I picked up my prescription today, lucky me got 2 months supply instead of the one month some of you are issued…my question is when is the best time to start them, I remember the onc saying towards the end of rads, I have 11 more sessions to do…when did any of you ladies start on yours??
Hiya and good for you getting 2 months supply,I hope it suits you because thats why they usually only give one month cos theyre destroyed if youre taken off them. I was started on Femara the same week as rads started and I felt pretty dreadful and didnt know what to blame,it was a lot to put up with,rads,new drugs,travelling just 5 weeks after surgery & chemo. Get advice from your BCN cos your GP wont have the foggiest,and good luck,I hope you don`t get any side effects.
Love & best wishes Mags x
I started on Femara soon after my WLE & before I had started rads. Not had much in the way of side effects other than a bit of joint pain so pretty lucky. Can never get more than a month at a time so well done getting two. Hope it goes ok
Pam T
Hi Tally, I start Arimidex tomorrow which will be exactly a month after my last chemo and session 2 of my rads.
Is your comment about getting 2 months supply to do with the prescription costs? If it is, did you know you can get a prescription exemption card (application form from your GPs surgery)if youre being treated for cancer - its saving me a fortune!
Well I took the plunge and started on the arimidex this evening… 1 down 1824, give or take a leap year to go.
Edited to add it wasn’t because of the cost I mentioned getting two months, it was because lots of ladies are having to reorder every month and it’s a pain in the backside, guess I’m one of the “lucky” ones, if there is such a thing.
Tally,
in our area we have to start them as we start rads because they take about 3 weeks to start protecting you and that leaves no unprotected gap between the chemo, rads and then hormones. We have 3 weeks between each part of out treatment and they count it out. So I would say starting to pop them now is a great idea. Hope they don’t cause you too much grief with side effects. Life may be about to get warmer
Take care and lots of luck
Lily x
I started hormone therapy during the 2nd week of my rads and have now been on Arimidex for 14 months.
I have a large number of flushes - particularly at night and the existing joint pain in my shoulders from arthritis is a lot worse. My hair has never grown properly since chemotherapy and I am advised that there’s little hope of it recovering whilst I’m on Arimidex. Apart from that - I’m fine! It’s a wonderful little drug!
…and another thing: my GP refuses to allow me more than one month’s supply at a time- says it’s all to down to the local PCT rules
But many people on the forums seem able to get 2 months’ supply at a time - so why the inconsistency?
You must ask for 2 months at a time - recently I asked my GP for a post dated prescription saying I was going away at renewal time and he gave it to me!!
hi everyone, i was given a prescription for 3 months, aren’t i the lucky one. i was given the prescription at diagnosis and told to start taking it then. I had a WLE and stage 3 node clearance 11 days ago. I had a hysterectomy when i was 28, one ovary was left but never worked, so was on HRT patches for 14 years, came off of HRT when i was 42, because of the family breast cancers, and i still got bc three years later. typical.
The hot flushes are a nightmare, but i have taken clonidine 3 twice a day for the past few months which help a little
Sandrae x
Hi I have been on Arimidex for 7 weeks now starting rads this thursday 13 over 5 weeks! mmm yes a bit different I will have 2 a week then 3 a week.If anyone else has this I would love to know how they got on. since taking Arimidex my shoulders are very crackly and painful but quite doable but only as I’m still not back at work so I hope the side effects calm down as I would like to go back to work after rads but worried about the flights of stairs as my arthritis has worsened bit worried about thurs but after the first one I think I will feel better about it.
best wishes Linda
Reply for Rockinghorse
I have been on arimidex for nearly five months now, and I was interested to hear that you were finding your shoulders painful. I have found the same; they are very stiff and sore; other joints are creaky too, but the shoulders remain the worst. A friend who was also on arimidex, also experiencing a lot of joint stiffness and pain, has been put on to femera instead, and is finding the stiffness has disappeared. I have asked my GP to contact my oncologist about this; I want to make an informed decision, based on the effectiveness of arimidex versus femera or other aromatose inhibitors. Just thought you might be interested, as I was, to discover that not all had same effect on people; Femera claims the same sort of possible side effects but in the case of my friend, it is working for her. Also two people I have met say it does get better- for onr after a short while, for onother as much as a year. Hope this is helpful or encouraging to you, as I know I have felt pretty discouraged by how it makes me feel. Erin
Erin I have been on Arimidex for 18 months and the aching joints etc have subsided in my case - although I do shuffle about like a old crone when I first get out of bed. My main SE has been fatigue which is unpredictable and very debilitating.
If you stick with it hopefully the joint pain will diminish, as it did in my case.