Concerned about the side effects of anastrozole

I started Anastrazole 1mg several months ago. I didn’t have much of any side effects for about a month; then, muscle/joint pain, hot flashes, insomnia, GI issues, and depression hit me! I already have severe fibromyalgia and sleep issues, so the AI hit those areas hard.

My Oncologist took me off of Anastrozole for a week and I saw some improvement. Then he started me back on it. I decided not to try another AI because they had added symptoms like headaches, nausea & dizziness, which would be horrible.

So, I’m still taking Anastrozole.
Effexor helps with hot flashes, gabapentin with nerve pain and I’m trying Flexeril for chronic fibro muscle/joint pain. You have to be careful with any new drugs because they can have their own impact on liver and other organs. Be sure your Primary is evaluating your bloodwork often.

Praying you’ll have minimal side effects! 💕🙏

I have been on it for 2 months and have not noticed any side effects yet.

I agree with quality of life vs years. My active lifestyle means mucking stalls, bucking hay, running behind with long lines during training. Pushing wagons, and lifting harnesses or heavy saddles, and fixing fence. Lol . I do find that even after my 10 years on AI was up, I still get much stiffer after a day off at the barn. We are exactly the same age, but I have much worse bones. Please don’t give up on getting that 4% gain too easy, there are still a few more choices if you can’t stand this one.

Hello - Just joined the group here. Started Anastrozole less then a week ago and very concerned about the side effects. Wondering for those whom experienced any, how long after starting medication did the side effects present? Thank you!

Hello, @blue850! I tried Anastrozole and within 3 days I started having side effects and by day 10 my oncologist took me off of them because the side effects were so bad. I purposely did not read the side effects before I started them so not to make any up in my head. 🙂 I definitely had side effects. It took 3 weeks to feel better. Then I tried Exemestane (sp). Same thing happened. Not quite as bad but I did develop a really bad rash along with the other side effects. I’m now waiting for 2 weeks to get that out of my system so I can try something else. I would rather not take anything but my chances of my cancer coming back is 25% and the hormone blockers will cut that in half, so I’m going to do my best and try all my options. Good luck with yours. I pray you don’t have any side effects and you breeze right through it! 💕

Thank you cerwin for sharing this information. I think I am already feeling more sluggish then normal, for past few days felt like taking a cat nap in the afternoon which has been quite some time since feeling that. Hopeful that part of it is an adjustment...hopeful. Thanks for the tip on the bloodwork. I was a bit surprised that providers in this area (Tampa Bay area of Florida) don't seem to feel more then the normal once a year on the bloodwork is necessary, whereas my old providers in New Jersey took blood work more frequently. But now that I am actually taking the Anastrozole, maybe that will change. I have a follow up with the prescriber in 3 months to see how I am tolerating it. Thank you for your prayers and good luck with your journey.

Where do you go? I’m in the Tampa Bay Area also. I switched oncologists because I felt I wasn’t getting standard of care. I have MBC.

Hello, @blue850! I tried Anastrozole and within 3 days I started having side effects and by day 10 my oncologist took me off of them because the side effects were so bad. I purposely did not read the side effects before I started them so not to make any up in my head. 🙂 I definitely had side effects. It took 3 weeks to feel better. Then I tried Exemestane (sp). Same thing happened. Not quite as bad but I did develop a really bad rash along with the other side effects. I’m now waiting for 2 weeks to get that out of my system so I can try something else. I would rather not take anything but my chances of my cancer coming back is 25% and the hormone blockers will cut that in half, so I’m going to do my best and try all my options. Good luck with yours. I pray you don’t have any side effects and you breeze right through it! 💕

nikki727 extremely pleased with Dr. J. Andrew Peterson at Florida Cancer Specialists. Very caring and comprehensive, looks at the whole picture, open and very sharing of data/statistics. Had to wait a while to get an appointment but worth the wait.