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Has anyone changed from Anastrozole to Exemestane?
I had DCIS 16 yrs ago and developed memory/cognitive issues along w hair loss, joint pain,etc with Tamoxifen so had to discontinue it after 2 years. There were no other AI's back then so that was the end of my treatment . I was diagnosed with a new DCIS in the opposite breast in Feb 2023.. I had surgery, radiation and began Anastrozole in May. The joint pain and insomnia became severe within 2 months with an average of 3 hrs of sleep a nite/napping during the day, heating pads on my knees and back, etc which impacted my life style and marriage. Then I started to experience brain fog/memory issues so discontinued the Anastrozole with a month long break. The joint pain and insomnia resolved, and the memory issues have improved but are still an issue.
I just started on Exemestane 2 days ago and am wondering if anyone else is taking it and what their experience has been?. Thank you for your input and best wishes on your journey.
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@marceille08
has electrolytes in it, it's a water supplement. Can't hurt ya!
I also switched from Anastrole to Exemestane after 2 awful months. On Exemestane, I still have joint and muscle pain, but when the pain gets too intense, I take a drug holiday for 2 weeks to get a break. Then I go quickly back on it. My oncologist supports that.
@marceille08 It has several different vitamins in it, like b vitamins, e, c. for some that alone must be enough to help prevent side effects. Adding electrolytes and vitamins did not help in my case, the only thing that has helped is taking my exemestane every other day and taking Estroven Complete Multi-Symptom (Rhapontic rhubarb root extract) and even with all that I still have many side effects but they are less severe.
It's a water supplement that has electrolytes in it. Beyond that I don't know. It works with Exemestane that I take as hormone blocker.
@angele2times I'm wondering what the propel does.
@mistymar
Thanks for your kind and thoughtful words. Itās good to know we are not alone.
I havenāt tried Letrozole yet. That will be my next step.
@sboston1
Good Luck with your journey! May the road have less bumps for you!
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@angele2times
Thanks sp much. I will talk with my doctor. I appreciate you! š
@sboston1
Lots of people having trouble with Anastrozole and Letrozole. I chose Exemestane and Propel chaser which has electrolytes in it. Little to no side effects. If you switch you have to give your body a chance to adjust too. Talk with your doctor!! I can't imagine, living with joint pain and hot flashes for that long! Switching too soon, is really tough, I read that here from a woman that switched too quickly. Use your doctor's guidance to make the appropriate switching schedule. Are you getting infusions too, with either chemo or Herceptin??
@dmr4ever I feel for you. And it is difficult to determine what are actually side effects of the meds and what are side effects of what the meds do - ie take away estrogen. It seems like a lot of the listed side effects for all these meds are the same as menopause - the brain fog, mood swings, fatigue, insomnia etc, etc, etc. The only way to tell sometimes is to come off the meds and see what happens but then thereās that tumor on the background. And side effects can be different on each one - didnāt have the insomnia on Anastrazole and didnāt have the bone/joint pain on the exemestane. Still too early to tell what Letrozole has in store for me and then possibly Tamoxifen. My onco wonāt entertain low dose (every 2-3 day dose) but I see a lot of that in these forums. Maybe consider asking about that if you havenāt already. May help keep you on the meds with fewer bad side effects to be better able to care for your daughter. Will keep you in my thoughts as we go through this journey. Only a few more years right?
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