Arimidex and side effects

I’m also considering the effects of how long tamoxifen stays in my system, because it’s half life is 5-7 DAYS. By day 7, I have a full dose plus partial doses from the previous 6 days.
However, when the research is done they are looking at people who have accumulated that amount of drug in their bodies. Maybe it takes a whole lot of the drug to make a difference.
For example, if I’m on 5 mg tamoxifen then by day 7 I may have almost 9 mg of drug in my body. But that is what research is based on, so maybe it takes 9 mg to be effective. Does that make sense? Never sure if my explanations are clear.
For you if you’re taking 1 mg of an AI that has a half life of 50 hours, then 4 days after the initial dose you might have close to 2 mg in your body. But maybe 2 mg is what it takes to make a difference - and they prescribe 1 mg knowing that the effective level will end of being 2 mg.
That’s when I start questioning myself on whether I have enough information to self prescribe. I guess I like scary situations, because I do it anyway. Hopefully I won’t be proven so dumb that I made the wrong choice. In retrospect this might be one of those situations where I knew better but chose risky behavior (will I never grow up?!)

I just could not take the continuous UTI’s. As soon as I completed the medication for my UTI’s, within 2 days another one would start and my oncologist would not listen to me but instead laughed.
If my breast cancer returns then it returns. I don’t appreciate being laughed at when I have a honest question but not taken seriously.

I think you make a good point. Are they looking at an original dosage or are they looking at a buildup of a dosage. When I told my breast center surgeon and reminded her of the 50 hours of half life she seemed to pause. I feel certain that the research is always based on long-term use, like a control group going on it for one year or something like that. Very curious. Right now I am sticking with every other day which has only been about 4 days now. I just want my symptoms to be lessened.

Did anybody try cranberry juice (not the cocktail) for uti? I heard that it helps flush out bacteria but doesn't prevent uti.

I’ve done it and I don’t like cranberry juice but I tried it.

I too, made my own, the decision that every other day is for me. I can tolerate every day, but I feel awful, and 5 years is a long time to feel awful.

Hi! saraabrooks@saraabrooks:

Thanks for sharing your valuable experience with us! I am so glad that the Anastrozole pill effectively shrank the size of the tumors for you:) Could you please let us know what is the dosage of your Anastrozole pills per tablet? 1MG?

Thanks again for your wise advice!

My dosage is one Mg of an astrazole. The first 3 months they found an astounding shrinkage in my left breast. The right one also went down about 20 percent. I am in my fourth month. I'm taking the pill.

Wow! I hate to say unkind things about your Doctor but showing some major ignorance on the subject of female health. In 2023 there was a study stating that vaginal estrogen does not absorb systemically so there is no additional risk for breast ca. Both my Oncologist and gynecologist agreed that I can use estradiol without raising my risk for reoccurrence. It is KNOWN to help with vaginal dryness and urinary incontinence and lowering the risk for UTIs. Best of luck to you getting the help you need and deserve.

MD Anderson does not recommend topical Estradiol cream if someone has had ER+ cancer. They will not prescribe it. My Baylor Scott & White PCP also will not prescribe topical cream but will write a prescription for the vaginally inserted tablets. I believe the research that says little is absorbed systematically is based on the inserted tablet.
I have not found the tablet to be very helpful to me. It may increase moisture inside, but does little to nothing in the outer area that gets a lot of friction.