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Anyone dealing with Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia (ADH)?
Breast Cancer | Last Active: Sep 11 9:29pm | Replies (227)Comment receiving replies
Hi @colleenyoung. Thank you for your response. I actually started the anastrozole Sunday night. Monday I woke up with red, irritated /dry eyes, and chills. By 10 a.m. I could not get enough to drink so needless to say I was in the bathroom a lot. My hands were pruny, and my sinuses were dried out, by the evening my hip and lower back had started to ache. My husband took one look at me and said I was dehydrated( and I had increased my fluid intake!) I called the pharmacist who told me to contact my doctor which I did Tuesday morning. I did not take another pill and by Tuesday night I started to feel better. Thursday morning I finally got a call back from the doctor's office and was told that my side effects happen in less than 5% of people and it was really unusual that it happened all at once. I was made to feel like an idiot and that I was crazy. They said I could continue to take or not just let them know. If I do start again I will try again this Sunday, I have to do some errands tomorrow and need to be able to do them. Before I had started taking I had also asked about a baseline bone density test and taking Vitamin D and they said not necessary. I feel foolish. My surgeon sent me to this oncologist, not sure if I need to let them know what is going on and possibly go elsewhere. Do AIs really help decrease BC chances with ADH? Thank you in advance.
Replies to "Hi @colleenyoung. Thank you for your response. I actually started the anastrozole Sunday night. Monday I..."
@leesal123, @windyshores may be on to something when she says, "Since you had these reactions so quickly, I wonder if it is not the active ingredient of anastrazole but instead, fillers in the generic medication, causing your symptoms. That was the case for me."
Lee, you asked, "Do AIs really help decrease BC chances with ADH?" Here's an article about your options from Mayo Clinic:
- Breast cancer chemoprevention: Drugs that reduce risk https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/breast-cancer/in-depth/breast-cancer/art-20045353
Did you contact your oncologist about your reaction? Will you start anastrozole again?
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@leesal123 I had similar symptoms right after taking generic anastrazole, and ended up taking brand name Femara for 5 years without these problems.
Here are side effects on medline (which I am sure you looked up.) Dehydration is not mentioned but dry mouth is on here. https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a696018.html
It is important to note that the anastrazole, after less than a whole day in your system, had not yet reached a steady state, so your level was 1/4 - 1/3 the eventual level. It takes 7 days to get to steady state. http://www.drugs.com/pro/anastrozole.html
Since you had these reactions so quickly, I wonder if it is not the active ingredient of anastrazole but instead, fillers in the generic medication, causing your symptoms. That was the case for me.
I switched to letrozole and took brand name and did not have the same problems. Much later I did find a generic that did not trigger symptoms but I felt most comfortable taking the purer brand name.
I would say don't give up and investigate the possibility that you did not have anastrazole on board for long enough for the active ingredient to be the culprit. Try another anastrazole manufacturer, then try another medication (letrozole for instance) and finally try a brand name. This worked for me.