Sorry forgot to mention I am on Aromasin.
Hello Jan
Sorry for delay posting.
(I’ve been very busy throwing out the dangerous flooring which I tripped over when I broke my arm !)
Yes thank you, my appointment was encouraging. The arm is by no means fully healed but it’s going OK and I’ve been referred for physio. Have my first appointment next week. I can now type with two hands again !
How did you get on with your GP Jan ?
Anthi x
Hello wendiewoo
I had painful joints with Aromasin, but stayed on it and that side effect eventually went away completely. I have to say though that in my case the pain wasn’t bad enough to stop me exercising.
Take care
Anthi x
Hi Anthi
Good news about your arm. I’m pleased you’re gradually getting bak to normal.
I went to see my GP and told him about the probs with generic exemestane. He says that if I have a problem with the Teva then he will make a case for me going back on to Aromasin. Apparently the NHS says that they must prescribe the generic form of drugs, but if there is a proven problem the doc can request the branded form.
My hip and lower back has been very achey the last 2 days, I started the Teva exemestane on Friday. I have to go back to see the doc in a month.
The complication is that he gave me Citalopram for depression last October and I’ve been having really bad headaches and migraine which are getting worse. Also my blood pressure is up which is very unusual for me, it’s usually the other way. Anyway I’m coming off Citalopram and, when I go back in a month, reporting if my headaches have improved and he will check my blood pressure. he says it isn;t the Citalopram causing these probs and I say it is. Pity I didn’t have a tenner on it because I’m sure it is!!! What a performance.
wendiewoo
I had very stiff, achey joints when I first started Aromasin, it was probably almost 6 months before it went away and then I was fine. I found that swimming and gentle exercise helped quite a bit.
Love Jan xxx
Hello Jan
What a palaver with your GP. Out of interest, I’ve just looked up Citalopram, and it says in the possible side effects section
‘Headaches - very common side effect, migraines - common side effect and hypertension common side effect’. I think you may be right, but why does your GP not just look it up before insisting the Citalopram isn’t the cause of your headaches and raised blood pressure ?
Anyway, I hope you manage OK when you come off it. Has your depression gone away now? I hope so.
Take care
Anthi x
Hi Anthi
Yes it is a bit of a performance. The reason he gave for those not being SE’s is that the ones listed on the information leaflet are things that people who are taking the medication have reported. He says that headaches, migraine and high blood pressure are symptoms of depression anyway and that he has never had a patient who has had those reactions to Citalopram. Anyway we agreed that I should come off them for a month and see what happens.
I took my last one on Thursday, woke up in the night with severe headache which lasted all day Friday (which is the pattern while I’ve been on Citalopram) and I’ve been Ok since then and I am actually under a lot of stress at present so I would have thought that my migraine would have been worse.
I feel OK but I didn’t consider that I was depressed before, it was my GP who said I was and to be fair he was right.
How are you with your arm. Are you managing to use it a bit more. It’s been a long job you must be pleased to be getting back to something like normal. Hope your physio appointment goes OK.
J xxx
Hello all,
I have to say that 15 months after starting Aomasin/exemestane I still get joint pain and stiffness but it isn’t too bad once I’ve got moving and provided I don’t sit for too long without getting up, wriggling my fingers and rotating my ankles.
I’ve just picked up a new bag of meds from my pharmacy (I use the local Tesco). The alendronic acid and the quinine are different brands from the usual ones they give and the exemestane is back to being Aromasin!
Eliza xx
Hi
Haven’t been on here for a while. Huge upheaval in my life in that I’ve left my husband after 31 years of marriage. I’ve had my name on the council list for 3 years and it suddenly happened in the flash.
Now I’m settled in a flat, a lovely flat which is so much better than I ever thought I’d have. It will take some time to get used to the new me but I’m getting there gradually. Loads to sort out in the flat but I’m enjoying doing it. I’ve been off line for a while but I now have one of these new fangled netbook/laptop thingies and I love it.
Anthi - I’ve been thinking of you and wondering how your arm is. I hope you are OK.
I seem to get a different brand of generic exemestane every month but fingers crossed I seem to be OK. TEVA seems to give me stiff joints for 24 hours and then it wears off.
Anyway I hope you are all keeping well.
Love
Jan xxx
hi Jan,
Sorry to hear your news, but hopefully you can settle now. i am still being lucky that i am still getting aromasin, but now i am begining to really wobble because i am due to finish it in july and am not sure what to do… doctor said it is not up to them but onc as they cannot give it after them, i keep reading that it is better if you do a bit longer than 5 years would love to hear what others think or have found out… (the fear of not having it is outwaying the side effects ) hope your arm is mending well Anthi.
love to all
Annie
Jan - glad to read that you are OK. Well done for leaving your husband. It must feel very strange after 31 years but I hope you will settle down quickly and really enjoy your lovely flat.
I’m doing fine thank you. I’m still having physio and doing exercises and the arm is still painful, but seems to get a little better every day. I started driving again a few weeks ago. That’s painful too, but it’s lovely to be independent again.
Annie - I understand your wobble very well. I’m also due to finish Aromasin in July. You say ‘a bit longer than 5 years’. - what does that mean exactly? I think there was a thread somewhere on here about staying on AIs for longer than 5 years but I looked for it earlier and couldn’t find it. I would love to know more about this.
Oh yes - just found it. It’s headed ‘Exemestane’.
Take care everyone. Anthi x
Hi
Lovely to hear from you Anthi. It’s good you’re driving again but not so good that you are still having pain.
At the end of the day it wasn’t such a huge decision to leave my husband. I’d had my name on the council housing list for 3 years without any luck but a housing association flat came up, brand new and lovely. I was offered it and the decision was whether I wanted to stay how I was or leave and make a new life for myself away from all the stress and unpleasantness I’d had for so long. I’m still adjusting and it feels very strange at the moment and I love it. My friends, who were so good when I was diagnosed with BC, came up trumps again and have been so aupportive. I’m very lucky.
Annie - I finish my 5 years on medication in September and although it will be good not to have to take it every day I’m feeling I bit apprehensive about losing my safety net. I can’t remember whether it was on here or in the newspaper I read that some oncs are recommending that patients take AI’s for another two and a half years. I’m not sure if I want to do that either!!! I’ll have to wait and see what my onc says.
Love
Jan x x