Concerned about the side effects of anastrozole

I went off Anastrozole for 2 months. The insomnia was so bad I couldn't stand it. I had radiation recall on my breast and chest and it cleared up. I was feeling really good. But now I have been back on it for a month again and I am back to having fatigue joint pain, insomnia,.

Tricia- What does your oncologist think about you going off Femura for 2-3 weeks? I tried Fermura and stopped due to joint pain. Am on Tomoxifen now

@francine6829
I was taken off for Arimidex (anastrozole) 3 weeks due two bad bouts of diverticulitis. Had the WORST sweats and itching in those 3 weeks...don't know if it was withdrawal-type symptoms. Put on Femara (letrozole) and have been on 3 weeks and itching is subsiding and very few night sweats. We are going on a trip in November and I'm thinking about going off 2-3 weeks to help with the fatigue so I can enjoy that vacation.

@francine6829, If you do this, Francine, will you please post the results of going off the drug for 3 weeks.

My oncologist said I could take a vacation from the endocrine therapy for 2-3 weeks while I was on vacation. Has anyone else done this?

My doc vetoed tamoxifen because she said the chance for blood clots was too great. (I’ve had a hysterectomy so the possibility of uterine cancer is nil.) I have not asked about another type of AI because these side effects seemed quite tolerable, and also because I don’t have a good rapport with my onc and don’t really desire to interact with her more than absolutely necessary 🙄.

Charisma- have you considered switching to another AI or Tomoxifen ?

I too have been on anastrozole for 2 1/2 years. It is very tolerable, although I have the side effects you describe (minus the cystitis). Besides wrinkles (I aged ten years by the third month I had been taking it) my thin hair is most distressing. I finally had it cut into a pixie style, but it is thin and fine, hardly grows, and just “sticks to my head”. Biotin didn’t help. I am actually considering wearing a wig all the time— and I hate wigs; they remind me of chemo.
I would also be interested to hear if the hair situation rebounds after the anastrozole therapy is discontinued. Also, please post if you think the Rogaine is helping you. Thanks!
(In looking at my profile pic, you’d think I had a lot of hair. But this pic was taken just a couple of months after I had started the anastrozole. It actually was a little thicker, although it never bounced back to pre-chemo status.)

Well @tinalove, hopefully you are hanging in with your treatment. I have been on Anastrozole for a little over 2 years. The first 2-3 months were brutal, but then things seemed to get a bit better, so I would encourage anyone who's newly on this drug to stick it out for at least a few months. Over time I have experienced many side effects including joint pain, hot flashes and night sweats, depression and anxiety, vaginal dryness, frequent cystitis, and in the past few months my hair has started thinning significantly. I understand the joint pain can be excruciating for some women; for me it has been manageable. The cystitis is another story; really disruptive for me and I never see anyone else writing about it. The hair thinning has also been pretty distressing. I was ready to call that the last straw and quit the meds, but I just started using Rogaine and am going to give that a few months and see if it helps. My oncologist has been fantastic and done everything possible to help, but not a day goes by that I don't think about quitting this medicine. I just know it is giving me the best odds, so for now I'm going to keep taking it. Re: hair thinning - if anyone out there has finished their AIs and experienced a reversal/improvement in hair thinning, I would love to hear from you. Peace out everyone.

I'll check, I'm on vacation so I don't have the bottle.