Hello there
Has anyone out there who is taking Anastrozole tablets had any side effects. Some nights I find it very difficult to sleep and wake up in a sweat. I wondered if this is hot flushes I’m experiencing or something else?
Hamlet
X
I’ve been on Anastrozole for eight months, sorry to say the sleep thing does seem to be a side effect.Quite a serious one when it goes on . The only tip I can give to get you through is to suggest headphones and a radio / CD player . radio 4 / World radio gets me through the night and early morning. I emphasis headphones because the ear thingys tend to push in when you lay on them and it hurts.
The night sweats have marginally improved since I have started to take it in the afternoon rather than night, but still get them .
Pure cotton sheets ( they cool down quickly) and fling your windows open. I keep a fan by my bed for emergencies. When the weather girls say it’s going to freeze at night I’ll be the one jumping up and down with glee. Freezing bring it on.
Not wishing to put ideas into your head but joint pain is another issue but lets face it its a small price to pay. But all this is so individual someone is bound to join this chat and say they are sailing through hey ho just us two then!! Good luck and hang in there.
I’m hoping it suits me better than letrozole…I’ve just been prescribed Anastrozole today! I’ve just taken the first tablet. I was hoping the side effects wouldn’t be as nasty…here’s hoping!
I’ve been on it for 3.5 yrs and have side effects like yours and in the earlier months I also had very stiff and achy joints although that seems to have reduced a lot recently. My mum was on it for about 8 yrs and then moved to exemestane which she is still taking. She didn’t have as many side effects as me - I am obviously being greedy.
Hope you get on ok with it and it works, cos that’s the main thing!
Liz
I had similar reaction to letrozole and changed to anastrozole which suits me better - apparently we all react differently to these drugs.
Several things I found helpful with the night sweats -
- junked the memory foam mattress cos they hold the heat and reflect it back to your body
- put 2 very thin duvets on the bed so I can throw off one if I get too hot
- keep a Chillow under my pillow to put under my face when I get too hot - brilliant. Just google Chillow, they really do work.
Hope these tips may help - all the best.
Hi there ladies
Thanks for the replies. Glad I’m not the only one suffering, think I’ll look into buying a Chillow, sounds as though could help. Early days yet, hope doesn’t have too many side effects but if the anastrozole is a better one for me it will be worth some suffering!
Hamlet
Another chillow fan here. You can get larger ones or travel size and I now have both - not cheap but worth every penny.
Just been on Amazon site ready to order a Chillow pillow but have been put off by some of the reviews - have any of you experienced - heating up after three hours - splitting - smell - mishaping - only its alot to pay out if it is a problem. One lady made her own for a few pounds . Visited a camping shop bought a camping blow up pillow , a funnel and filled it up with water and cooled it in the fridge. But I bet it smelt very rubbery!!
About Chillows:
you need to read the info carefully to get best use out of them, and we all know that reading the Manual is easy to omit…
Anyhow, I have made slipcovers for mine, from pillowcases, so I can wash them regularly as required, and the cotton feels nicer than plastic-y stuff.
They are not meant to keep you cool all night, just lie your face on it when you are too hot, then put it to one side to activate again ready for the next flush.
And you can put it in the fridge before bedtime if you want it to be REALLY cold.
Never had a splitting problem, just have to keep the dogs claws off it when we go camping, but they soon learnt that they get shouted at if they try to sit on it. They don’t like cold things anyhow.
Yes they do get a bit misshapen if you have one of those twisting and turning nights, but just smooth it out on top of the bed when you get up, and it restores itself for the next night. Sometimes it cos it needs abit more water in it.
The homemade version sounds worth a try, altho I think it might be like a water-bed, rather squishy.
They are a bit pricey - £25/£30 - so I bought mine, plus a little one for when I go visiting/in the sitting room, as a pressie to mummy from the doggies!!! Usually they buy perfume. Sorry to be a bit sentimental…
Good luck, and hope the night-time problems come under control.
Hi Hamlet and all - Really dont know if it’s a side effect of ‘stuff’ but do get bouts of complete wearyness - completely shattered with a capital K . Feel abit cheated cos these usually folllow the nights when I actually manage to have a reasonable nights sleep.Its as though my system cant cope.Today is such a day - just as if I’d been parting all night …as if! ha moan over - just wondered if anyone else gets it.
Thanks Grumpy ( sure your not) will bare advice in mind.
Hi all
Look at your leaflet that came with your tablets - I think you will find it says about lethargy and tiredness. And of course the emotional journey we go on is massively exhausting.
One thing I realised is that when I’ve had good i.e. active days, and feel like I’m getting back to a normal life, I suddenly bomb out and spend a day in pj’s being a blob. It’s easy when you are a (mature - 64) singleton cos you don’t have to take anyone else into account!!!
No I’m not really grumpy - how can I be with 2 little feisty but elderly Jack Russells in my life! They are such a tonic when I get the mopes, a good walk (we live in the lake district) soon cheers me up!
