Hi, I’ve been taking Arimidex for 3 weeks. I saw my breast care nurse recently who said it was too early to know what SE I would get. I’m due to see well being at work before returning to my teaching job and would like to know whether to expect joint pains to be a problem in the morning. W@W are supposed to suggest ways to make it easier to return. I would like to know at what stage oother people SEs became noticeable.
From memory, about three weeks. I switched from taking at night to the morning as the bone aches and stiffness kept me awake. Since I’ve been taking glucosamate & chondroitin (2 tabs a day) the bone aches /stiffness have almost disappeared - only occur if I sit at my desk for more than an hour without moving. I now take the tab at night again.
good luck
Hi Lily
I’m taking Femara (which is similar). Some side effects started within a couple of weeks, but the fatigue/muscle aches got worse after about 3 weeks. It’s not better, but manageable if I pace myself. I am not working as I am a teacher and could not cope at the moment. If I had a less stressful and less tiring job it may have been different.
So my advice is to take it steady and perhaps give it a bit more time.
Julie
Hi Lily
I started taking Arimidex in November 2007 and have had no problem whatsoever. Take heart. Not everyone gets the side effects.
Take care
Dilys
xxxxx
My only side effects has been:-
i) hot flushes - these started within a couple of weeks and have not abated- I’m 2 years on.
ii) thin hair: my hair failed to grow properly after FEC and I have been advised by my Onc that there’s unlikely to be any improvement in this (if ever) until I stop taking Arimidex because of the oestrogen suppression.
I understand that this is a fairly unusual side effect- maybe others have experienced it but no-one mentions it on the forums.
I have joint pains but I know these are due to arthritis- I haven’t had pains in my hands or feet or experienced lassitude or any other symptom - so take heart: hot flushes are horrible - especially at night but we have to believe Arimidex is worth it. .
I have been taken Arimidex since beginning of August 2010, I have hot flash in the evening, my both arms and hands (bones) are very painful, which started one and half months after taken Arimidex. Sometimes I feel heart ache passed from my arms. I can not sleep very well in the night due to my painful arms. I have been taken Calcium with VD3 and glucosamate & chondroitin tablets, and my arms-pain has not got better, but not worse either. My Oncologist said sometimes the pain would settle after several months of taking Arimidex.
Don’t know if any of this will be helpful, but here goes. I started on Arimidex in December 2008 and I have had some of the achey joint thing - I had some odd pains at the top of one leg, and my ankles are still stiff when I get out of bed in the morning. However, the hot flushes have become pretty minimal over time and generally I feel absolutely fine. I was a bit concerned about hair thinning but that hasn’t happened and anyway I have decided to keep my hair short so it would notice less anyway. I had some acupuncture for the leg pain which helped enormously and I go to the gym a couple of times of week because I have a bit of ostepaenia. Taking the Arimidex every day makes me feel I am doing something positive to keep the cancer from returning.
Good luck everyone who is starting this treatment, hope it works out for you too.
Thanks to everyone for their comments. I am a teacher too which is why I’m trying to anticipate how I’ll feel as you can’t take it easy when teaching little ones. Fingers crossed that SEs will be OK.