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Completed 5 years of anastrozole. Withdrawal symptoms? Side effects?

Posted by christinej @christinej, Jul 24, 2018

Monday, July 23rd, after consulting with Dr. Loprinzi, we decided to have me stop taking anastrozole. (Arimidex). It has been 5 years since I started the drug after breast cancer surgery and radiation. Has anyone stopped this drug and had any withdrawal symptoms? The nurse from Blue Group sent me an email today saying that there are no withdrawal symptoms after stopping this drug. Soooooooooooooo, is this all in my head? Definitely having some type of withdrawal.

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dortbarb | @dortbarb | Oct 5 2:41pm
In reply to @dmosssadler "Hello Ladies. Just stated taking Anastrozole about 3 weeks ago, but Oncologist said that I "qualify"..." + (show)
@dmosssadler

Hello Ladies.

Just stated taking Anastrozole about 3 weeks ago, but Oncologist said that I "qualify" for a 2nd medication called Versenio due to MBC & lymphnode involvement.

Has anyone been on 2 different hormone therapy drugs after Chemo & radiation?

Oncologist said it's up to me if I want to take the 2nd medication but actually I don't want to take the Versenio.

Any feedback will be appreciated.

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I’ve been taking Verzenio with an aromatase inhibitor (first Anastrazole, now exemestane) for almost a year. I do not have MBC, but my doctor recommended Verzenio because of my lymph node involvement (four positive noses). The only side effect I’ve noticed is low white blood cell count. This caused me to stop taking Verzenio on two occasions. I resumed taking it after one to two weeks off. Because of this tendency I get frequent blood tests. Unless this side effect gets worse, I intend to continue taking Verzenio for the recommended two year period. I need to add that the body aches and stiffness caused by aromatase inhibitors are still present, but tolerable.

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1 reply
dmosssadler | @dmosssadler | Oct 7 7:51pm

I had 3 positive nodes, but I was thrown back when the doctor said the world "qualify"...that didn't sit well with me. So I didn't want to take the Versenio..It just didn't sit well with me...I'm still on the fence...
I do want to thank you for sharing your experience with me.

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1 reply
ebtexas55 | @ebtexas55 | Oct 24 1:05pm
In reply to @dortbarb "I’ve been taking Verzenio with an aromatase inhibitor (first Anastrazole, now exemestane) for almost a year...." + (show)
@dortbarb

I’ve been taking Verzenio with an aromatase inhibitor (first Anastrazole, now exemestane) for almost a year. I do not have MBC, but my doctor recommended Verzenio because of my lymph node involvement (four positive noses). The only side effect I’ve noticed is low white blood cell count. This caused me to stop taking Verzenio on two occasions. I resumed taking it after one to two weeks off. Because of this tendency I get frequent blood tests. Unless this side effect gets worse, I intend to continue taking Verzenio for the recommended two year period. I need to add that the body aches and stiffness caused by aromatase inhibitors are still present, but tolerable.

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Youll get the body aches from exemestane because its half life is about 50 hours.
That means you take tge pill Monday, youve got a full dose. Take it Tuesday, youve gotv1/2 Mondays a full dose of Tuesdays. Now youve got more than the original dose in your system.
If youve been on it more than a year, ask your dr if you can take it every other day or take a 2-4 week break.

But are you sure its not the Verzenio? Did you have any initial side effects with that? Diarrhea?

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1 reply
tonysmom | @tonysmom | Oct 26 11:21am
In reply to @baker1 "@smspaz59 I have been taking Anastrozol for 3months now. I have experienced all of them but..." + (show)
@baker1

@smspaz59 I have been taking Anastrozol for 3months now. I have experienced all of them but they were very mild and quickly faded away. I had fatigue but that seems to have faded away too. Now I'm experiencing some weight gain. I hope that eases as the weather improves and I can get outside more. Now I walk 30 minutes a day to YouTube walking videos. It really helps combat the fatigue and soreness.

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Same here. I'm 76,on anastrozole 3 months. I am over weight and gained about 6 lbs. Hot flashes, no fatigue or aches. So far ,so good.

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bjohnson511 | @bjohnson511 | Oct 27 11:29am

Glad you were able to complete your five years. I made it five months on anastrozole and had to go off. I am taking my chances right now. My last mammogram was good. I’m 76 years old and the pain. Brain fog and exhaustion were just too much for me not to live in normal life. God bless you and continued health!

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myoga | @myoga | Oct 28 5:03am
In reply to @ebtexas55 "Youll get the body aches from exemestane because its half life is about 50 hours. That..." + (show)
@ebtexas55

Youll get the body aches from exemestane because its half life is about 50 hours.
That means you take tge pill Monday, youve got a full dose. Take it Tuesday, youve gotv1/2 Mondays a full dose of Tuesdays. Now youve got more than the original dose in your system.
If youve been on it more than a year, ask your dr if you can take it every other day or take a 2-4 week break.

But are you sure its not the Verzenio? Did you have any initial side effects with that? Diarrhea?

Jump to this post

I read in an article that half life for anastrozole is 50, Letrozole 48, and exemestane 24. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7848814/#:~:text=The%20half%2Dlife%20of%20anastrozole,original%20AI%20without%20side%20effects.

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2 replies
rosa1935 | @rosa1935 | Oct 28 5:30am

I stopped taking it after 2 years and had no withdrawals.

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ebtexas55 | @ebtexas55 | Oct 28 6:11am
In reply to @myoga "I read in an article that half life for anastrozole is 50, Letrozole 48, and exemestane..." + (show)
@myoga

I read in an article that half life for anastrozole is 50, Letrozole 48, and exemestane 24. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7848814/#:~:text=The%20half%2Dlife%20of%20anastrozole,original%20AI%20without%20side%20effects.

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I called my pharmacist a few years ago when I was on it. She informed me of the half life was 50 hrs.
Was there a change in the drug since then? I dont know.
Was she incorrect? Im not sure. But I sure appreciate your article.
I just checked the link and the server is down.
Thank you so much!

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ebtexas55 | @ebtexas55 | Oct 28 6:20am
In reply to @myoga "I read in an article that half life for anastrozole is 50, Letrozole 48, and exemestane..." + (show)
@myoga

I read in an article that half life for anastrozole is 50, Letrozole 48, and exemestane 24. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7848814/#:~:text=The%20half%2Dlife%20of%20anastrozole,original%20AI%20without%20side%20effects.

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My yoga, thank you. I looked it up and youre correct!
I was on Letrozole prior to Exemestane and that has 48 hours. It was Letrozole that was crippling so I switched to Exemestane. Sadly, I was in the low percent on Exemestane that caused the heart problem.
Again, thank you for your correction!

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myoga | @myoga | Oct 28 9:14am

I’m so sorry that you have heart problem with exemestane. How are you doing now? Did the onco prescribe new drug or you aren’t on any AI. I pray everything turns out well for you.❤️

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