as well. It seems it’s not without side effects but I found a study that seems to think it has benefit for Letrozole induced joint pain.