Concerned about the side effects of anastrozole

i get cortisone injections in my knees for arthritis which has worsened with the Tamoxifen. Gives some pain relief.

My oncologist recommended benadryl before bedtime, that helped me a lot with the insomnia. I take 2 Tylenol PM.

I have had severe pain in my hands AND in my shoulders too!! Also my knees, but not sure if that's my arthritis.

Sadly cortisone injection in my knees did not help me..... I had an asthma flare up & the prednisone they gave me helped with ALL my aches & pains. Can't be on it long though.

All,
I had severe hand pain and the inability to make a fist on either hand. Saw an excellent pain management specialist at U of M hospital about six months ago and he suggested a topical cream. It helped somewhat. Went back to see Dr. Smith two weeks ago. He did a shot in either hand and almost immediately my hands felt better than they had in over six months. Didn't realize how much the pain impacted my daily quality of life until it was gone.

Oh that does not sound like it was fun! Hopefully your hands are much better now. It’s tough when you cannot do much with your hands. Feel better.

Hi All- Like many on this thread I had breast cancer and radiation, and am now taking Anastrozole. The hot flashed are fairly mild, but after two months I am getting a lot of joint aches all over. My question is- is this drug doing irrepairable damage to my joints? In five years if I stop, will my joints be fine? I am a dancer and have never had joint pain before, so I am concerned and want to remain as active as possible, while still lowering my chance of a cancer reoccurrence. Thanks for your help. Denise

@dmgweiss
I've been on anastrozole for 18 months now (at half a mg/day). At first, the joint, bone, muscle pain was extensive, but now has subsided. I continue to exercise daily in any event. It is often the case for patients going on anastrozole (or any AI) to have a DEXA Bone Density Scan of spine and hip at some point prior to going on an AI, along with a Vitamin D blood serum test... for a very good reason. AIs can risk loss of bone mineral density, leading to osteoporosis and fractures. You need to have a baseline test, and another two years later to see if there are changes (like osteopenia).

There are trade-offs... like most things in life. On the one hand, patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancers experience a significant reduction in recurrence while taking AIs. On the other hand, there can be a loss of bone mineral density, as noted above. Oncologists believe that they can deal with the significant loss of bone mineral density by giving those patients denosumab, biophosphonates, and such.

If your baseline bone density is favorable, however, daily exercise, keeping your vitamin D above 40, and taking good quality fish oil should help keep it that way, and help with the arthralgia which many experience. So far, it's my impression that the joint pain from AIs is not the same thing as joint damage (which is not a reported side effect of AIs).

@dmgweiss - I was on Femura and had terrible joint pain that impacted my sleep and quality of life. After reviewing my oncotype and mammoprint, my oncologist decided I had a very low chance of reoccurrence and put me on Tamoxifen. Its much better, with only a bit of joint pain. I exercise every day and take a lot of supplements. Also, I received permission to take an endocrine holiday while on vacation for 2 weeks. You have choices.

@dmgweiss - Denise, Due to bad reaction to anastrozole, I was switched to letrozole. Still having the bad joint aches, but I've found by slowly increasing vitamin D capsules to 5,000 dosage that that helps. I'm also walking an hour every other day and on the "off" days swim about 1/2 hour and do the breast cancer strength training classes taught by our Phys Therapy Dept. I've also recently added a 1-hr class (once weekly) of qi gong. With your history of dancing, probably all the stretching exercises you do will also help. All the best to you.