Aromasin (exemestane)

Trixie, how’s it going on Aromasin (Exemestane). I saw my oncologist today and she switched me from Tomoxifin to Aromasin. I’ll be starting it in the next few days.

@lisman1408 So far, sort of so good! I take mine in the evening so if there's any dizziness, it won't be bad. And it hasn't. Have a little achiness, but not like on the other two. I am only about 2 weeks out on this pill. I wound up with a torn meniscus from a fall a couple of months ago so PT has given me exercises for that and whether that helps me not have quite so many aches, I don't know. I also started up my after-breast-cancer PT strength training and have increased my walking. I start a water aerobics class soon and am hopeful that also invigorates my body...time will tell. I hope you do well with the Aromasin. Because of my family history of blood clots, Tamoxifen would be a bit iffy for me. Let me know how you do! I'm in northern California.

Thanks for the info. Trixie!!! I LOVE Northern California! I had an aunt who lived in “Greenbrae”, Marin County, just across the bay from San Francisco. She passed away in 2000. But I spent a lot of time with her in that area. I’m in Salt Lake City. Dr. Saundra Buys is my doctor at the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

@lisman1408 I'm glad you are going to the Huntsman Cancer Institute. I remember seeing an interview of John Huntsman speaking about the center - sounds wonderful. We've been through Salt Lake City several times on driving vacations going to Texas to relatives. We were lucky to go on a tour of the Mormon Tabernacle theater as well as going up on the roof top -- what a wonderful sight that was. We also were at a church across the street which was just beautiful. Love the country there and the people.

I went to pick up my Exemestane from the pharmacy today and the cost is about $175 per month!!! That’s with Medicare and AAPR Medicare supplement. That cost seems outrageous to me! Anyone else paying that much for this drug?

Holy cow! I pay $10 for my Arimidex RX at Kaiser Pharmacy. Yes, that does seem outrageous!! Did you try the other AI's?

@sparklegram
I pay $5, but I worked for a medical hospital/clinic entity and it was part of my employment to keep the same medical for ten years. Some companies have programs to help defray the costs of their medicines which might be looked into. And sometimes paying cash rather than going through insurance will cost less.

Yes, I broke out with hives and had some nasty hives from Anastrozole; it seems I had an allergic reaction to it. It also caused some memory loss issues. Tomoxifin also caused memory/cognitive issues. My doctor prescribed Arimidex/Exemestane at my visit this past Tuesday as an alternative to those. But when I went to pick them up at the pharmacy I was charged $175, at my regular Walgreens pharmacy. I did not complete the purchase and am seeking info. on why they are so expensive. I’d rather go back to Tomoxifin and just put up with memory loss and cognitive issues!

@lisman1408
You might want to ask your doctor about Femara (Letrozole). I'm guessing that he chose Exemestane because it's steroidal and you likely wouldn't break out in hives with it?

That's crazy! I pay $4.00 for a 90 day supply of my Anastrozole.