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Anastrozole

Red59
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Hello all I'm new here 

really struggling physically & emotionally Im think of quitting ANASTROZOLE after almost 3 years.

although I had breast cancer and was diagnosed in 2018 I was fit and healthy with only arthritis in my hands now 3 years on I have recently had a mri scan and was told I have spinal stenosis and severe deterioration to my spine from osteoarthritis.

I was told that this was the best drug of them all & aware of the facts and that I could end up with osteoporosis but I thought the risk of not taking this drug and the cancer coming back was far greater.I had no support what so ever since being on it felt I was left to just get on with it no check ups nothing apart from mammogram ever year.

Only one doctor I spoke to about my side effects was very honest and said it was no good switching drugs as they are all horrible and side effects just as bad.

So I continued to take it leading a healthy life Style weight bearing exercises everything I could do to help myself putting up with the side effects of bone pain and the dreaded fatigue that never seems to leave you.

my hands got worse my fingers swollen & painful my skin so dry and itchy and feeling like life is not worth living at times as just exhausted most of the time .

If it were not for my doctor sending me for an mri cos of my lower back pain I would not have known as I really thought the constant pain Iv been having was due to side effects of the drug.

This new diagnosis has been hard to take in and I'm convinced that taking the drug has done this to me I'm 62 and thinking I just can't live my life coping with taking the drug and coping with my spinal condition.

My quality of life has been zero since taking it and I want my life back to cope with what I have to and make myself as strong as possible.

A doctor said to me at your age you should not have hardly any estrogen in your body ...ok so why am I taking this horrible drug still with another 2 years to go my cancer is hormone related so does this mean my risk now is lower.

Im talking with my oncologist next week surely he will not say that I should carry on taking this drug now I have this condition with osteoarthritis.Watch this space.

My vertebrae are crumbling I suffer with head neck and should pain back and leg pain enough is enough.

The cancer coming back is the least of my worries I just think the length of life is not as important as quality .

my sister also had breast cancer and refused to take any drugs she went nine years before her cancer returned and when it did she dealt with it and is now well and having a good life unlike me.

I'd be really interested to hear from anyone who has stopped the drug and how they are feeling now my friend who had the same cancer as me quit Anastrozole after 4 yrs and said it's taken 18 months for her energy to return.

 

 

  • Offline in reply to Eizzil68

    Hi Eizzil

    Thank you for that it was good to hear from a fellow suffer on ANASTROZOLE there are so many of us out there struggling away on these drugs with these horrible side effects with very little support when it comes to helping you with this.

    im forever being told well swop your medication you might feel better on another people are all different.

    yes this may well be but I refuse to swop one set of side effects for another.Even my doctor agrees my body is use to this now and to tell the truth I'm suffering anyway from my spinal osteoarthritis and I can not tell now what side effects are caused by what.

    I do not think you sound like a hypochondriac your symptoms are very real and I so understand how you feel.

    I do take magnesium which seems to help with my  fatigue I take fish oil and calcium but I do not know of anything that can help with the loss of the oestrogen that this drug takes from our bodies .I think keeping your self on a good diet and weight bearing exercises can help a lot with bone density I find I have to just pace myself nowadays and listen to my body if I need to rest I rest I have good days and bad days on this drug.The fatigue is really what weighs me down I use to be so active and it's frustrating.

    My surgeon said it robs your bones of the oestrogen which sound great doesn't it no wonder our bones ache.But my bone density scan was ok so I must be doing something right I guess the osteoarthritis is just in me and my problem but I really need to know if it's safe for me to carry on taking this drug will it do more damage.

    I did find a clinical trial on line about this drug that said they found it was very common for women who have been taking the drug for over two years and were of 60 and over to suffer with spinal stenosis.

    But I have yet to find any one to throw some light on this study and tell me the truth.

    My surgeon she raves about Tamoxifen and what a great drug it is this maybe so but the side effects are awful too my sister had a really bad time on it and I have researched it it does not work for everyone some times cancer will come back if you take it or not .

    Yes it does protect your bones only one good thing I can see about it  I'm sure there are others that really are ok on it too but personally I feel I just can't put my body through any more .

    I think there is one good thing about ANASTROZOLE is that after you have finished taking it it does protect you for quite a few years to come.

    That is the only positive thing I can find to say about it.

    I have 40% Chance of my cancer returning and that scares me so for now have decided to plod on and get my spinal problems sorted out first before I make any decision about coming off.My doctor has been very supportive with out her I think I would have become very down.

    I do have an appointment to see my oncologist soon so hopefully he will look at my situation from both side and listen to what I have to say.

    Thats been the hardest part for me no support  they didn't even know who my oncologist was! This is so wrong these people should be checking on you regularly they have a duty of care towards their patients yes things have been very difficult for the hospitals and treatment times turned upside down since the pandemic but cancer patients should alway come first.And my treatment was late 2017 in to 2018 so long before and I still felt totally on my own after my treatment finished then and just left to get on with the medication ,

    You do feel like  you are damned if you do and damned if you don't take it.

    oh well things can only get better hopefully  

    you take care of yourself and stay strong.

    Red 

     

     

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