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Anastrazole and anxiety

Posted by momandrph048 @momandrph048, Jun 14, 2023

Has anyone else taking an aromatase inhibitor been dealing with crying very easily, and anxiety that comes out of nowhere?? It doesn’t seem to be related to anything, it just appears out of the blue.. My oncologist has me on Effexor, but it doesn’t seem to be doing that much and I really don’t want to increase my dose.. Can anyone share a similar story? Counseling isn’t really for me, I just need to deal with it on my own, and I really feel that the medication is the reason for it.. Mostly because my dr had me stop it for a couple weeks due to joint pain and everything got better.. Thanks for your input!

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lynnn | @lynnn | 1 day ago
In reply to @danielleboily "Thank you, I will be seeing a n oncologist In december,I'm from Quebec and healt care..." + (show)
@danielleboily

Thank you,
I will be seeing a n oncologist In december,I'm from Quebec and healt care is often slow.
I'm 81trs old without a personal doctor.

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I am from Ottawa and 87. I have been on Anastrozole for four years and have had a sleep problem since plus
losing hairs all over the house every day. I can’t wait to get off of it but my dr. thinks it’s a good idea to take it another two years. I am sorry you don’t have your own dr.. I hope you are on a wait list and that you can at least get care when you need it.

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reflector75 | @reflector75 | 19 hours ago

This is completely my experience also. I too do not want to take any further medication ( enough side effects already from Anastrozole) and don’t need to add to these. I find social situations problematic at times as the onrush of tearful emotion is often so random and impossible to batten down. I do think this is a side effect of the drug that warrants more investigation as it’s impact on quality of life is quire daunting.

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kaki49 | @kaki49 | 17 hours ago
In reply to @mari "Anestrozole ruined 4 fingers. Needed surgery on pointer. More surgery threatened. It's not that effective of..." + (show)
@mari

Anestrozole ruined 4 fingers. Needed surgery on pointer.
More surgery threatened. It's not that effective of a drug.
I went off of it.
Saw hand dr. - Had Hand PT.
I was developed by Satan. Horrible drug. The worst side effects.

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I’m getting ready to start Anastrazole and I’m very nervous about it. What did it do to your hands?

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sally484 | @sally484 | 16 hours ago

Here's what I think..................since all of these AI's are "hormone receptors" that is exactly what they do. Mess with your hormones. They stop estrogen and cause a bunch of hormonal changes in all of us that take them. I don't know how we can get around not having emotional changes when we take them to stop fueling the cancer cells. They make us cry and have emotional outbursts. We get very moody and are just plain miserable. All we an do is pray that they work in stopping the cancer. This is just my opinion.

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lansing | @lansing | 7 hours ago
In reply to @reflector75 "I am sorry you are having these problems but also interested in your post. I have..." + (show)
@reflector75

I am sorry you are having these problems but also interested in your post. I have been on Anastrozole for just over a year and have been experiencing worsening panic attacks and uncontrollable feelings of impending doom and uncontrollable crying for the last six months or so. My cancer diagnosis was very similar to yours and from the viewpoint of clear mammogram etc all looks well. Whilst I have had a history of panic attacks previously the current attacks are off the scale. I am becoming increasingly concerned that Anastrozole is key to these symptoms and will hope to discuss this with my oncologist at an upcoming review. I feel it maybe that patients who have previously diagnosed panic/ anxiety conditions may be more likely to experience these more extreme reactions. Possibly this could be a fruitful area for research into the side effects of AIs.

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I have chosen to stop all of them including Anastrozole
I have had no quality of life.
I am 76 yrs old and I am going to take my chances of untreatable cancer recurring

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1 reply
reflector75 | @reflector75 | 1 hour ago
In reply to @lansing "I have chosen to stop all of them including Anastrozole I have had no quality of..." + (show)
@lansing

I have chosen to stop all of them including Anastrozole
I have had no quality of life.
I am 76 yrs old and I am going to take my chances of untreatable cancer recurring

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I feel I may eventually take this path too as I am the same age as yourself. One of my Oncologists has suggested that if I could get to two and a half years in treatment this could be an option to consider.

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