arimidex side effects.

[Pray]

Has anyone seen a Rheumotoligist for their joint pain on arimidex? What was your out come? Thanks in advance!

[tricia keegan]

I found I just got used to the stiffness as time went on although my Onc did say Glucosamine/Chondroitin may help. I agreed to take it for another two years and glad to deal with the stiffness than a recurrance but have'nt seen a rheumatologist about it and will be interested to see other replies.

[Rejoyce]

I have not seen a rheumatologist either. I feel I am getting more use to stiffness and pain. It's the new me!
I just started taking Glucosamine/Chondroitin. I also take aleve when it gets bad. Occasionally, I even take a percocet if I can't sleep from the pain.
I will be on Arimidex for four more years.
One thing I notice since taking this drug is I don't feel like I ever get a good nights sleep. Alot of tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable.

[Debbie L.]

Nope, no rheumatologist. Since it's not really arthritis nor auto-immune disease to blame, I'm not sure if they'd be the ones to see or not. But maybe so -- I guess they do all bone/muscle issue, right?

I've seen studies that report they can see "tenosynovial thickening" (or edema) and sometimes more fluid around the joints, on MRI looking for reasons for pain while on AIs.

It seems like people find the various NSAIDs to be the most helpful for this pain. Also, some women have reported dramatic improvement when they supplement with Vitamin D (I don't know if this has been studied formally).

If you google "tenosynovial thickening ai" you will get lots of interesting hits (but no solutions, alas).

I took Arimidex for 2 years, with a fair amount of pain/stiffness. Since stopping it, I have had lots of tendon-ish issues. Carpal tunnel, steadily worsening. IT Band tightness and pain that limits my hiking (I am NOT a runner). Drastically decreased hand strength. And several other random pain/tightness things that have been somewhat helped by a chiro who does ART (active release techniques) on the tendons and sheaths.

The other thing I usually mention when this topic comes up is that we keep seeing associations between NSAID/aspirin use and decreased cancer. It seems to me like in all the studies looking at AI efficacy in preventing cancer recurrence, we should also be tracking NSAID use, which is bound to be increased because of the pain issues. It could be a significant confounder, especially when comparing Tamoxifen and AIs.

That's a lot more than you asked. Sorry, I got carried away.

Debbie Laxague

[Pray]

Thank you everyone for your replys! The dr. I'm supposed to see won't beable to until Oct.!! My fingers hurt all of the time now. Just using a pen hurts so much. I do take 81 mg of aspirin and 2000 vit. d3 every day

Any other suggestions!

Its very hot in MI could the heat be making my joints worse.

I don't know how much more I can take.

[tricia keegan]

Pray I had this after and during Taxol for a while and the onc prescribed Lyrica, the side effects can be severe so decided against it as I was'nt too bad but you may want to consider it for neuropathy/trigger thumb!

[sassy]

Debbie L. said:

"I've seen studies that report they can see "tenosynovial thickening" (or edema) and sometimes more fluid around the joints, on MRI looking for reasons for pain while on AIs."

I like to bring this up when questions about Arimidex side effects come up. My GP has had me on Lasix for several years to address the fluid that increases in the joints. It has made a significant difference in the amount of stiffness I experience. It has not "cured" the symptoms, but certainly an improvement.

At one point I cited a small study that supported this theory as an incidental finding in a study of cancer patients with heart issues using diuretics. The study found that those on AI's using the diuretics seemed to have less issue with joint stiffness.

I recommend discussing this with your onc and/or GP. For most, I would think giving it a try would not pose any problems and might prove helpful.

[v-ness]

how soon did side effects kick in on Arimidex? i just started it last week after my onco had me do a bone density test. i don't feel anything different as of yet, and hope it continues that way. already aching from 2 yrs of tamoxifen.

[Pray]

I have been out of town the last couple of weeks with out internet access. Thank you all for your replies.

Rhonda, I will take your advice on taking lasix. It sounds like it might work. My left elbow has been noticably swollen for some time now. told my Dr. and was told it probably birsitus. (I don't think so.)

