1. < Breast Cancer

Concerned about the side effects of anastrozole

Posted by tinalove @tinalove, Jan 31, 2016

I completed all treatments for breast cancer but now I am supposed to take hormone blocker, named anastrozole. im concerned about the side effects. Has anyone here taken it and did anyone have hair loss?

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dmgweiss | @dmgweiss | Sep 28, 2020
In reply to @elizm "@sparklegram @dmgweiss @trixie1313 The four of us appear to be living in the same general area...." + (show)
@elizm

@sparklegram @dmgweiss @trixie1313
The four of us appear to be living in the same general area. When the fires relent, and the virus subsides, we need to get together for lunch and share war stories. We are more than cancer survivors!

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That sounds great! Can’t wait for more ‘normal’ times.

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trixie1313 | @trixie1313 | Sep 28, 2020
In reply to @elizm "@sparklegram @dmgweiss @trixie1313 The four of us appear to be living in the same general area...." + (show)
@elizm

@sparklegram @dmgweiss @trixie1313
The four of us appear to be living in the same general area. When the fires relent, and the virus subsides, we need to get together for lunch and share war stories. We are more than cancer survivors!

Jump to this post

@elizm
Sounds good to me! The area in the city next to me is now in a warning zone. Praying this comes under control soon.

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1 reply
elizm | @elizm | Sep 28, 2020
In reply to @sparklegram "Hi Trixie, I 'm so sorry you and your family are having to endure this again...." + (show)
@sparklegram

Hi Trixie, I 'm so sorry you and your family are having to endure this again. We live near Concord and have all of our windows closed due to the smoke from those fires. I hope everything will be all right for you this time, and for your kids. Sending love...

Jump to this post

@sparklegram @dmgweiss @trixie1313
The four of us appear to be living in the same general area. When the fires relent, and the virus subsides, we need to get together for lunch and share war stories. We are more than cancer survivors!

REPLY
2 replies
kathyomaha55 | @kathyomaha55 | Sep 28, 2020
In reply to @ncgal "I started on Anestrozole in December of 2019 after my last breast cancer treatment. In late..." + (show)
@ncgal

I started on Anestrozole in December of 2019 after my last breast cancer treatment. In late January I started to get muscle and bone aches so bad that I could hardly walk. I had a follow up appointment with my radiologist and mentioned it to her and she suggested that it might be the Anestrozole. I called my oncologist and he suggested I stop taking Anestrozole for two weeks to see if that helped. It didn't! The oncologist suggested that I see my regular GP who took blood work and s aid that I was just anemic. He sent me to a neurologist who did additional blood work and found out I had Polymyalgia Rheumatica, an auto-immune disorder. He sent me to a Rheumatologist. By now, this was April so I spent 4 months in pain. The day the rheumatologist put me on
10 mgs of Prednisone the pain stopped in it's tract. We still don't know the cause and I have flare-ups where I have to again increase the Prednisone. I don't know if the Anestrozoe caused these symptoms or if they came from somewhere else (some say stress as we have had a rough year with both my husband's health and mine). I started back on Anestrozole after the two week hiatus and the only problem I am presently having apart from PMR is hair loss. I lost all my hair during chemo for breast cancer but it came back thick and curly, only to go straight and limp a few months later. Now I seem to be losing more and more of it with patches in my scalp without hair. I have tried all the Keratin sprays and Keranique shampoos but nothing helps. Any suggestions would be appreciated if you have found a way to strengthen and help growth of hair.

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When my hands hurt so much on anastrozole - my oncologist sent me to a Rheumatologist to make sure it was not something else causing the pain. There was not. I switched to Exemestane & it took like 3 months for my hands to stop hurting. So it takes longer than 2 weeks to get that anastrozole out of your system. My pain is only about 0 or 1 these days. Before it was a 7. My hair thinned but never felt out. I did not take chemo. Have you tried Rogaine? My oncologist told me to try it. When I was trying to grow my hair long (years ago) I used pre-natal vitamins that my hair dresser recommended,. I swear it worked - or maybe it was a placebo! 🙂

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ncgal | @ncgal | Sep 28, 2020
In reply to @trixie1313 "@ncgal For me personally, the anastrozole made it so I could barely walk -- between my..." + (show)
@trixie1313

@ncgal
For me personally, the anastrozole made it so I could barely walk -- between my ankles, feet, back, wrists, and hands it was horrendous. I was next placed on letrozole for which the pains was not quite as bad but gave me migraine headaches. Following that I was placed on exemestane and that had been much, much better. For the hair I read articles on Mayo about women taking biotin for my thinning hair and believe that has helped somewhat. Best of luck to you.