Take care
grumpy
Hello Everyone
Sounds like the days I have. Some days I really feel like going out as before “normal” window shopping doing errands, other days feel like shuffling along in my pink marshmallow dressing gown, as I did in hospital! I’m going to be checked on how I’m coping with Anastrozole in May, writing down any symptoms so I can tell my doctor. If people saw me outside they would think nothing had happened to me, only hurry up you look alright, walk faster! My husband says let them wait.
Got forms to complete today, you know those ones where you have to ask for extra cash to help with everyday things from the authorities, they seem more like a book! Oh well, better get on with my day… sorry afternoon, still in nighty got up late today…
Hamlet
Hi Hamlet,
Been on Anastrozole for a month now - and my internal thermostat is well and truly b*****ed! One minute Im freezing cold, next minute Im so hot I cant even bear clothes on me. And nightimes are the worst. Hot sweats and insomnia.
As has been said - a pair of headphones and Radio 4 has been my saviour. The other thing I have with me at all times is a can of Magicool. They sell it on Amazon - but they might start selling it in the shops as the weather gets warmer. Its like a cold shower in a can - and it has really helped me.
I would send you a hug - but that might spark off a sweat! Thinking of you anyway
kaj
Ah yes, the Magicool spray. That was my saviour at night when I had my 1st menopause after primary BC! I had Zoladex to switch off my ovaries for two years at the age of 41 and did suffer a lot with all the menopausal symptoms. I now have had my second menopause with secondaries, but it’s nothing as bad as the first time round. You can get Magicool in Boots, don’t get their own version as it doesn’t have the magic ingredient that cools you down so much, theirs is just water spray, or was when I last looked.
Nicky x
Have been on it for only 2 weeks. Been feeling low -which is unlike me. As I am61 and have been through the menapause already have some vaginal dryness. Taking replense which helps a bit.Worried that my symptoms will get worse as it is a side effect.Worry about aging and hair thinning. Not much written about aging side effects! So far not too bad but wonder why tamoxifen is not more commonly prescribed as less side effects. A1s slightly more effective but overall survival rate is similar.
I was on tamoxifen, but was switched to anastrozole due to getting a blood clot in my jugular, across chest and down my bad arm, so I guess there are side effects whatever you do.
The sweating at night is bad enough, but I couldn’t get dressed for work yesterday, so I was late. I’d showered and then came out in a sweat and couldn’t bear to put my work clothes on until it passed. A 20 minute delay meant I missed the train. It does seem to get worse if I’ve drunk too much tea/coffee.
Annie
Hi all
Oh it’s horrible isn’t it. But it can improve over time - I’ve been on Anastrozole for 2 years now, and it’s definitely got better. I still throw the covers off several times a night, and put cardigans on and off and on and…
My oncologist suggested sage which I used for quite a while - I used drops/tincture but you can get tablet form too. It helped a lot, and I stopped taking it, but think I need to go back on it cos my thermostat hasn’t been working well lately.
River x
Hello again
Went to the local shopping high street today, thought I’d better get some exercise. Didn’t last long before I felt as though I wanted to sit down, my back started aching and legs. Then on top of that, a hot flush came over my head! Needless to say it was just dying to get back home and because I walk slow I also missed the building society. Have to try again. One consulation did manage to buy some lovely hair colour as I felt I needed cheering up and looked drained from all hospital visits,dressing changes etc. etc…Have to wait to May to check if Anastrozole is working for me.
Hamlet
X
I echo the comments above about the effect of AIs on the body’s thermostat.
I am another big fan of the Chillow. If all the air is expelled properly when filling it for time (as per the instructions) there shouldn’t be any problem with getting it back into shape if you do have restless night. What on earth do those reviewers on Amazon do with it to make it split? I dread to think, lol. I put mine in a pillow case and keep it alongside me in bed and roll onto it if I get a night sweat. Works for me.
I also have days when I feel absolutely cream crackered the best way for me to describe it is as if I’m running on a flat battery. I want and need to go shopping but my body just doesn’t want to do it. I walk into a shop and my heart sinks because I haven’t the energy to walk round never mind push a trolley. I just want to sit down at the end of every isle…if I have to stand in a cue I want to cry! I t bought this would get better after Chemo it hasn’t in fact it’s worse. I am having Herceptin and was on Letrozole until I found I could hardly walk with pain in my joints, excessive weight gain so was changed to Anastrozole two weeks ago… The joint pain is not as bad but the lethargic ness , hot flushes, sleepless nights are a problem. I burst out crying last weeks because my husband couldn’t park the car nearer to our local Asda and the thought of walking an extra 25 yards was just to much …how sads that this time last year I was doing an hour at the gym every day, a Zumba class twice a week, and at least an hour or two dog walking a day, holding down a job and being a mother of two…look at me now … A shadow of my former self!
I can hardly manage a small walk to the top of our estate without being breathless and shattered.
Aramis x