Recovery time after Anastrozole/aromatase inhibitors

@megunique Thank you for your post. It’s heartening to hear that there is hope for improvement in symptoms after the end of therapy. Some of the things I have read seem to imply that changes are permanent, but if I think there is the possibility of improvement I will hang on in there even though I’m currently really struggling. My diagnosis and treatment plan almost identical to your own so it was very interesting and supportive to know of your experience.

This has been so helpful to read chats and experiences. I was diagnosed at 69 and did 5 years on anastrazole. I am 1 month off the medication. I asked a lot of questions over those 5 years and learned a lot if this helps anyone. Yes symptoms can occur at any point and that is why my oncologist would ask at every appointment if any new side effects appeared. It is because this medication has somewhat of a cumulative effect. The longer you block estrogen the more it can impact you. I had initial muscles cramps but they went away. I think largely because I pushed myself to exercise and strength training. I had joint stiffness but thought it was from lifting weights. Now that I am off anastrazole for 1 month the stiffness is reduced. But I am far from full recovery. My most serious side effect was lack of sleep no matter what sleep aids I tried. I am slowly sleeping better but still have a lot of fatigue. I have a higher creatinine on the drug and while I maintained my weight ok for 4.5 years the last 5 months I gained weight despite a good diet, exercise and barely eating candy. The metabolic impact is frustrating and makes no sense to me.
I am told now that it can take 3-9 months for your body to recover. So I am trying to be grateful research and these meds have improved survival rates so significantly and that i am alive. I think in general not enough information is given about how women recover from hormone blocker. I could have prepared better mentally.

I finished 5 years of anastrazole on September 1, 2025. I was diagnosed with Stage 1A invasive ductal carcinoma. It was very small and no node involvement. I think it is important to share your diagnosis since it can impact your decisions about hormone blockers. I had lumpectomy (and a great surgical oncologist), radiation and "normal". Now you have to wait while your body learns to turn on again and produce estrogen (from fat cells at my age, not ovaries) and start to regulate hormones. I have a great medical oncologist but even she would minimize this process after you stop taking the medication. I am now at 8 months off the hormone blocker and I am just in the past month starting to sleep again. When I pressed my oncologist she did say it can take 9-12 months before you feel more like you were before the hormone blocker. I think they don't always tell you everything because they want you to take the medication. And to be honest not everyone has a hard time; you read about it on this site because you are hearing some of the worst stories. I would still decide to take the hormone blockers because it was important for long-term recovery. I just wanted something more realistic in terms of how your body bounces back so I did not think I was terribly abnormal. Regarding sleep, I actively pursued a cognitive behavioral plan and it takes commitment to change habitats but it does work. My sleep is between 6-7 hours now with 30-48 % deep sleep. It is possible but you have to believe it is possible and get a plan if the insomnia persists. I don't know if this plan would have worked while I was on Anastrazole. As another positive mention, I have a friend who had Stage 3B IDC at 50 years old and she had a double mastectomy, chemo, radiation and hormone blockers. She is 28 years post diagnosis (knock wood); went through hell but would still follow the same plan since she has enjoyed 28 more years and counting. She has seen both her children grow up, marry, have children and she feels everything was worth that. Best of luck to you. Remember your story will be different than mine or others who respond. Wishing you the best of health.

I took anastrozole for 9 months and started having heel pain in both feet. Xrays showed bone spurs which hadn't bothered me before and developed into plantar fasciitis. Did physical therapy for 2 months, spent hundreds on shoes and insoles and then resorted to cortisone injection. Relief but not alleviation. Experienced no joint or foot pain before anastrozole and bone density scan now reveals osteopenia. I take calcium and D supplements daily, have intermittent insomnia and associated menopausal symptoms - but, I continue taking anastrozole after lumpectomy and radiation therapy. Every day I question whether to continue or not. It helps to know I'm not the only one experiencing side effects that I personally attribute to anastrozole.

I took anastrozole for 9 months and started having heel pain in both feet. Xrays showed bone spurs which hadn't bothered me before and developed into plantar fasciitis. Did physical therapy for 2 months, spent hundreds on shoes and insoles and then resorted to cortisone injection. Relief but not alleviation. Experienced no joint or foot pain before anastrozole and bone density scan now reveals osteopenia. I take calcium and D supplements daily, have intermittent insomnia and associated menopausal symptoms - but, I continue taking anastrozole after lumpectomy and radiation therapy. Every day I question whether to continue or not. It helps to know I'm not the only one experiencing side effects that I personally attribute to anastrozole.

@cyndica I am sorry you are going through it. I also have this, I took the cortisone injection once and it fixed it for about 4 months. I spent tons on shoes and inserts like you, and like you I also did physical therapy.
I have now been about 5 years and I can tell you it does ebb and flow and I have found that if I don’t replace my shoes or my inserts in a timely fashion it definitely gets worse.
I eventually landed on merril moab3 shoes and when I buy a pair, I also purchase a second set of insoles. When the pain starts to increase I change them, when it begins to increase a second time I buy a new pair of shoes. This way I get nearly a year from a pair of shoes.
What has helped or not helped you?