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v-ness · 01-11-2013, 07:17 PM

i only just read this but thought i would reply anyway. i am on Aromasin now. it is the 3rd AI i have been on since late june and i can safely say i hate AIs. i haven't found the joint pain to be as bad as it was on tamoxifen or even the other 2 AIs (arimidex first, which i was allergic to - vision blurred severely) and femara (hair thinned quickly). i was only on Arimidex for a month or two and on Femara maybe the same. my oncologist took me off Femara because of how quickly i lost hair. but now i am finding things are no different on this Aromasin.

am i ridiculous to be thinking seriously of asking to go back on tamoxifen? i'm post-menopausal on account of a hysterectomy (mom died of ovarian cancer as soon as i finished radiation). i am supposed to be on AIs now, but at least i had all my hair on tamoxifen and i think the hot flashes weren't as bad. or the insomnia. i don't know how much better percentage an AI gives me of non-recurrence over tamoxifen, but i am about ready to gamble... i think it's a small percentage.

it seems kind of vain to be panicking over hair loss, i guess, but jeeze it's like adding insult to injury. i have really dark hair so to ME it shows. and i can feel it. my onco said "you have lots of hair" but i wonder how she'd feel if she was in this position? i mean, what good is "lots of hair" if i have a freakin male pattern bald spot starting to form on the back of my head and a hairline like eddie munster?

sorry... i know there are so many far worse things out there and i feel lame complaining about this. but i just wanted to feel normal.

valerie

01-11-2013, 07:17 PM	#5
v-ness Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: western ma Posts: 280	Re: aromasin side effects? i only just read this but thought i would reply anyway. i am on Aromasin now. it is the 3rd AI i have been on since late june and i can safely say i hate AIs. i haven't found the joint pain to be as bad as it was on tamoxifen or even the other 2 AIs (arimidex first, which i was allergic to - vision blurred severely) and femara (hair thinned quickly). i was only on Arimidex for a month or two and on Femara maybe the same. my oncologist took me off Femara because of how quickly i lost hair. but now i am finding things are no different on this Aromasin. am i ridiculous to be thinking seriously of asking to go back on tamoxifen? i'm post-menopausal on account of a hysterectomy (mom died of ovarian cancer as soon as i finished radiation). i am supposed to be on AIs now, but at least i had all my hair on tamoxifen and i think the hot flashes weren't as bad. or the insomnia. i don't know how much better percentage an AI gives me of non-recurrence over tamoxifen, but i am about ready to gamble... i think it's a small percentage. it seems kind of vain to be panicking over hair loss, i guess, but jeeze it's like adding insult to injury. i have really dark hair so to ME it shows. and i can feel it. my onco said "you have lots of hair" but i wonder how she'd feel if she was in this position? i mean, what good is "lots of hair" if i have a freakin male pattern bald spot starting to form on the back of my head and a hairline like eddie munster? sorry... i know there are so many far worse things out there and i feel lame complaining about this. but i just wanted to feel normal. valerie __________________ 8/09 - IDC 1.8 cm triple positive, lumpectomy left breast 10/09 began chemo (taxotere & carboplatin) and weekly herceptin. 1/21/10 finished chemo, continued on herceptin every 3 weeks until 10/2010. 2/10 began 7 wks of radiation 6/10 mom dies of primary peritoneal ovarian cancer 8/10 got my last remaining ovary out 10/10 mammogram all clear 3/11 MRI shows 5 'spots' in right breast, largest 1 cm unidentifiable on US needle biopsy proved the largest to be old inflamed cyst -phew! 7/10 switched to Arimidex 8/9 switched to Femara - allergic to arimidex Femara made me lose hair quickly so switched to Aromasin Aromasin made my hair fall out too and the bone pain was too much. back on Tamoxifen 1/2013. blood clot from trains and planes 5/2014 so on coumadin per onco for as long as i am on tamoxifen tamoxifen was supposed to be up with my 5 yrs in may but my boyfriend was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer so i am staying on tamoxifen indefinitely because i want some ammo against BC, given the stress. lost my husband in only 10 wks in 2007 to stage 4 esophageal cancer. cancer's screwing with another man i love 2/2016 - 6yrs in remission, off tamoxifen and off coumadin - yay!