None of my friends had trouble with anastrazole. Forums are creating what you call "terror," because people with side effects post. I sympathize with them because I am sensitive and even intolerant of many meds.

Keep in mind that with this hormonal drug, it takes 7 days to reach steady state. And because side effects are mainly from hormonal changes, which I believe have different effects over time, I observed that side effects did evolve. But over a long period of time.

There are options to take a partial dose by alternating days. The Femara insert says that 20% of the normal dose is effective. My doc said I could take it every other day to reduce side effects. However I don't really understand how that could be, since if the med is effective enough to eliminate estrogen, the side effects would be the same, regardless of dose!

Anyway, I would try to focus on the positive benefits of anastrazole and the fact that many many women tolerate it just fine- with all due sympathy for those who don't.

There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging your feelings. You should have seen the look on my surgeon’s face when I told her I would miss my hair more than my breasts. I ultimately did not need chemo, but I did have hair loss with the AI. A Swiffer in every bathroom and cleanest rooms for the last 5 years…

My dermatologist suggests people on chemo add biotin and zinc to their regime to help prevent hair loss, or help it regrow healthy and faster, if shed. [I'm not on chemo but take Biotin Forte anyway as it's good for hair and skin. ] There is a plethora of new shampoos designed to help clean out hair-product build-up from hair follicles that give new hair growth a better start. There is the amazing Dry Brush which I wouldn't shampoo without as nothing is gentler. And some interesting new small ionic scalp massagers that are stimulating. Weleda makes some herbal shampoos that have a cult following for being good for hair and scalp. There are a lot of new peptide-based scalp lotions that look promising, building on the success of eyebrow and lash products. I totally get 'hair concern' so hope this helps.

I took Anastrazole for 5 years with no major issues but the biggest thing you need to remember is that everyone is different and how medication effects you, may be be different from someone else. My side effects happened over time and didn’t last long from the time they started. I had hair thinning but it wasn’t noticeable. My hair stylist would tell me and recommend using certain hair products but again I didn’t notice that much and if you’re stressed, that can also cause side effects like fatigue but I would always remind myself of why I am on this drug and how it will benefit me in the long run. Take care!