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← Return to Tamoxifen and anastrozole
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@sue14 I had had osteopororis for several years and had three spinal fractures when I went on letrozole for cancer. Most people do Reclast or Zometa (zoledronic acid) with aromatase inhibitors but my doctors were nervous about it for me because at the time it was thought to aggravate atrial fibrillation, which I have on occasion. That has since been debunked, according to my doctor. Anyway I had bone loss, had more fractures, and went on Tymlos after my cancer treatment. Tymlos returned my bone density to pre-cancer levels- actually a little better.
I am not sure what others' experiences are with aromatase inhibitors that are accompanied by zoledronic acid. I hope someone else chimes in! It does seem that many do tamoxifen if they have bone density issues, and I am not sure why that was not offered to me. It is good to discuss these options with your doctor!
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Hi! @windyshores
I am taking Aromatase Inhibitors accompanied by Zoledronic acid infusion; however, due to my own "journey" being so short that I hesitate to chime in... Here is my personal experience:
I started taking Anastrozole on 1/18/24; experienced loads of awful side effects such as: joint pain, trigger fingers, muscle pain all over my body, etc., almost immediately after taking this AI medicine. Due to the fact that I declined the radiation treatments against my oncologists' recommendation, so I decided to tough it out and continue taking Anastrozole because my cancerous cells are ER95%+. My medical oncologist gave me a Zometa infusion on 2/15/24, I developed a rash, itchy skin, and all sorts of flu-like symptoms on the same night. Again, I thought I simply had to endure whatever side-effects that might come, thus I strived on. Unfortunately for me, I experienced acute lower back pain suddenly on 2/25; shockingly, I discovered a soft "bump" growing exactly on my lumbar spine on the night of 2/26. The medical oncologist saw me on 2/28 and ordered a MRI Lumbar Spine with & without IV contrast to rule out the potential metastatic disease. Thank God (!) that the MRI confirmed it was not caused by cancerous cells, but also revealed many spinal issues such as: lumbar lordosis, lumbar retrolisthesis on various levels, so my medical oncologist referred me to an orthopedic spinal surgeon and I chose physical therapy to strengthen my back muscle to support the weakened spine. I don 't know which medications are causing these spinal issues, because my medical oncologist did not confirm nor dispute any of these sudden occurring issues are caused by medications that they prescribed.
Sorry for such a lengthy note:( I truly wish somebody points us to the correct path to take the best available medicine striving forward!
Best wishes to you all, my comrades fighting the disease of cancers!