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Concerned about the side effects of anastrozole

Breast Cancer | Last Active: 6 days ago | Replies (1931)

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@appaloosagal

I started out on Tamoxifen Sept. 2015 it damaged my Liver. After being off of it for 6 months my Liver enzymes returned to almost normal. I then started Letrazole. The side effects were bad . So i started Anastrozole a year ago. The headaches, insomnia, and overall not feeling well.
I went off of it in March to give my body a rest. And got to feeling better. Could get the saddle on my big ole horse with no problem, months ago I could hardly lift it up there. I just started it back up May 11, and my headaches are back, tired, can't sleep at all. Joints hurt. I refuse to take another pill to help side effects, that have other side effects! I have hot flashes all the time.
I am trying to decide if I want to go off the meds permanently.

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Replies to "I started out on Tamoxifen Sept. 2015 it damaged my Liver. After being off of it..."

@appaloosagal as my new oncologist would say:"You gave it your best. Decide on quality of life"

I started on anastrozole in November. Only side effects so far to EASE, is dry eyes. No headaches, but I have the bad joint pain in my hands, shoulders and toes; insomnia (my doctor recommended benadryl at bed time); hot flashes have gone down from 15 a day to about 4 a day; Exercise does seem to help overall. But I swear my hands hurt so much sometimes, I want to stop taking it. But I do not want cancer again. One study compared people who had surgery & took an AI, vs. people who had surgery & took no further treatment. The re-occurrence rate was 40% in the people who took no AI's. So I guess that keeps me from stopping the meds. Hang in there.