Concerned about the side effects of anastrozole

@lynnn
Thank you Lynnn. I also hope that you will be O.K..

@rbarber100

Please let me know how you only hear about the bad about anastrozole on this site.

Did you hear that the FDA just approved a drug to help with breast cancer? The name is Trodelvy. Check to see if it applies to your treatment plan.

I started on anastrozole and was on it for about 2 1/2 years. Many do not have side effects (and don’t always join these groups so you hear mostly the bad here!) but I had pain and fatigue at first, then hair loss started after the first year. Not terrible, mostly thinning, but a topper helps. After the 2 1/2 years I was feeling about 90 even though I am a young 73. When I took a break I realized I had been in a severe depression! I have switched to exemestane in September and starting to see a little of the same effects after only a few months. I guess I am stuck like this for another 8 years, oh joy.
They say everyone reacts different so I hope for you that you can sail through with no problems!

@mimi09 omg, your emotional plate is full. Stay vigilant and keep fighting for You. Feel free to reach out to me about anything. I’m here. (((HUGS))) Keep moving forward. You’ve got this! ❤️🥰❤️

I have been on letrozole for 8 months. I have joints that ache and have had hot flashes and night sweats at times. They seem to have subsided but I do shed hair. I started using Vegamour shampoo and conditioner and serum and I think the hair loss has slowed. I have to be on it for five years - had invasive lobular cancer but none in my lymph nodes so no chemo. Had bilateral mastectomies since it reduced chances of cancer returning from 15% with lumpectomy and radiation to 2% from a surgical perspective. With my oncotype score of 22 I still have an 8% chance cancer could return even with taking the AI letrozole which is the strongest hormone blocker usually used for invasive lobular cancer which is hard to treat since it doesn’t always respond to chemo. I hope this information helps. Don’t get ahead of yourself with worry about side effects. Everyone is different and I find lots of exercise and breathing and stretching helps the joint pain. I left weights. Walk and do yoga. Stay positive! You got this!

@mimi09 Hi Mimi. So so sorry for what you are facing. OMG. Wish I could hug you right now. You know who your husband REALLY is and I pray you are in a position to be without him. Focus, focus on Mimi. Easy for me to say... but you have to. The sun WILL shine again. Every hard road I have faced in my lifetime has made me who I am. Happy, fun loving, even silly. You cannot change what is happening. I'm just grateful where I am with my cancer. That's my focus. The rest is human interference. I am a woman of faith and my faith has gotten me thru sooooo many issues. I'm in San Antonio, TX. I don't zoom. I'll inquire when my partner is not watching Ohio football. LOL. I love you Mimi. Hang in there. I have a decal on the back of my car, "Badass Breast Cancer Survivor". That's me. XXXOOO

@anniez1943 I’ve never fought so hard and long to project just what you said “no one knows us better than us” as I fight both breast cancer AND a husband of 57 years who’s filed for divorce. It’s the greatest challenge I’ve ever faced. But it is what it is…the hand that was dealt me. I play each card in that hand as knowledgeably as I can every day that is left to me.
We -you and I- know what we’re capable of handling no matter what others think. We risk more than others think is safe and become stronger.
Wish we could sit together over a meal and a very long discussion. I live in SE Pennsylvania. Where are you? We could zoom??

@tinalove
I have had zero hair loss or thinning and have been taking Anastrozole for 10 months. Hope this helps you, Honey. Blessings.

@marshgirl24
I'm so glad to hear your good luck with Anastrozole. I'm almost 83 and also have been on it for 10 months. Maybe that was a good month to start. LOL Ive had almost zero side effects and those mimicked what I could get even if not on Anastrozole. So I'm a happy girl at this point. I had ductal carcinoma, had 30 rounds of radiation, a mastectomy with 15 lymph glands removed, one was cancer. My second round of same thing. First was 12 years ago. Just never know when it might strike again. I don't want a third. So happy that at least there are 2 of us who are doing pretty darn well on Anastrozole. Happy turkey day and God bless you always.