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Thanks, Trixie. I'll look into the biotin.

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1 reply
trixie1313 | @trixie1313 | Sep 28, 2020
In reply to @dmgweiss "I am in Walnut Creek. I hope the fires get contained quickly where you are. We..." + (show)
@dmgweiss

I am in Walnut Creek. I hope the fires get contained quickly where you are. We are getting more smoke, but that is nothing compared to being in an active fire area. I send love and prayers to you and your family.
Thanks for reframing ‘heat bombs’ for me!

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@sparklegram @dmgweiss
Thank you all for your kind thoughts...this is just crazy. Bad enough we get cancer, but this on top of everything else is nerve racking.

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dmgweiss | @dmgweiss | Sep 28, 2020
In reply to @trixie1313 "@dmgweiss With any of the aromatase inhibitors, you won't be able to avoid the hot flashes..." + (show)
@trixie1313

@dmgweiss
With any of the aromatase inhibitors, you won't be able to avoid the hot flashes or heat bombs as they are trying to reduce the estrogen in the body. I do the Zometa every 6 months as well and am down for about a week after then from my reaction...ugh. Living in Sonoma County (northern California) and we are having fires sweep through again. Both my kids lost their homes in the Tubbs fire 2 years ago and are just now in their homes. Between fires in Napa and Sonoma counties, please everyone pray for firefighters, pilots of planes and helicopters, dozer people, livestock, wildlife, and humans.

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I am in Walnut Creek. I hope the fires get contained quickly where you are. We are getting more smoke, but that is nothing compared to being in an active fire area. I send love and prayers to you and your family.
Thanks for reframing ‘heat bombs’ for me!

REPLY
1 reply
sparklegram | @sparklegram | Sep 28, 2020
In reply to @trixie1313 "@dmgweiss With any of the aromatase inhibitors, you won't be able to avoid the hot flashes..." + (show)
@trixie1313

@dmgweiss
With any of the aromatase inhibitors, you won't be able to avoid the hot flashes or heat bombs as they are trying to reduce the estrogen in the body. I do the Zometa every 6 months as well and am down for about a week after then from my reaction...ugh. Living in Sonoma County (northern California) and we are having fires sweep through again. Both my kids lost their homes in the Tubbs fire 2 years ago and are just now in their homes. Between fires in Napa and Sonoma counties, please everyone pray for firefighters, pilots of planes and helicopters, dozer people, livestock, wildlife, and humans.

Jump to this post

Hi Trixie, I 'm so sorry you and your family are having to endure this again. We live near Concord and have all of our windows closed due to the smoke from those fires. I hope everything will be all right for you this time, and for your kids. Sending love...

REPLY
1 reply
trixie1313 | @trixie1313 | Sep 28, 2020
In reply to @dmgweiss "Thanks for sharing your experience. I am glad that you are not in the same amount..." + (show)
@dmgweiss

Thanks for sharing your experience. I am glad that you are not in the same amount of pain. I take Anastrazole and have side effects of joint pain and hot flashes. These became worse after getting an infusion of Zometa. One of the side effects of Anastrazole is weakening of bone. I decided to take this infusion once every six months to help build stronger bones and reduce fractures by 40-70%. Good luck to you during this trying time.

Jump to this post

@dmgweiss
With any of the aromatase inhibitors, you won't be able to avoid the hot flashes or heat bombs as they are trying to reduce the estrogen in the body. I do the Zometa every 6 months as well and am down for about a week after then from my reaction...ugh. Living in Sonoma County (northern California) and we are having fires sweep through again. Both my kids lost their homes in the Tubbs fire 2 years ago and are just now in their homes. Between fires in Napa and Sonoma counties, please everyone pray for firefighters, pilots of planes and helicopters, dozer people, livestock, wildlife, and humans.

REPLY
2 replies
dmgweiss | @dmgweiss | Sep 28, 2020

Thanks for sharing your experience. I am glad that you are not in the same amount of pain. I take Anastrazole and have side effects of joint pain and hot flashes. These became worse after getting an infusion of Zometa. One of the side effects of Anastrazole is weakening of bone. I decided to take this infusion once every six months to help build stronger bones and reduce fractures by 40-70%. Good luck to you during this trying time.

REPLY
1 reply
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