I would also add that my bone density declined from osteopaenia levels to osteoporosis. Because I am also a Type II diabetic, I had bone scans in 2017, 2019 and 2022 in May, which, I should mention, was 4 months after my Illinois oncologist put me on Anastrozole. My bone density was -1.4T at the outset and is now -2.2T. I will have another bone density test in May, 2 years since the last one, because Medicare will only pay for one every 2 years. Tamoxifen does not attack bone density. The A.I. pills do,. If an older "mature" person with arthritis takes the A.I. pills, it is almost a guarantee that they will have a decline in their bone density, but that is not true of Tamoxifen, so, for me, knowing what I know now and having experienced hell on Anastrozole, I would hold out for Exemestane (which is formulated differently from the other 2 that are recommended of the A.I. world) and/or I would take Tamoxifen, not the A.I. pills. If you don't have any arthritis (or any damaged joints...I had a bicycle injury to my left knee that was severe and a left elbow dislocated during volleyball), you might escape the horrific pain that had me up at 4 a.m. rummaging for some sort of pain reliever. Nothing really helped and nobody seemed to care that I was suffering a great deal. I even almost took the Oxycontin left over from my root canal in 2020, but I was fearful of doing that, too. It was awful. I still cannot stand or walk for very long, because of my time on Anastrozole. I have to brace my left knee to make it through the grocery store, for instance. I am semi-crippled for life.

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