aromasin

I have entered into my third month of aromasin after two years of tomoxifin.  I am so miserable I took myself off of the aromasin.  I am/was a very fit 48 year old and now I feel like a old woman with the flu  all day, every day.  My body hurts from my head to my toes and I cannot perform the simplest activities.  I have not yet switched to another med and haven't even informed my doctor I quit taking aromasin. Does anyone know if these symtoms will go away? 

Hi,I have been on aromasin for almost two years now and have never gotten any break from the side effects of this medicine.  Yesterday I went to my oncologist and explained to her that I am in severe pain in almost every joint of my body.  My hand is so severe I am going for a shot in it Monday because I can no longer move my thumb. I am always tired and uninterested in anything because I am just trying to make it thru the day.  I feel as if I have aged fifty years in the last two years.  I even have trouble do the job I have being doing for the last 21 years. I have hot flashes so bad that I look nuts to people when I'm out and I cannot sleep due to the night sweats and the pain. Weight gain I can't get off.

At 51 years old, I fell like 100 but my oncologist says due to age most of this would have happened anyway. I don't believe that!  I am going off aromasin and switching to tomoxifen and I hope this will be better for me.

Janice

I would ask for another drug.  I am on Arimidex and read about women who had side effects.  She said we would try something else if I had bad reactions.  Fortunately, my SE are minor.

Sorry to hear you have had such a difficult time.

Roseann

Hi Janice I'm wondering how old your oncologist is and if she would think what you are going through would be "normal" for a 51 year old is she was near that age herself. Personally I think her comment was uncaring and very unprofessional. She certainly must be aware that all the symptoms you listed are know side effects of this drug. As a healer her first concern should be helping you to get relief not dismissing your problems so lightly........ http://breast-cancer.emedtv.com/aromasin/aromasin-side-effec ............... Please read through the information following and the attached links. My doctor recommends Avemar for all of his cancer patients whether they are on chemo or not. It has been proven equally effective as an adjuvant treatment with chemo or as part of an alternative protocol (which is how I use it.) ........... ....... http://www.cancercompass.com/cancer-news/1,12705,00.htm ...... AVEMAR ..............The product was commercially launched in 1998, its anti-tumour effects being demonstrated by clinical studies conducted with patients suffering from colorectal cancer, squamous cell cancer of the oral cavity and melanoma of the skin. Cases of successful application in the treatment of breast cancer, primary hepatocellular carcinoma, cancer of the prostate, bladder and kidney, and head and neck tumours have also been reported. ........................... Avemar is the new wonder-alternative cancer treatment / adjuvant therapy for boosting the immune system and fighting cancer. "Research at UCLA has demonstrated that Avemar reduces glucose flow into the cancer cells. Cancer cells can evade NK [natural killer] cells by masking their outer membrane with a special substance that the NK cells recognize as 'normal.' Avemar suppresses the release of this masking substance -- allowing NK cells to better target and kill the cancer cells." Avemar's immune-stimulating ability appears to be so powerful that it can be useful in helping to restore even the most severely compromised immune systems. ............ http://www.alternative-cancer-care.com/Cancer_Survivor.html ...............I hope you find this helpful Janice and I wish you all the best.....Sheila _____________________________________________________________

On 9/25/2009 Janices Journey wrote:

Hi,I have been on aromasin for almost two years now and have never gotten any break from the side effects of this medicine.  Yesterday I went to my oncologist and explained to her that I am in severe pain in almost every joint of my body.  My hand is so severe I am going for a shot in it Monday because I can no longer move my thumb. I am always tired and uninterested in anything because I am just trying to make it thru the day.  I feel as if I have aged fifty years in the last two years.  I even have trouble do the job I have being doing for the last 21 years. I have hot flashes so bad that I look nuts to people when I'm out and I cannot sleep due to the night sweats and the pain. Weight gain I can't get off.

At 51 years old, I fell like 100 but my oncologist says due to age most of this would have happened anyway. I don't believe that!  I am going off aromasin and switching to tomoxifen and I hope this will be better for me.

Janice

 

On 9/23/2009 Kitty C wrote:

I have entered into my third month of aromasin after two years of tomoxifin.  I am so miserable I took myself off of the aromasin.  I am/was a very fit 48 year old and now I feel like a old woman with the flu  all day, every day.  My body hurts from my head to my toes and I cannot perform the simplest activities.  I have not yet switched to another med and haven't even informed my doctor I quit taking aromasin. Does anyone know if these symtoms will go away? 

I will be 48 in 2 weeks, I have been on aromasin for 4 years after having been on Tamoxifen for 2 years.  I was told that I had to stay on aromasin for a total of 5 years (not the combined 5 years between the two).  My joints have hurt and ached, popped and cracked every day since.  My weight has gone up quite a bit as well (although they said it has nothing to do with the meds, I was never heavy before).  I feel so much older than I should and just pray that I can get off next July when my 5 years are up!! 

