Has anyone else suffered from prolonged diarrhea when taking aromasin?
My oncologist switched me from Tomoxifen to Exemestane in the hopes my SE’s would dissipate. Unfortunately, the joint/muscle pain has now worsened. It’s been about 4 months since on this drug and I had no idea just how bad pain could be - every morning upon waking, I’m reminded. Although I can at least stand upright after 40 minutes or so after getting up and moving, this drug causes every joint in my body to scream at me in the morning. I have to flex fingers continuously, move my wrists, elbows, legs, ankles… now my hips have started aching. Having had my diagnosis in 02/2017 of Stage IV breast CA that’s HER2+ as well as ER+, which metastasized throughout my bones, I should be grateful to be alive today. The SE’s from chemo/radiation were bad enough but those are the new normal, and I’m alive, right? This pain from AI’s is where the question comes in as to how to weigh the price of sacrificing quality of life versus the risk of not taking this drug. Pain management thus far has not proven to be of much help - he added Remeron to my regimen of pain killers to help me sleep as he thinks better sleep will at least improve my outlook. He reduced my morphine which is fine as narcotics only constipate me, they do not help with joint, muscle and bone pain. Oncologist stated he wants me on 800mgs of NSAIDS 3x daily (I have IBD, yeah)…
Anyway, 20 months post diagnosis, I feel like I’ve one foot in the grave, but put a sock in my mouth so I don’t whine to my SO and family. The question remains as to how I weigh this decision and if I can’t stand it any longer, will my daughter and family understand why I must take a gamble. Thank you for reading my rant! I’ve never posted in a forum but know getting things off my chest (absolutely no pun intended), does help me at times.