Just to let you know i met a lady on holiday in Lanzarote last year who was also on Arimidex, when i told her i was really suffering she looked at me in amazement, apparently she only had a bit of pain in her big foot! No sweats, no flushes, no bone aches and she was doing wonderfully on it. So i guess it is different for all of us. My cousin was on Tamoxifen for 5 years and never had a sweat or flush in all that time, it was no different to her than taking an asprin.
You may well be like the lady in Lanzarote and my cousin and have no problems at all, i certainly hope so. I posted earlier on this thread that 11 months on from starting my Arimidex i am coping very well with the sweats, yes they come when i don’t want them but they have decreased in severity and amount i have, I was told by my pharmacist that it would get better and she was right.
I have been on arimidex for 2 and a half years…was on tamoxifen for the first 6 months… i had awful side affects on tamoxifen, so had to come off it, i have the normal aches daily and night sweats, never have a full night’s sleep…but now my blood sugar level has gone up and stayed up… since being on arimidex, my diabetes was quite well controlled until i went on to arimidex…my doctor is wondering if it is connected to the arimidex, so will find out after another four weeks, another blood test then… anyone else had this problem…
Many thanks
Caroline
Thanks for your message and the tip about the pessaries. I will speak to my bc nurse.
Shame you are in North Yorkshire. I used to get up to Leeds on business quite a bit but not travelling there at the moment, too far to drive. I will get back there again though at some stage in the future.
Your explanation on getting out of the car was very familiar. I get the same when I have been sitting at my desk in the office for a while. I get some strange looks in the office sometimes if anyone is around who doesn’t know what is wrong with me. Everyone else has just got used to me hobbling around.
Hello Caroline,
I do think my diabetes has become worse more quickly since I have been on Arimadex.
Yes, I do know diabetes is a progressive disease but in the 12 months since I started Arimadex my control of sugar levels has been erratic for no apparent reason. My diet and exercise levels are much the same now as before BC was diagnosed.
After I started Arimadex I had stiffness of joints, aching joints, nausea and poor sleep patterns.
The nausea lasted for about 3 months and the aching and stiffness has eased considerably in the last 3 months but my sleep patterns still remain poor. I wake about 3 hours after going to sleep then find I can only doze in spells for the rest of the night.
Plus I have had extra concerns because of a lump appearing 6 months ago at the end of the mastectomy scar (not cancer thank goodness)
I have to see my diabetic nurse this week who has been involved with my diabetic control before and since my diagnosis to discuss future control. I had to have an extra fasting blood test done 3 months ago as I was concerned and I have still found it difficult to keep my sugar levels under control.
I am sure part of the reason is the stress of the Arimadex.
Hi All
I couldn’t believe this thread when I read it!!
I have been on Arimidex since May 06 and most of the above apply to me. I have joint pain plus,plus poor sleep pattern and awake most nights every one to two hours. I saw the onc on the 10th of this month my fourth one since all this started??!! anyway she was lovely and said I could change treatment but I decided better the devil I know.
My eyes have been a bit blurry at times as well but just put it down to not wearing my glasses often enough now not so sure.
Sweats not too bad but do get tightness and heaviness in affected side again put it down to lymph drainage and this also seems to be worse when I am tired. Come home from work and fall asleep without even trying cup of coffee in hand!!
Suzieb
Suzieb - do you mean the symptoms are just as bad after 2 and a half years? dont know if I can take it! I was hoping things would improve after a while…the other thing nobody has mentioned is the belly. although I have not put very much weight at all, I now have a funny little pot belly! Maybe this is just me.
No more moaning, hope you (and everyone else) ok. Love Zoe x
You mention the belly! I have the belly! wobbles around from side to side but then i have put on nearly 2 stone since starting the Arimidex! Like i posted further up the page i suffered dreadfully when i started Arimidex with the sweats, i sweated so badly i used to have to change my clothes several times a day and carry a towel with me everywhere i went. As for nights well i never slept as i was always continually having to change my nightdress and bedding as i was soaked.
As i said before the sweats have got better, the night ones have all but stopped thank god and now i only wake 5 times a night for the loo! I have been on Chlonidine 100mg 3 x daily for about 10 months and that definitely takes the edge off the sweats, still have them but so much lighteer and also bigger periods between them, sometimes even 3 or 4 hours bliss! Don’t sweat in silence see your GP and see what he can come up with.
Help, Suzzanne or anyone else reading this…I woke this morning witha horrible sharp almost stinging pain in my armpit. Worse if I stretch it. I rang my breast cancer nurse who didnt say any of the usual ’ dont worry its very normal’ or even ‘its probably nothing but hte doctor will check’ sort of messages. I had WLE last October, and sentinel node removal. Everything has been absolutely fine since (except for arimidex symptoms) can anyone tell me if they have had this? I am seeing the specialist in 2 weeks time. Nurse told me to take pain killers and recodr daily pain patterns. She’s a really good nurse, and I feel she doesnt want to scare me…but I prefer to know the score whatever I have to face, not panicking just need to know. ANY advise or experiences really welcome. I can take bad news without collapsing in a heap. Hope to hear from someone soon, going to work at 2.45 but will check the website when I get back at 10 tonight.
