@micheleandrew what helped me was walking (had to be more than 40 minutes, hurt at first) and tai chi. Hope you find a way to continue on the meds!

It must be tough with the induced menopause. Does that create a double whammy of menopause symptoms plus AI side effects? I would think so!

I also had a chemical oopherectomy and then endocrine therapy. Like @windyshores I found that an hour walk a day really helped me with the achiness, and joint stiffness. The symptoms of menopause are still around some years later. I am so grateful it has gotten cooler because it at least slows down the water loss from the hot flashes. Lol Taking these drugs is a cost vs benefit decision for each person and every person reacts a little differently. Luckily we can share tips. Here is a few of mine. Walking outside, rain or shine, helps me feel less achy and gives me a chance to clear out the cobwebs in my brain to better focus on the day. It is also according to the Mayo doctors, the single best exercise for your bones. A small desk fan aimed at my head and chest area at night helps me sleep through the night. If I feel like I am a bit scattered or struggling with a thought, and I had to teach myself this……let it go. It will probably come back later.
It is hard when we are done with the surgeries, and the chemo, and the radiation, and everyone expects us to be the same as we were before cancer. The truth is I am not that person, and the hardest thing I had to accept is, that ship sailed away and will not be back.
Have you developed any tips or patterns that seem to make things better for you?

Reading this I feel that I could have written this myself but couldn’t put it into words…thank you

I am sorry to hear that you are suffering. Unfortunately these meds are different for all of us. I think your doctor will tell you to try to continue with them if you can. You said you had bc twice, and your sister also has had it. So maybe the doctor feels with the history here it’s important for you to try and push through. I know it’s controversial as to these meds working or not but the proof is out there!!! You are young and you have a long life ahead of you, and as you said 2 teenage boys!!! You may not feel the same as before, you may not move as fast and I am sure you have bad days… but you are here!!!! Please don’t give up…♥️♥️♥️

I was a teacher and my one prayer in life was to live long enough to raise my 2 boys since I had many students who lost a parent. When that worked out, and then I got diagnosed, I felt that life didn’t owe me anything. I have always been able to handle the ups and downs in life, but like someone else said, coming out the other side of this, I am not the same person anymore and no one seems to get that. They think I am okay because I got through my 5 years (stage 0, stage 1, bilateral, double mastectomy). It took 8 months to realize that it was so traumatic. I accept that people don’t mean to be unkind when they tell me about another person whose cancer is “worse than mine”. Do they think I don’t know it or that there are people truly suffering and dying? Where I have been fortunate is to have managed to stay on the AI for 5 years, but Covid helped with that. And now what? Even though my recurrence probability is low, once you are off the meds, you can’t help but think it will be back and maybe you won’t realize it since I didn’t realize it the first time. One side they couldn’t feel anything, the other side they couldn’t see anything. But now I have 2 grandkids and mostly my prayer is that my son lives long enough to raise his kids and that the other will eventually have them. I treasure my time.

Do what you can to get through. I did yoga for the side effects, particularly Sarah Beth Yoga online/ YouTube because I can do it at my own pace and for the parts that hurt the most, or just some mindfulness and as few or as many times a day as I feel. It feels better when I move, but I can’t be moving all the time! Even though the reconstruction of my breasts is beautiful, they remind me every single day. I never feel like they are not there. I also did talk therapy. For me, gulping water really helped. That’s when I knew I had forgotten to keep track of my in take.

I love watching my grandkids and I take 1 part of a day at a time since my afternoon may not be as bad as my morning,etc. But my lens is truly different now. It’s really hard not be me, plus 5 years later, I am older, so it’s hard to sort it out.

Wow! thanks so much for sharing. I have been on Anastrozole for about 7 months. I recently just started having aches in my wrist where I could barely move it without pain. I thought it was just the sign of getting old ( I am 64) . However the joint pain has been increasingly worst. I too exercise and walk, which seems to help.

What is almost unbearable is the anxiety and depression. Is anyone else going through this?

Note: I am new to this site and I honestly never thought I would participate. But after reading many of your stories it has really helped me a loth. Thank you all!