Hello Seiko, 

I am sorry to hear you've suffered from pain in your legs and lower back after taking Anastrozole. We have information on this page on anastozole. Having pain in your muscles and joints is indeed listed as a side effect and it is advisable that you speak to your doctor or nurse about what painkillers you can take to help with this. Do mention that even strong painkillers are not taking the pain away and are only managing to dull it. Perhaps you could take the opportunity to ask whether there is anything else they can think of which could help lessen the pain? It would be a good idea too when you get the chance to mention to your medical team that you have stopped anastrozole and whether an improvement is to be expected.

Many others on this forum have also taken anastrozole and experienced similar bone pain. [@kibbles]‍ on this thread is just one example and there are also various other threads on this subject like this one where some of our members have discussed the various issues they may have experienced after taking anastrozole. So I hope that you will hear from others who have been in a similar boat and struggled with joint pain. 

If you'd like to speak to one of our nurses for some advice you can call them on 0808 800 4040 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm). 

I hope things improve for you soon. 

Best wishes,

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

Thanks for your reply and the info. Phoned my breast cancer nurse last Monday and left message asking her to phone me. So far she has not done so. Having an X-ray  on Monday to rule out any other problems. Painkillers are not helping and I am now vomiting and got stomach problems due I  think to the pills. My GP had written to my consultant so hopefully might get some help there. I can honestly say all those others who suffer this have my sympathy as I have never experienced anything like it. Regards, Seiko. 

This sounds a bit trite as a solution, but it has helped me. Have you tried yoga and drinking lots of fluids? I am on the same timeline as you but I stopped painkillers as I was worried about long term effects. I now make sure that I do not sit too long, and I do a 30 minute yoga workout and a 15 minute stretch each day as well as a 45+ minute walk and this all definitely helps to reduce the pain.