Would You Choose Arimidex Over Femara?

[KDR]

Friends,
I am researching Arimidex vs. Femara. Would you share your experience and advice?
Thanks
Karen

[tricia keegan]

Hi Karen,

As you know I'm sure they are sister drugs with very similar side effects although some people find one easier to tolerate than the other for some reason but you may not know that without trying them out.

I began taking Arimdex in September 2006 after my (preventative) ooph, within weeks I did notice some joint stiffness and trigger thumb so my Onc said to take Glucosamine/Chondroitin which helped a little although you need to be taking it around six weeks to notice a difference.
Seven years have passed since then and some of my side effects like Trigger thumb have eased but I still have the joint stiffness which is usually worse after sitting for long periods but doesn't prevent me doing my daily 6k walk. I've agreed to continue taking this up to ten years as my Onc feels the current trials are looking promising and I prefer these minor side effects to a recurrance any day!

Good luck with making your decision and hope you do well on it.:)

[KDR]

Tricia,
Thanks for the input. I am on Glucosamine now. I am weakly PR positive, but that means I am also somewhat ER positive (to what extent is unknown, but therein lies the driver).
Trials with hormonal therapies such as these are showing efficacy? That is mar-ve-lous!

Karen

[jaykay]

Hi Karen,

I was on Femara for 5 years and had the same joint stiffness, but mostly in the morning when first getting out of bed and after sitting for a while. Like Tricia, it didn't stop me from doing anything. It did contribute to my existing osteopenia and I've been doing Reclast every other year. I am holding my own on the bone front.

I am back on Femara again due to the 2nd breast cancer. I was originally put on Aromasin (a newer AI), but my body didn't like it, so my doctor put me on Femara. It's been almost 3 months and I haven't noticed anything different. I will also attribute the joint pain to the aging process :-).

I have found Femara to be MUCH easier for me than Tamoxifen was. I know others have had the opposite experience. We are lucky that we have 3 choices for AI's.

Best
Janis

[tricia keegan]

karen I should have mentioned the ten year trial that is ongoing is to see what if any benefit there is in taking hormonals for early stage past the five years stage which is why I agreed to ten.
Janis reminded me that I did develop Osteopenia a few years ago despite a lot of walking which helps but I'm not on a once yearly iv of zometa and my last dexa showed a great response and turn around so I'm happy enough to remain on it for now.

[BonnieR]

I was on Femara for awhile until I developed trigger thumb. Switched to Aromasin for the final stretch. Interesting that we can have the same SEs from different meds. Shows how interchangeable they are. And how different each of us is at various stages. I guess what I'm saying is "whichever works"
Keep the faith

[sassy]

Hey Karen,

I did my own study on Three AI's to determine which had the most tolerable side effects.

I was on Arimidex for 6 years with significant joint stiffness, mostly in the morning, hands especially. My GP suggested trying Lasix to combat the stiffness and it actually helped.

I next tried Femara for six months to determine it's side effects. Stiffness still there, hands were better, but feet were significantly worse.

Nest was Aromasin for six months. Worst by far. My hips became so bad that I could barely walk. Took a few months to recover rom that.

So I went back to Arimidex.

While I felt that my hips were improving, I was having issues with either upper legs or hips that I could not figure out. So I finally went to an orthopedist to have them checked. Turned out that I had stress fractures in my femurs as a result of long term use of Zometa to address bone loss. The Zometa did build my bones, but the fractures are a little known anomaly.

So now I'm off everything--scarey--giving my body a break, trying to get my legs to heal. Ortho says it make take a while. We will check again next month to see if the healing has progressed.

So for me---Arimidex was the lesser of the three evils.

As for bisphosphonates, be aware that long term use--over five years--carried some risk of femur fracture. I'm glad I took Zometa and benefitted from it--I just would have stopped sooner had I been aware of the fracture possibility.

My best to you,