Hi, I know what you mean i have also experienced this stinging in the armpit and around mastectomy site, been like it almost since day 1, have pain and swelling in the armpit all the time, take painkillers every few hours to cope with it. I always maintain that if anything is worrying you then it should be seen to whatever the problem, we have all been through enough already. When you see the specialist say you want reassuring, thats what they are paid to do as well, I used to be one who didn’t like to be a ‘nuisance’ but trust me ‘nuisances’ are taken very seriously. Why have a cloud hanging over you when you can just find out for sure and then put it to the back of your mind.
I am off to the breast unit tomorrow for my check-up, not looking forward to it one bit but will mention everything that has been worrying me and expect answers not platitudes, sometimes they treat me like i am 6!
Hallo all,
This is a great thread, has reassured me greatly. I experience the early morning time warp, leave the bed a little old lady barely able to stagger to the bathroom and somewhere along the way I gradually return to the upright sprightly person I remembered from yesterday. The effect that annoys me most is the limited amount of energy I can give to any activity. I thought it was just the result of the lethargy of the last year leaving me unfit, but now I don’t think so. Does the treatment, either Arimidex alone or combined with Herceptin (where I am at present) have some sort of effect on the production of energy in the muscles? I recently took an OU exam, 3 hours of sitting writing longhand!!! and experienced the combined side-effects - by the end my brain could not summon up and connect ideas, my arm and hand could no longer write and when I got up to leave I staggered out with my knees and hip joints still locked in a sitting position!
But at least I now have a normal looking head of hair!
Maudie
Thanks Suzzanne, just got back from work. It was difficult because lots of lifting involved. Had a litte weep to a friend, felt better. Not telling partner, he’s been through so much and has a funeral on Friday. It can wait.
Best wishes, Zoe x
I used to work pre diagnosis in a charity shop where there was a lot of lifting, big boxes of videos and DVD’s, furniture, boxes of china, well i just could not do the heavy lifting, i loved that job as an assistant manager but realised that it was not fair to me or to the charity if i could not perform the job properly so sadly had to resign, I am not advocating you do that but perhaps the job could be made a bit lighter for you. I say that as i applied for a job in my local Edinburgh Wool shop and obviously had to tell them about my mastectomy etc and they were great, said they would adapt the job to suit me! Although they had a lot of applicants they chose me! I am so happy there. Just wondering if your company could do the same for you. I don’t like the idea of you doing heavy lifting. It is a hard one isn’t it, we need the money so have to work whether we are in pain or not.
Once your partner’s funeral is done and dusted speak to him, in my experience they hate to be left out of the loop, my hubby needs to know everything and boy have i put him through hell with septicemia and another surgery in March for a hysterectomy that they could not do, four hours in theatre for one ovary in the end. He will want to share everything with you, they get quite hurt if you do not open to them and worry that there is something you are not telling them. You also need to share with him for your own good.
Thanks for kind words…I knew I would find help here, and its a while since I logged on as needful myself instead of checking for others that needed help. Thought I was out of the woods becasue I feel so well. Yes my husband is indeed cuddly, and its a problem right now as he sleeps on th eside thats really hurting and I cant tell him. Work wasnt too bad today, I am a nurse so have to lift, but I can use the other arm. Its very frustrating having a brain AND body that have gone on go slow (arimidex and chemo).I will be seeing the surgeon in two weeks time for my check-up. They said I had to have a mammography OH NO…dread dread and probably ultrasound to look at the painful spot inside my armpit.
Well thats a rambling letter, I feel disorientated. Pretending its all ok when it might not be…love Zoe
Just want to say have been on Arimidex since may and have had all the side effects mentioned before, but at the moment the worst thing I have is itchy skin. At my waist it is a definite spotty rash but elsewhere nothing to be seen but it drives me mad. Anyone else with this or is it due to something else?
Hi Zoe,
Ive had a lump come up in my armpit. Its uncomfortable at times but not really painful. Ive had all scans done and its shown that its not cancer but its still there.
I went for my checkup last week and now have to go for another ultrasound and biopsy.
Thanks Margaret, good to hear from you. I’ve been messaging on another thread started a few days ago by someone else who suddenly found a painful place under her armpit. It really hurts but I cant feel any lump at all. A few people have told me of pain/soreness almost from day one, but not a sudden onset when everything has been fine. Will just have to try not to think about it until Nov 13th when I go to the clinic.To be honest what threw me more than the pain was my kind, understanding, reassuring BC nurse just saying on the phone ‘take pain killers until you see the consultant’
Hope all goes well with you, the other thread is called ‘Scared, pain under arm’ if you want to runa search and read teh comments.
Love to all of us! Zoe x
p.s hardly dare say it, but the awful achey joints are wearing off at last.
Maudi, I too am that old woman - mostly in the office when I have been sitting at my desk for too long. From leaving my desk to getting to the photocopier I usually manage to stand relatively straight again! Mine is caused by pain in my feet and pain in my lower back and hips. Does anyone else have pain in lower back. I am not sure whether I need to see a chiropractor or whether it is the Arimidex?
Zoe, how great joint pain wearing off. I long for that day. My husband had two holiday jabs last week and went on about the aching in his arms for two days. I told him I would swap arms with him if he wanted then he would know what aching arms were really like!
Anyway, that’s enough moaning for one night, I hobbling off to bed now!!
hi wag, I too have an aching back and a really stiff and sore hip joint, when I get up from sitting down I am completely stiff like I am ninety.Just hope side effects wear off only just started taking arimidex for the last 2 weeks, best wishes suzan