Aromatase Inhibitors: A Silent, Potentially Deadly Side Effect - Osteoporosis

Hi Trish: Thanks for chiming in here. Bottom line is: we just never inow how much these drugs are helping. We DO know their side effects, for sure. But, even though statistically we know that they prevent recurrence: we are not statistics. We're women trying to walk a tough tightrope here: how much pain and suffering do we want to experience, for how much insurance against recurrence? And now, with osteoporosis thrown into the mixture as well... my oncologist is advising against it strongly, but I keep thinking, maybe I should just quit the Arimidex and take my chances. I'm not there yet; just thinking about it. Anybody else out there having second thoughts about these drugs? PJH

Thank you,     It is nice to know others feel the same.  please keep me posted as to your thoughts on this.  I hope we get more feed back on this.     Trish

Hi everybody,

I'm the 3-rd month of Arimidex. I have terrible joint pain. Starting from hands, arms, then back. It's very hard to grip or stand up after some time of sitting or lying. I did hope that it would lessen when my body gets used with the drug. But, it does not.

I'm thinking of adding calcium and vitamin D. Not sure if that can help.

Any of you have experience of reducing joint pain?

Calcium and vitamin D3 are very good for you, Lana, whether or not they reduce joint pain. I don't know of anything that's been shown to reduce the incidence of pain; it can be treatable with Ibuprofen or another over-the-counter type painkiller. For me, it does help somewhat to exercise first thing in the morning, get everything up and running. Good luck - PJH

Yes, I do exercise in morning and play table tennis every day. During playing and hour after that, I felt much better. Almost no pain. But just a short sleep or sitting pain comes back. My fingers swelled a bit. I had to remove the rings. I'm afraid I have to live with this pain until finish of this 5-year-arimidex. Hope it won't get worse, so that I can finish this treatment. (I had to stop Chemo after the 4-th rounds cause of low WBC).
I still work 8 hours a day, and do house works.
I note that when we are cheered up, we feel much better.
So let keep up and be cheerful! We will all go through this successfully!
Let get as much as possible from the time we have.

Lana, that swelling you describe could be a sign of lymphedema - have you discussed this with your doctor? If not, you should, at the earliest opportunity. The sooner it's treated, the easier it is to treat.

And I know what you mean - getting up is always the most painful time, whether from a chair, or from a night's sleep. Just something we have to keep plowing through, eh? You sound like you have a good attitude - it's hard, but stay positive. And yes, let's enjoy our time here—happiness is a better feeling than anger or sadness, for sure. PJH

HI I quittaking thefemara, so then my dr put me on aromtase. {might be wrong spelling} I still feel like hell. it makes me hurt all over pertikerrally in the pelvis and back. I'm tympted to just keep going back for the blood teste and see what is said if I dont't mention it. I hate the way it makes me forget things and be ing unable to think clear. the Dr wants me to have a MRI in July. WHY he dosent say. just to see whats going on. how much radiation is TOO much. please respond.     Trish

Hi Trish - I'm sorry you're having such pain issues with the aromatase inhibitors; they can, indeed, be very difficult. They do work well, however, so it's a balancing act - how much pain, how much gain? As for the forgetfulness, that would be chemo-induced, if you had chemo? And the MRI, and blood tests... these would be questions to ask your doctor. I hope you get to a less painful place soon - PJH