Anastrozole and bladder pain

Posted by virginiae @virginiae, Feb 28, 2020

I have been on Anastrozole for 3 years and bladder pain has become my top issue. Feels like a UTI, but when I have my PCP test my urine there is no UTI. Went to a urogyn who said this is a result of the tissues thinning from lack of estrogen. With approval from my oncologist and urogyn, I use a small amount of estrogen cream vaginally 2x week, and the urogyn prescribed another medicine for pain flareups. I've been able to get by this way for a time, but it's been getting worse and harder to control the flareups. Next week I'm going back to the urogyn so she can look inside my bladder and make sure there's no cancer. Assuming there isn't (fingers crossed), if I cannot control the pain it's going to be a deal breaker for me and I will stop the anastrozole. I have been managing through the joint pain and other side effects, but it's very hard to function with bladder pain and I have to be able to support myself for a little longer. Anyone else struggling with this? Thanks…

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@gshoemaker

Did your interstitial cystitis cause symptoms like blood showing up in urine, which caused you to think you had a UTI? What sent you to the urologist for a cystoscopy?

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Pain. Painful bladder on a regular basis. No blood in urine, just the pain similar to when you have a UTI. Cystoscopy found no signs of cancer but a lot of inflammation. I managed through this period by drinking a ton of water and avoiding acidic foods and it did get better, but would flare up periodically. I finished my 5 years of anastrozole and I do think that exacerbated it.

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So, can you tell me how often and at what time of day you have bladder pain? I have burning pain lower abdomen at night, keeps me awake but rarely have it during the day.

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@karenvh

So, can you tell me how often and at what time of day you have bladder pain? I have burning pain lower abdomen at night, keeps me awake but rarely have it during the day.

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@karenvh, have you talked to your cancer team about this bladder pain? Have they ruled out any infection or other condition that may be causing this pain?

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@colleenyoung

@karenvh, have you talked to your cancer team about this bladder pain? Have they ruled out any infection or other condition that may be causing this pain?

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No I have not spoken with onco, but my doctor is running tests, high Leukocytes and hemoglobin in urine, having an ultrasound on Tuesday, but I quit taking the anastrozole last week Monday and I'm already starting to feel better. I'm going to stay off it until all tests are done. Then make a decision as to go back on it or change to something else. Thank you for your response, I appreciate it.

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