jackie,im 58 so i know its not age i only got theses symphtoms after a month on arimadex .as you say the pain can get you down ,i also have lymphodemia so lifting is a problem for me anyway .keep with it we can do it girl!! take care .lynn xx
hi jackie and aroma so glad you said the things you did thought it was only me been on arimidex for five weeks now after ten days I felt as stiff as a board lower back ache walk like a ninety year old joint pains in hips I keep hoping it will get better not much quality of life though best wishes suzan x
Hi everyone
Just thought i would share this with you, on holiday my hubby bought me some Nordic Walking Sticks! I know i look a right prat marching through my estate but it really helps with my mobility and though i use them to help me get about i puff out my chest and make it look like i am exercising!
Best wishes
Suzzanne
Hello everyone
I’m relieved to have found this thread because I’m getting several of the side effects mentioned here and have been worrying about them but now I can see I’m most certainly not alone. I’m on Aromasin but it has the same action as Arimidex.
I’ve been on it for 16 months and the side effects are gradually getting worse. I’ve had the dreadful sweats and flushes all along but now am starting to get pains in my feet, legs and hands and now stress incontinence too caused by the effect on the bladder of the lack of oestrogen.
Knowles - you mentioned you’re on vagifem. Can I ask what dosage you’re on - do you use them every day?
Thanks
Anthi
Hi all you are a great support lets keep in touch and share our problems we can get through this together
Jackie xx
Anthi, I am on 25mcg and after the first week I use them just on Sundays, unless things deteriorate then twice a week for a bit. Yes they DEFINITELY help the stress incontinence, which of course makes it all worse if you are sore and dry down below, and then of course you feel like a smelly old lady and very un-sexy!
Havent checked this thread for a while because it seemed to have stopped.
Good luck, let us know how you go on. Love Zoe xx (knowles is just sign-in name)
p.s Dont let the doctor give you the oestrogen cream, its horrible to use and makes a mess of undies. pjs etc. Probably cheaper to prescribe!
Many thanks Zoe.
Take care
Anthi x
I am so pleased to find others suffering from the embarressment of stress incontinence due to arimidex. I am 39 and feel like an old lady with this and the aches and pains.I cannot use anything with oestrogen in it as my bc is 100% oestrogen receptive. Any ideas to help with this ?
Rachy
oh i thought it was just because i was getting old , but now come to think of it im getting problems down below as well ,if i need the loo i have to go there and then .maybe i will see what my doc recommends ,just thought it was down to old age .im 58!!! lynnx
Oh wow, so stress incontinence is a side effect of Arimidex, another one, what a relief to know, as i have been suffering from bladder problems since starting and was far too embarrassed to mention it. Anyone else get up 7 times a night for the loo, it is seriously affecting my sleep, i walk around all day like a zombie! Hot sweats, bone aches, now incontinence, what a drug! Still i met my pharmacist in Marks yesterday and she says she read the more side effects you have the better the drug works at preventing recurrence! Lets just hope and pray that is true, though my cousin was on Tamoxifen for 5 years with no side effects at all and 10 years after diagnosis has never had any probs at all.
There are tablets for the bladder that can control the contractions of the bladder called detrusiol.
Best wishes
Suzzanne
Hi all I just thought i’d join in too as I seem to be having most of the same problems especially aches and pains. i wake up each morning and wonder which bit will ache worst today. I am also having urgency problems and too many nighttime loo visits and I also thought it was my age. Oh well only 4 years and 9months to go! love to all Jenny
Hi all me too… Feel quite down today, always feeling unwell is getting me down. Work full time and finding it a struggle.
Sorry for the moan just one of those days…
Jo
x
Hi JoJo8
You ladies who work full time are fantastic, i only work Sundays at my local Edinburgh Wool shop and i spend most of Monday totally whacked, I just don’t know how you do it. I always feel guilty that i only do 6 hours and my poor hubby does on average 105 hours a week to pay our 3 mortgages! Going to do a bit extra in the run up to Christmas the late nights and boxing day and new years day so hopefully that will add a few pennies to the overstretched finances. Hope you really relax and chill out when you are not working.
Best Wishes
Suzzanne
Have been on Arimidex 18 months and cannot remember the last night I slept through. I wake every night 2 or 3 times either damp or absolutely drenched. I drink a couple of glasses of white wine most nights and don’t think this helps but hell, I am 70, have had BC twice, my husband is in a nursing home having palliative care and I need something when I get home at night to cheer me up. Some nights I get up 3 times to go to the loo, others once. How I hate this wretched disease but there again there are millions of people worldwide suffering far worse. Enough moaning - have a good weekend everyone XX
hi olivia me too havent had a good nights sleep in weeks only been on arimidex for 6 weeks its either running to the lou or aches and pains feel like I am ninety. This is the second time I have had bc as well after 18 years they werent sure if it was a reccurence or a new primary but it was in the saME BREAST AND ADJACENT TO THE SCAR, DID THEY TELL YOU WHETHER OR NOT THEY THOUGHT YOURS WAS A NEW ONE AND DID THEY OFFER YOU CHEMO BEST WISHES SUZAN X sorry pressed capitals by mistake.
Suzan - like you it was in the same breast and near the original scar. They didn’t tell me if it was another primary or a recurrence - maybe they are the same but will check. Was not offered chemo just Arimidex for 5 long years. Can’t have rads twice to same breast so fingers crossed. XX
To Rachy7, yes I am very oestrogen positive too, but the doctors and BC nurses said the vagifem treatment was really low risk, as it was so local; and it was certainly worth the benefit down below. Still taking the chondroitin and MSM which is making the aches and pains far far less…hope everyone managing. YEs its awful, I just keep reminding myself its better than not being around!
Love Zoe x
hi olivia I dont blame you for having a few glasses of wine when you get home must be tough with your husband in a nursing home.Did it come as a shock to you when you found out you had bc again I thought it was all behind me after all those years just shows you cant be too complacent,no rads either as had them first time around I am 58 so was 39 first time, take care best wishes suzan x
i have had awful aches and pains in my joints (particularly knees, hips and lower spine) for the last few days.so now take a couple of paracetamol with my arimidex first thing and top up paracetamol as the day goes on.Also, fingers seem quite swollen today. Is it likely to get worse as time goes on? It’s already not much fun 
bcn did say if i get too many side effects, they can put me on something else, but didn’t say what…and if arimidex is the best, i’d rather stay on it, but don’t like this pain!)
hi narnia sorry you have awful aches and pains and I feel reassured cos since I have been on arimidex I have had same pains in knees and hips and lower spine I dont want to switch either just wish I could find a solution to it, everytime I sit down I stiffen up again I feel so old best wishes suzan x