Concerned about the side effects of anastrozole

Has anyone experienced extreme chapped lips while taking anastrozole? I have tried absolutely every product (vaseline, aquaphor, eraclear, carmex, blistex, chap stick, AND MANY OTHERS) and have found no relief. It's starting to become a disorder where I am constantly applying some product to my lips. They are very painful especially if I am sweating or eating salty foods. This is not a life-threatening problem but definitely affecting my quality of life. Are there any prescription or other remedies that work? Thanks to you all for sharing!

Hope your medications work and your upcoming scans bring good news!

SCIENCE BASED and very informative. I was confused by the "good riddance to estrogen" aspect , and now I see how the functionality is very different . Thank You so much for this help. I am trying to understand my treatment , not at all easy for a lay person . TY !

@pjsfla, you're so right. Anti-estrogen therapy is so confusing. I find this page on breastcancer.org explains all the types and the mechanisms of action plainly.
- Hormonal Therapy https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/hormonal-therapy

I'm sorry if I mis spoke . I am MORE confused , however and request clarification on a "inhibitor" vs a "downregulator" of estrogen . Please ?

Just for clarification
Faslodex (fulvestrant) is not technically speaking an aromatase inhibitor. It is also an anti-estrogen medication.but is an estrogen receptor downregulator (ERD). It works by blocking the actions of estrogen in the body.

Faslodex is used in postmenopausal women with hormone-related breast cancer that is advanced or has spread to other parts of the body (metastatic).

Forgot to say , yes , taking faslodex shots . aka fulvestrant . That is another AI , to rid the estrogen , so to starve the cancer . 1x a month . It isnt enough alone so also on Ibrance , but hasn't been shown to work yet . Fingers crossed , scan likely in May / June to see if working or not . Been a roller coaster , and problems with slow appts at Kaiser perm . They blame covid of course . Best , PJSFLA

@pjsfla you raise an interesting question about resistance that develops with these meds. Are you taking a different AI for your MBC? I am going to send you a private message about how you were diagnosed, so as to avoid a tangent in this thread.

I began Arimidex , aka Anastrazole post masec/chemo/rad and stayed on 4 1/2 yrs . Slight increase in Osteoporosis , no other side effects , not a big deal , just not effective when the cancer metastisized into lymph , pleural lung area and 1 bone lesion . So , the damn cancer mutates and outran it , as with many / most all treatments . No hair loss , tons of long curly hair after it being straight all my life . Weird , right , but so common . We call it "curly chemo hair " among my BC friends . You'll be fine , and best of luck to all of us ! PJS

Thanks, I probably won't be that strict about diet but aim for improvement.

I too would love to hear about people actually improving bone density without meds. I spoke with a woman who swears that she actually reversed osteoporosis (and later survived breast cancer) and am doing the usual stuff to stay in the osteopenia or better phase. Balanced with the awareness that I'm getting older and, there are some inevitable changes so one can only try to mitigate them.