Hello, new member here.
I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma in Mar of 2020; age 54. HR+ Pghg+ HER2-. I was on HRT (hormone replacement therapy) previously for about 4 years. I quit HRT cold turkey upon results which was a horrible experience in itself. I was on birth control for most of my adult life prior to HRT. I was stage 1B, which I don’t really understand cuz there was no spread to my lymph nodes; I should be stage 1A IMO. I had two lumpectomies in my left breast. One was benign. I had the tumour tested which came back only 3% effective to have chemo, so didn’t need that. Did 16 sessions of radiation. I am told with HT (hormone therapy) I have 3% chance of it returning and 10% chance without HT. Does 7% warrant all the side effects (some cause permanent damage not just side effects)?
I did Tamoxifen for 1.25 years and the biggest side effect was mood swings. I was angry extremely easily. Zero patience, flipped out over nothing. Crying, couldn’t sleep. Felt pressure in legs, leg cramps, I took a break for about 3 months, felt so much better. Was put on Anastrozole as I am post menopause; age 56 now. It’s even worse. Can’t sleep, tired, no energy, liver enzymes increasing, cholesterol increasing, bone pain increasing, hand is tingly and numb, not happy, lose train of thoughts in middle of sentence, still freak out but trying to control it, edema, incontinence starting. Over all feel like I’m aging rapidly.
So now I’m thinking is the 7% worth it? Being I’m not feeding estrogen and progesterone into my body; I’m actually producing trace amounts. And I had clear margins and no lymph node spread. I feel like I got into this situation from the HRT, which is done, shouldn’t I be fine now? Also being I had a benign cysts… Wouldn’t it have been cancerous if I was that bad?
Also something else to consider, I had a very bad mammogram 4 years prior to my diagnosis. Immediately following the mammogram I had bad pain and when I got home I had secretions on my left breast. It took 10 months to heal from this. I feel like a duct was popped in the process. Couldn’t this have caused a foreign object for my HRT to attach to and grow? No one seems to have experienced this. Maybe BC has increased so much due to this stupid method of testing?!
Today I am about 8 days into stopping Anastrozole. (on it for 3 months) I feel better mood-wise but do not feel myself yet. Still stiff, achy and tingly. More time required. This medication goes deep in a short period of time. I just can’t imagine 3 more years of this!
I am scared to stop but also question if it is really necessary in my case? I may die of liver disease or a heart attack first if I keep going… Or break in half…
Anyone else out there like me?
Thank you for your time in responding.