Arimidex cause hip pain?

[Cath]

Does Arimidex cause hip pain? Actually I have back and knee pain also but the hip pain is the worse. I had a bone scan a month ago and it did not show any bone mets. Thank goodness! But the pain continues and seems to be worse at times. I am also very stiff when getting up. Seems like I just don't bend well anymore. I take ibuprofen twice a day but that doesn't seem to be helping anymore. I will continue to take the Arimidex because my tumors were 100% estrogen positive but this pain is wearing on my nerves. The bone scan showed a lot of degenerative changes so maybe I'm just getting old? Also I have the nagging fear in the back of my mind of how do I know pain from arthritis from pain from cancer?

[tricia keegan]

Cathy this does sound like the aches I had with Arimidex and I took it for eight years and only stopped last week, basically the aches can be helped by a daily Supplement of Glucosamine/ Chondroitin, you'll get to know the difference between the usual aches and an ongoing pain which needs more investigation, any pain or swelling that continues for 2-3 weeks needs to be investigated more.

[Debbie L.]

Alas, Cath, this sounds typical (especially if it's both hips). For some, it's more an initial stiffness/pain that eases once we get going. For others, it's a lot of pain all the time. Some people have had success with upping their Vitamin D intake (research is ongoing on that). Others have switched to a different AI and it's been better (or even good). About the switching thing, there's really no logic to it but research has shown that a good percent of women do get relief when they switch And it doesn't seem like one AI is "better" than another as far as pain -- just that switching from one to the other (either direction) seems to help.

There's someone on this list who has reported that she goes between (I think) Arimidex and Femara -- taking one until the pain gets too bad and then switching to the other. Repeat.

Debbie Laxague

[jaykay]

Hi,

Unfortunately, AI's tend to cause joint pain. As others have mentioned, you can try a different one to see if the pain goes away.

Were you prescribed any biophasphate for the bone issues? Like Fosamax, Zometa, etc? It won't make the pain go away but are typically prescribed to slow down bone loss, along with Vitamin D and calcium.

The glucosamine combo that Tricia recommended is also helpful for joint pain. I don't know how much exercise you get, but walking is always good at loosening up the joints.

Best
Janis

[KeriK]

Have you tried adding Claritin? I had the achey hips w kadcyla. They ached so bad I could hardly sleep or walk normally. My infusion nurse told me to try Benadryl or Claritin. I opted for the Claritin and after one day of taking it I had hardly any pain!!! Crazy!!
Hope you find something for relief