Switching AI's

I have read on this site that many women have switched AIs and done really well. Hopefully some will chime in here for you!

Also I had a better experience after switching manufacturers. I paid for brand name letrozole after switching from a generic anastrozole to a generic letrozole but toward the end of treatment I actually found a generic company's version that I could tolerate.

I stopped anastrozole, it put me in a tale spin- mentally and headaches, joints aches + more. My doctor suggested a 2 week “vacation” from it. It took me almost a month to feel like me again. Had a brain MRI due to headaches( all clear), breast ultrasound which diagnosed with a cyst- had a breast MRI( all clear). And beginning case of lymphedema. . I was a mental mess- which is not me. I started duloxetine to help even me out prior to starting exemestane. I’ve finished my 4th month of exemestane and seems to be agreeing with me. I do have a few joint aches, some days fatigue and I had to take at a different time of day to help with sleep. I did see a PT and a Lymphedema massage specialist I now have a stretching routine, light strength training and walking. This REALLY has helped. I have heard acupuncture really helps too…which I may try for joint aches- but really don’t want to go to any more doctors for a time. The surgery was the easy part for me. FYI- I’m no young chicken. I’m 60( good shape)4-4-23 surgery, 3 lymph node removed ( clear), lumpectomy on left breast, double reconstruction on both.
I would get back to feeling like you for a baseline. Keep a journal- it worked for me

I took Anastrozole for 2 years. I was a cripple on it. I switched to Femara and did well.

I had a horrible reaction to Letrozole. I had neuropathy from chemo that was minor and fading fast. Letrozole immediately made the neuropathy far worse than it had been, as well as sucking the energy and happiness -- finally recovered post-chemo -- out of me. I'm not sure estrogen suppressors are worth it because I want to be happy and feel good during the time I have left on Earth, however long that might be (I turn 64 at the end of February). I went through a lumpectomy, chemo, and radiation; the latter 2 were purely prophylactic, as the margins on my Stage 1A Invasive Ductal Carcinoma were clear and it had not spread to the sentinel lymph node. Osteoporosis and unhappiness from estrogen suppressors may be a bridge too far for me. I'm switching to Exemestane as soon as the neuropathy clears up, as my sister, who had DCIS 8 years ago, tolerates it. But I'm tired of treatments that make me feel terrible. I thought I was getting to the light at the end of the misery tunnel when the therapeutic cell destruction was over: Cutting, poisoning, and cooking. But I reckon the medical community has determined that's not enough torture for a woman with breast cancer.

Thank you for the response. I just started Exemestane last night. I hope i don't get side effects. I am struggling w balancing quality of life vs being on meds. I feel worse now than when I had the tumor and I am always tired. I excersise everyday 30- 60 mins yet by late afternoon I'm exhausted. I go to bed between 6-830pm and get up at 5am. I hope this isn't my new life, just temporary until I find the right meds.
Good luck to you!!! ❤️

Stick with it if you can. My oncologist told me if I could make it six months on my AI (anastrozole), then the symptoms would improve. I also read a medical journal article that supported that advice. My doctor was right, at least for me. I struggled the first six months with fatigue and difficult moving, particularly in the morning. I’d run five marathons, and I was having trouble walking around the city with my husband. However, things started to improve about six months in. The fatigue and joint pain lessened. I still have hot flashes, but not as many as before. I do not feel the same as I did before all of this started, however, I have adjusted and I can do everything I want - exercise, work all day, travel, etc.

Exemestane has worked for me HOWEVER, discuss with your doctor about its half life.
Ive posted this elsewhere on this site, but in case you havent read it, exemestane has a half life. It takes 50 hours for elimination.
That means when you take it on Monday you get the full dose, when you take it on Tuesday youll have half of Mondays and full dose of Tuesdays. This can be problematic after a few years use. Men are cautioned to take exemestane for only 3 months.
For a small percentage, it can act as a pro thrombotic. It was for me. I had either passed a blood clot or had an arterial spasm. I was in the ER.
Fortunately, a year out after being on chemo, i asked my onc to write an order to have my heart checked THOROUGHLY to see if the chemo had done any damage. When I had the heart episode in the hospital, the cardiologist looked at that film and overlayed it on my episode. He said my heart looked exactly alike, which surprised him because me enzymes were soooo elevated. He was glad I had my heart images to compare.
I strongly recommend people who've had chemo to get heart images about a year after treatment to 1) check for damages
2) have a prototype for drs to compare.

Letrozole: Me, too! Hated it. I hope exemestane works for you!

Well in my wisdom of 71 years I have finally come to the realization that I will never be the "old" me. I was active, healthy, and a runner and loved my life. I now live with met breast cancer and the treatment that takes away the "old" me. But life is a journey and every chapter has new experiences. So here I am the "new" me. I adapt and change and embrace every experience that life offers me. I ache, have pain, have fatigue but work through it. The "old" me is still here but I now share it with the 'new" me.
Be strong sisters. You can do this.