To anyone that has taken arimidex for years
To anyone that has taken arimidex for years W ould like to hear womens experience of Arimidex when they have taken it for a long time
I started taking it in Jan and for the first 5 months was ok then I started getting the symptoms that women on this site were experiencing ie the stiffness and pain of the fingers, feet and other joints in the morning
I put up with this but it steadily became worse and I found that I could not bend down to pick anything up of the floor, or when I sat on the floor I could’nt get up again.
Everything came to a head when I was on holiday beginning of Sept. We had been walking for miles on rough ground and I noticed pain in back of my knee, I ignored it because I thought it was just part and parcel of Arimidex, but my knee swelled up that evening, I rested it for couple of days and it did ease a little but never completely got back to normal
I mentioned this at my next oncology app and they referred me to Rheumotology who passed everything off as Arhritis, despite me having no symptoms of this prior to starting Arimidex
Since that app, my knee swelled up again and became really painfull so I paid to go to an ostepath privately, at first visit he was convinced that it was meniscus (cartilage problem) He manipulated my knee and I must admit that my knee felt more loosened up and more mobile, so I made an appointment for following week. After the 2nd app I felt again that my knee was more mobile but the following morning my knee was more swollen than ever
I think who do I go to now?.. I have phoned my breast care nurse who has arranged an app for Mon…I just hope that they will treat it seriously and be able to give me an answer, until then all I can do is wait
My question for women who have taken Arimidex for years is…do the symptoms resolve once you stop taking it? or are these long standing problems that you have to contend with
Wish I had the answers! Hi Pollyansa
I wrote a HUGE reply and then it crashed! Very frustrating. But I’ll try again. Here goes.
I also started taking Arimidex in January this year. For the first couple of months I had joint pain and stiffness especially first thing in the morning or when I had been sitting for any length of time. Also had problems getting up from bending down etc. This settled down quite a lot and I could cope with it.
For the last couple of months I’ve been getting episodes of severe joint pain and stiffness and generally feeling unwell. These can last upto two weeks. My GP thinks they could be immune system flare ups.
The biggest problem has been my lower back. I’ve had problems with it in the past but these didn’t happen often and were over with quite quickly after physio etc. More recently my back pain has become quite severe and I have constant problems with it. I’m now back at work full time and have used all my leave during treatment etc but have had to take leave without pay as it’s been such a problem.
My GP is now sending me for a spine CT and full bone scan as I’m beginning to worry it could be something more sinister! I hate these scans but need to find the cause of this.
If nothing shows up then it could be due to loss of muscle and added fat around the middle (caused by Arimidex) but I have spent so much on back physios I want to rule out other things as well. Also being looked at for Arthritis.
I hope you get your problems sorted out. There is no free lunch with this disease is there? And everone thinks it’s all finished and we’re cured! I wish they knew what we are still having to deal with.
AW x