Aromatase Inhibitors: Did you decide to go on them or not?

When you say the Letrozole was better than the Arimidex, what specifically are you referring to with regard to side effects?

My husband hasn’t been very patient either. Doesn’t like disruption to his routine. I’m 74 and married 40 some years (can’t remember 😳) & felt quite comfortable telling him to get used to it; I have at least 4 years to go, lol. I feel so fortunate to have found this forum and wish all of us the very best.

@lisman1408

I’m very sorry you have had these side effects, but I must also admit that I am relieved that someone else has experienced this from Arimidex/Anastrozole. I feared I was heading into dementia also, and I’m 65. The anxiety and self consciousness I felt from some mild memory loss was awful. I truly thought I was heading into dementia too! The worst was that my husband wasn’t very nice about it that I couldn’t remember things as well I used to. It inconvenienced him that I forgot things and he didn’t like it at all. Recently, I started itching and breaking out in hives. That’s another rare side effect. My doctor switched me to tomoxifin and the hives and itching is better, but not completely relieved. I’ve given myself a break and stopped taking it twice for about 10 days; after a couple days off the meds I start to feel like my old self again-the itching and hives go away. I know it’s probably not good for me to take a break from it, but at the holidays when I had my family here it was such a joy to be able to feel more like myself again! I’m grateful to have medication available to help prevent a recurrence of cancer, but the side effects sure aren’t pleasant either!

I am 64 stage 1A all marginal tissues and nodes clear 20 radiation treatments and was still put on arimedex. I tried 2 different times of 3 weeks. No no never again. The joint pain and hot flashes UNBELIEVABLE but remember everyone reacts differently. I have opt out because I want quality of life...

I've been on Arimidex for about five months, but I'm 81 years old and wonder how much of what I'm experiencing doesn't have more to do with my age and less to do with the medications. I took Femara for six months before I was switched to Arimidex because of bone pain. I don't have as much bone pain now but it's still there. My hair was thinning for a while but it seems to be thickening again. The loose, sometimes uncontrollable stools could also be from the multiple vitamins I'm taking in order to keep my bones from thinning--Vitamins A, B12, C, Iron and calcium.
So I guess my question is, how do we know which is which? What if we're blaming Arimidex for all of this when it could be it's actually something else? It sounds like we'v'e all had radiation at some point, so would that account for some of this? I just don't know.

Thanks for sharing. Sorry it took so long to reply. The message went to my spam box. I hope I don’t experience your symptoms. I just have hair loss for now.

I had practically no reaction to the Arimidex for about a year & a half. All of a sudden it really kicked in: deformed fingers & toes, challenging joint pain and muscle pain & spasms. The worst is I thought I was beginning into dementia. Had an appointment to be evaluated by neuropsychologist when I inadvertently found that the “dementia” I’ve been experiencing are side effects of the Arimidex. What a relief! I’ll only be miserable for few more years😜. I wish I had known this was a possibility. It would have saved me a great deal of angst. I understand About 50 percent of patients experience these effects within the first 2 years. I will continue with Arimidex as long as necessary and not take myself too seriously 😊. I hope you’re in the other 50 per cent ❤️

@sandyjr

I had DCIS, stage 0, 11 years ago and did 35 days of radiation and took tamoxifen for 5 years. Last April, I found I had invasive ductal carcinoma, stage 1A.. I had lumpectomies for both. This time I did only 21 days of radiation and am now on anastrozole (Arimidex). I was also wondering what anastrozole would be like as I have heard so many stories. For me, it is nothing. I have had very minor things like hot flashes...but then it was a very hot summer and I was doing radiation. I have not had one since. I have always had aches and pains to some degree so I really do not think it is a problem for me. If I do have an achy day, I just think to myself that it is a sign that the medicine is working. Also, my cousin who has had breast cancer twice had a lumpectomy for the first one and no radiation or hormone meds. She got BC again in 3 years and just opted to have a double mastectomy also with no radiation or hormones. Now she wonders if she should have done either or both of the other therapies. I think there is no right answer to this. What works for one may not work for another. I opted to take the anastrozole because I did not to kick myself in the future for not doing everything I could for myself.