Anastrozole Brain Fog

@gailmarienewton I had all the same things on Anastrazole coupled with pain. Chronic low level but with daily episodes of stabbing pain somewhere (today left ankle, tomorrow maybe right hip). After 9 months, moved to exemestane. Pain was better but weakness, elevated hear rate/BP. I have mouth problems but they started during chemo so not sure if damage from that which could be exacerbated by the ai therapy or directly because if it. For me, didn’t get better, just gradually worsened. After 17 months, he gave me a month off and I took 6 weeks because it took a month to feel better. Wanted to retry it and everything started back up. So I’m now on a 2 week reprieve before I start Letrozole and see how that goes. Not optimistic because from what I read, Letrozole is Anastrazole on steroids but we’ll see. Hang in there. We all respond differently so they may try a different one that does better for you. My personal opinion is that there will always be some level of brain fog because of the lack of estrogen so just have to find the one that has least amount.

Thank you all for your comments. (February was double mastectomy; April-May was radiation of 38 treatments)).I always felt as though I was the smartest person in the room....now I can't seem to get it together. I don't know if it is the Anastrozole...I just know I am not myself. On top of the brain fog, the night sweats, forgetting words, and just feeling weak all the time, I am now getting mouth sores and having belly issues. During menopause (25 years ago), I breezed through it...holding down 2 jobs getting my children through university degrees. Now...I am weak...tried to go to gym for elliptical, walk a mile a day....not happening....just made me feel weaker after 2 weeks. Eating healthier than ever...and I was always a healthy eater...still no relief. I see my cancer doctor on the 10th for treatment of leukemia (WBC less than 2, ANC less than 2, mono% high, RBCs low) and immunity disorders (IGg, IGm) and my radiation cancer doctor a week later....hoping for answers. Maybe a change of med????? or does this get better????

@green1 I am on week one of my “.reprieve “, interestingly, there are withdrawal side effects that creep up. Didn’t really notice anything until Day 4. Then it hit. These are powerful drugs!

I appreciate your response.
I have taken anastrozole for three years..I had a partial masecetomy (sp)and radiation therapy. I was stage 1. Brain Fog is really affecting my job and home life. I am so tired it. It is listed as a side effect of anastrozole. I had to stop and think of that word ( affected! how weird)!!! My Internist has prescribed Memetine ( a dementia drug) only makes it worse ! I have an appointment with Cancer Doc soon. I am going to ask to be taken off of it atleast for a while to see if it makes a difference!

@jwmusic65
The decision not to resume Anastrozole is a good topic to discuss with the oncologist after 6 weeks. Discuss pros and cons. I had surgery, chemo, radiation, and then Anastrozole. I could not tolerate the Anastrozole. The oncologist and I discussed the risk factors, and based on statistics and research, my recurrence risk only changed by a few percentage points without AIs. So, for my quality of life, I decided not to take.

But every person is different. The decision may be based on age, type of breast cancer, or other factors. That is why it needs to be a shared decision-making between you and the provider.

I am glad you're feeling better.

Yes! And the brain fog has continued for 8 months! The oncologist has given me a 6 week break from this medication & I’m feeling much better just one week into the six! I do wonder the value of Anastrozole since the chemo & radiation “supposedly” wiped out the cancer.

@jwmusic65 Yes. Same with me. Are there alternatives?

@lorettaflowers65 Yes! Am
struggling with this med and have only been taking it for 6 months.

Yes! I have been taking it for 6 months and the brain fog plus anxiety is overwhelming.

Hello everyone. I'm 59. I've been on Anastrazole since July of 2023. The hot flashes are nowhere near as bad as they were. I've been noticing that I'm more and more that I have no self confidence now. I can learn new things fast like I used to, I feel as if my co workers are smarter, learn faster and have no real use for me in my position. I have always been someone in the workplace that learned fast, was a trainer to other, a supervisor and now. I feel useless almost in everything I do. I've been going through menopause for a while and then diagnosed in 23 with breast cancer. I can't think straight, can't make decisions, over analyze everything. My Oconogist told me being on Anastrazole is like Menopause in overdrive. Can anyone relate?