Don’t post much these days but wondered if you could help me with a query.
I took Tamoxifen for 3 years and asked about being switched to Aromasin after reading of the study results. After much discussion Drs agreed and after a bone density scan, which was ok, started on Aromasin in June last year.
I was warned about aches and pains and over the last couple of months I have been getting a lot of stiffness in all my joints, including fingers, and stiff muscles.
What I wanted to ask was do the aches and pains go after stopping the Aromasin or is it something you have to live with? I dont really want to stop taking it unless I have to as the trial results were very encouraging.
I am on Arimidex which is Aromasin I think?
My middle fingers on both hands are really sore and stiff especially on waking. Have been told to take glucosamine which I am already.
Have also been told its a common side effect and that it may get better with time.
My ankles are stiff on waking too - almost arthritic - ?
Any hints/tips on making these symptoms better would be really appreciated…
(However I am not moaning as I am pleased to be in remission whilst on this drug).
Just to let you know that Arimidex is an aromatase inhibitor which is a group of drugs used to treat breast cancer in post menopausal women, as is Aromasin, here’s a link to the BCC factsheet for Arimidex for your information:
I changed from Tamoxifen to Aromasin in August. In October I developed really sore wrists and thumbs. I am now wearing wrist supports every day and splints to sleep in. I am waiting to have a nerve conductivity test to check for carpal tunnel. No-one seems to have linked it with Aromasin, although I did mention that it was a side effect according to the drug information leaflet. I would be reluctant to change but i don’t relish wearing the wrist supports for the next 3 years. What with my very fetching compression sleeve, I could do without it!
Kelley
Ouch - that sounds really sore, especially if you need them for sleeping as well. I am not sure what to do about my fingers being sore - apart from ibuprofen - and also which doctor my oncologist should refer me to…
I have just been referred by my bc surgeon, to a professor of Endocrinology - see him 25th Feb. I have been on Arimidex for 4 yrs (tamoxifen for 2 months prior) which my surgeon wants me to continue as I had lymph node spread (4/18). However, I have concurrent Crohn’s and the use of steroids for 30+ yrs has depleted my bone density. A DEXA scan done recently showed significant more bone loss since starting Arimidex, (I had already had a DEXA scan before dx of bc, which showed some loss, but no meds were prescribed). After the last one I was prescribed the bisphosphonate Alendronic Acid weekly, plus daily Calcichew/Vit. tablets, to try and rebuild the bones. I am osteopenic (stage before osteoporosis) and had two fractures in both feet last summer, so surgeon is concerned about further bone depletion and fractures. I had a bone scan (not the DEXA) which showed arthritis in both hips,hands and feet. My fingers, particularly the middle ones, look bent and quite deformed now. The pain in my wrists and thumbs is pretty bad, but I take one codeine phosphate in the morning and this does help.
I was surprised I was being referred to an Endocrinologist, I thought it would be a rheumatologist, but the surgeon said this Professor has a particular interest in the side effects of Armidex viz. bone loss/fractures etc. It will be interesting to see what he has to say.
Am assured by my onc that the aches and pains of Arimidex do disappear when you finally stop the drug and from what I read they can lessen as the months go by - my flushes have certainly got less but every time I say that they come back with a vengeance!!. Funnily enough my muscle aches have got worse after 9 months. In the meantime I find yoga and exercise help me to keep relatively supple. Early morning stiffness usually wears off after walking down a couple of flights of stairs. A hot bath also helps. Took Glucosamine for several years but now I have stopped I do not notice any difference. My orthopaedic surgeon said he would never take it!