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Tamoxifen and anastrozole

Breast Cancer | Last Active: Apr 10 11:36pm | Replies (72)

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@lifetraveler

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!

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Replies to "Hi! @windyshores I am taking Aromatase Inhibitors accompanied by Zoledronic acid infusion; however, due to my..."

It sounds like Reclast might have caused the back issue, and I say that only because of anecdotes here, so check with your doctor on this.

If you do Reclast, maybe you can request a lower dose (I read that 2.5mg or half dose is as effective as 5mg and my doctor confirmed this last week). I am going to do 1mg and my doc said I can do it every 3-6 months. He also ordered IV hydration and a slow infusion and told me to take tylenol the day before, the day of before and after infusion and at bedtime, and the next day. Maybe some of this info will help.

I hear you about persisting!! I did letrozole, Tymlos, now Evenity and going on Reclast soon. For me, the side effects of the aromatase inhibitor improved over time and walking more than 30 minutes along with tai chi helped. It's tough!

ps My Reclast regimen is for bones to "lock in gains." And I have not been on letrozole since 2021. Your doctors can tell you if the lower dose is effective in the context of an AI. But the hydration, slow infusion and tylenol might still be helpful.