My symptons never did go away, and from the message board folks I have talked to I haven't heard of anybody's elses going away either.  I have had carpal tunnel surgery.  I have a torn miniscus in my knee that also needs surgery.  I have arthritis in my knee, ankle and both thumbs.

And if you ask anybody that knows me, I am a fairly upbeat positive person so I am not one of those people who just complain to complain, but this has about beat me down.  However, I am too worried to go against the doctor's request to stay on it as she feels this is the best medicine for me at my age since I was diagnosed w/cancer at 41.

I hope the best for you.  Sounds like you've have been through so much at such a young age.  I have spoke to my doctors office and explained to them my horrible condition, (and I am not a whinny baby).  They didn't seem to be as concerned as I am but perscribed "Femara".  I haven't started to take it until I find out what the side effects are.  I just couldn't imagine going four more years being in pain from my medication.  YOU are a trooper and I admire your strength.  You go girl!

 

On 9/25/2009 Janices Journey wrote:

Hi,I have been on aromasin for almost two years now and have never gotten any break from the side effects of this medicine.  Yesterday I went to my oncologist and explained to her that I am in severe pain in almost every joint of my body.  My hand is so severe I am going for a shot in it Monday because I can no longer move my thumb. I am always tired and uninterested in anything because I am just trying to make it thru the day.  I feel as if I have aged fifty years in the last two years.  I even have trouble do the job I have being doing for the last 21 years. I have hot flashes so bad that I look nuts to people when I'm out and I cannot sleep due to the night sweats and the pain. Weight gain I can't get off.

At 51 years old, I fell like 100 but my oncologist says due to age most of this would have happened anyway. I don't believe that!  I am going off aromasin and switching to tomoxifen and I hope this will be better for me.

Janice

I took arimedex for one year and then tamoxifin for a year... Between the two I am so crippled up that I cannot do any of the things that I used to do...  When I took the arimedex I had trouble even getting our of bed in the mornings... My hands got so bad that I had to have surgery and I am facing another surgery to release all of the damamge in my joints.  I cannot hardly use my hands... I cannot make a fist with them or grip anything....  I have to take ibprofen before bed each night and sometimes that won't help at all...  These meds that they give us cause more damage than the cancer does....  I have no energy at all... I teach a fifth grade class and sometimes I am not sure if I can make it through the day....   

 

I hope that you do get to feeling better,.... Mine is not as bad as it used to be, but I still have alot of pain....  Good Luck ~~~~

Oh! Please don't give up Aromasin................... At least talk to your Doctor about the idea. I suffered untold miseries in the beginning for  quite some time but then it just stopped.  I take an anti inflammatory morning and night. If you can just stick with it the years just fly by and I am hoping to end it soon.  Its those little hairs in the chin!!!

Good luck,

Delia

 

Oh geez, I hope it doesn't sound awful, but I'm so glad to hear that I was not the only one at age 50 feeling like I was 100! My onco had me try each of the three AIs and they had the exact same side effects that you described! I told her about them every time I went to see her -- every two to three months -- and she just said "well, those are the side effects" and then gave me yet one more pill to aid with the joint pain -- I could hardly walk around in the morning and the hot "flashes" lasted 10 minutes three times an hour all day and all night! After a year, she finally did another hormone level test on me and found that, although I had had chemo and was not getting a period, I was not technically in menopause as the blood test six weeks after chemo had indicated. She switched me to Tamoxifen, and all the achiness and fatigue went away! The hot flashes stayed (side effect of the Tamoxifen also), but I finally went to a doc for acupuncture and that treatment combined with sleep meds (so night sweats don't wake me at night) have been a godsend! Hot flashes are now down to maybe three a day each lasting less than a minute, and I sleep all night!

The reason I'm "glad" to hear about the side effects of AIs is that I have a feeling that when I go to see my onco next month, she's going to want to switch me from Tamoxifen (after being on it for two years) to an AI. My gut feeling is NO WAY, but I had some doubts, thinking that maybe I should try one of them again. I'll continue to give it some thought, but I may fight her for at least another year before blindly following her advice on this one.

I was on aromasin for nearly 3 years when the bc reappeared on an ovary. Have been off aromasin for several months and all the aching and crippled hands , feet, legs have healed. I have so much energy (had chemo and op to remove tumour) I can finally jump on the trampoline and run which I haven't done since 2006 when I was first diagnosed. I will be beginning tamoxafen next week though. Even the neuropathy has lessen so much I don't notice it at all. So yes, aromasin causes all those "little old lady" symptoms.