V-ness, my side effects did not start for a few weeks and have progressively started getting worse. I don't believe it gets this bad for everyone. Just getting up from sitting for an hour it takes me 15 to 20 steps before pain subsides. I would not worry until I had something to worry about. This is wise advice I have learned from the wonderful people on this site. take care and Gods blessingst to you.

The Dr. I'm going to see has a waiting list for canceled appts. and I will call every am to see if I can get in sooner.

Peace,

Nancy

[v-ness]

i seem to have a headache almost every day. not an awful one, but annoying all the same. my body aches a lot, particularly my back when laying down. i have been taking Motrin, but i am not psyched about that because of liver issues with arimidex and another med i am on. hardly need to be adding something else to the mix. lastly, i feel so fatigued. i get through the workday and workout, but in the evening i am wiped out. i also feel rather weepy, but that could also be because of my friend's newly diagnosed cancer. bringing memories to the forefront of that time of my life, and seems like the last straw at times in terms of how much cancer i can stand in my life. not that there's jack i can do about it, right?

weary. v

[Pray]

Hi, Well I saw the rheumatologist, He said he couldn't tell what was going on yet. He gave me a nsaid, took several x-rays of my hands and blood work, said with in two weeks time depending on how the nsaid works he would know along with the other tests what is going on.

The nurse had me take my rings off which took some doing and some windex (never thought of that one!). My fingers hurt pretty bad the rest of the day. They told me not to wear them until we figured out the swelling.

I had mentioned in a past post that I didn't think I could take much more of this. I have reconsidered my position. I do believe i would much rather tolerate side effects than having arthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. This is scary to me because I know many people who have either or. They suffer a great deal and one is a good friend who was dx as a teenager. She is an amazing woman who never complains. She humbles me, she is so strong.

So the Dr. is not a guesser and I hope to know something in about 10 days. I suppose anything is better then the c-word.

Its my forth day on the nsaid and nothing yet but it makes me very tired no biggy. He said it could take a week before it started to work.

Has anyone else had this journey?

V-ness I do hope you are doing better. I would love to hear you chime in.

Peace,

Nancy

[v-ness]

hi nancy - sorry to hear about your bone pain. i hope something helps soon. my mom got rheumatoid arthritis at age 29 and it was awful. over the years, she had her hip replaced twice, knee replaced, wrist replaced, ankle fused, and by the time she died it was in her back. mom really suffered a lot, and the damn Enbrel she took for it caused her to get a staph infection she could never be rid of with all of those prosthetic joints. i can't even imagine.... it hurts to get up from a squat (knees and lower back) but i am sure it's nothing compared to what she went through.

i feel a hundred times better now that i am OFF arimidex and switched over to femara. i think some of my joint pain/body aches are thanks to femara, but that's OK. no biggie. the only other side effect i had was that it gave me insomnia, but again no biggie. i just take it in the morning. so i feel pretty great, all told. hell, the body aches could be from being 52 and constantly doing physical labor and workouts anyway.

i quit taking oxybutynin for the hot flashes simply because i am sick of pills. that said, sometimes my forehead explodes in a steamy rainstorm and i get soaked - even my arms sweat! but cold weather is coming soon.

take care, nancy. did you ever ask about switching to another drug if arimidex is too much? valerie

[Firework]

I have extreme joint pain and trigger fingers as well. I've been on Arimidex since January 2012. After several tries with Rx pain killers (wanted to take them almost every morning BEFORE I got out of bed! a new oncologist put me on Mobic 15mg every day. I have had some improvement. Yay! Still stiff after being still and have pain when I start moving but everything improves once I'm up and going.

Maybe Mobic might help someone else, just a suggestion.

Lorraine

[Pray]

Hi,

Valerie, I'm glad your doing better! We want to be sure it is the arimidex before going off because of what the next drug side effects could be for me. My body does not like to do drugs since dx I didn't do well with most of the chemo drugs became allergic to a couple of antibiotics (peni. and sulfa) stomach stopped making B12 so we are in no hurry to switch and they are just not convinced there side effects of arimidex.

Lorraine, thank you for chiming in! I did try mobic for 31/2 weeks and it didn't help. This is one of the reasons I'm being checked by the RA dr. I'm all for suggestions! There is always someone here looking to help.

Thank you both again.

Peace,

Nancy