ARIMIDEX Reviews (ANASTROZOLE)

Average Rating: 2.5 (1431 Ratings)

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 ANTINEOPLASTICS AROMATASE INHIBITORS

 Type: Rx Drug

  

ARIMIDEX  (ANASTROZOLE):  Anastrozole is used to treat breast cancer in women after menopause. Some breast cancers are made to grow faster by a natural hormone called estrogen. Anastrozole decreases the amount of estrogen the body makes and helps to slow or reverse the growth of these breast cancers.   FDA Approval Date: 1995-12-27 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

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Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.)
5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

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More on ARIMIDEX: Reviews Summary  |  Drug Safety Information

RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR ARIMIDEXCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 2  BC,stage 3 Bilateral Mastectomy Hot flashes, vertigo & dizziness, severe bone, joint & muscle pain, blurred vision, thinning of hair, cramping in arch of feet, brain fog, memory & concentration issue, insomnia, locking joints in thumbs (trigger finger) thyroid has ceased to function (hypothyroidism) Started out well with only minor side effect 3 months in. At 13 months in I can barely move. At the current time I cannot say if the side effects of this drug are worth the risk of recurrence as it has become a quality vs quantity issue. I am not sure if I will manage to stay on this drug another 4 years but for now I'm still trying. F 59 13 months
1 mg 1X day
5/15/2013
Email
 1  B/C prevention re-occurance I weighed 130 after a dbl mastectomy, stage 3, triple positive. Had chemo (ACT, herceptin), then had surgery which gave me clear borders and no spread to 13 removed lymph nodes. I was clean. And then last July I was put on 1 mg of Arimidex. After 2 weeks I cut the pills in half and only took 1/2 mg. I could barely walk after two weeks on the full dose. I didn't not tell oncologist. She would have switched me to another AI which she told me in advance "they're all the same, just different brands". I reached the point two weeks ago where I couldn't walk up or down stairs. If I sat, I couldn't stand up. My muscles were locked and I could no longer exercise. The symptoms got progressively worse as I kept trying to exercise more, yoga, stretching, lots of minerals, organic foods, no sugar. No diet change or any amount of exercise could improve my symptoms. And then 3 days I started crying and couldn't stop. I wanted to die. I could barely walk. If I got o I feel that estrogen receptive breast cancer might have more to do with environmental estrogen which attaches to receptor sites than the body's own natural estrogen. Arimidex does not prevent environmental estrogen from attaching to receptor sites. All this drug does is cause problems for older women....How can anyone heal or survive for the next 20 or more years at the age of 70 if they can't walk? Just want to die. I have yet to tell my oncologist I'm done with this drug. I know she will try and push another brand. Not taking it. Oh, and my Blood pressure kept rising. I was getting broken blood vessels in my legs....was told my heart muscle was "stiff". One way or another the drug companies will kill us all even though we might have survived breast cancer. I know this sounds insane....but I'd rather spend another year bald and on chemo than to continue with this drug. It's poison and the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. Having breast cancer was nothing compared to this drug! F 70 10 months
1/2 mg 1X day
5/5/2013
Email
 1  Dbl Mastectomy - Chemo Joint Pain From Toes To Neck - Sprained Ankle - 2nd Wk I'm on Cane & Boot - Blurred Vision - Viral Infection (Oral & Vaginal) Digestive Issues, Weight Gain, Insomnia, Emotional Upheaval - All Within 1st Week - Floated Thru Chemo Comparatively Against Arimidex - Researched & Met W/Onc & Physician Today - Gonna Take My Chances - Last Pill Today - Husband Housebound Impossible Situation If We Both End Up Immobilized - Im A Retired RN/Tumor Registrar - Statistics Are Just That ..."Numbers" We're Each An Entity Truly Distinct Individuals - Research Ask & Look For What's Good For You Not What's ""Given" As What's Right - Stay Strong & Surround Yourself With The Power From Within F 65 2 weeks
1XDay
5/3/2013
 1  Bc, stage 2, ductal, estrogen posit Felt fine after the chemo and radiation and was getting my strength and energy back. Started with letrozole (Femara) one month after the radiation was over and experienced excruciating pain under the right rib cage (liver) to the point where they did an MRI. Stopped this and was put on Arimidex. Oncologist said that some women tolerated the 'better'! Within two weeks the symptoms started. I had pain all throughout my spine,especially neck and lumbar area. knee pain, shoulder pains, developed trigger fingers on both hands, lost the grip in left hand, pain in finger joints, pain in ankles, painful right TMJ, total brain fog, no energy, itchy scalp and skin, skin looks like a dried prune, tingling and buzzing sensations from the tailbone down the legs.Eyes are dry, itchy and vision has gotten worse. Still need sleeping pills to get a decent nights rest. Felt like I was turning into a cripple overnight! Stopped the arimidex after 2 months. It's been almost two months now without it, but the joint problems continued to get worse and the trigger fingers are now painful when they lock up. Don't know how long it will take or if the damage done by this pill will actually resolve in time. Now I'm using alternative medicine to get my body back on track towards helping to resolve the damage done. Taking natural aromatse inhibitors, habanero pepper and garlic sandwiches once a day, and other supplements. As a side note, I had myself tested with kinisiology muscle testing before I even put the drug in my body and I had no strength at all in my arm, this was a clear indication that this drug was NOT what my body wanted or needed, but I took it out of 'fear'. Now that fear is gone, I now chose to live a quality life rather than be ravished by the total breakdown of my body due to this pill! So glad to have found this site to be able to share. F 64 2 months
1 mg 1X day
4/23/2013
 1  BC, invasive dcis, stage 2 No sex drive painful intercourse, bottoms of feet hurt could hardly walk, brain foggy, blurry vision, hair loss, fragile no energy, developing osteopenia, liver enzymes up, depression. Why do Doctors not test estrogen levels to see where they are at? After researching low estrogen levels and damage it was doing to my body I decided to quit taking medication. Research low estrogen and damage it does to your brain and heart plus other damage it is doing. Oncologist told me, Arimidex isn't a chemo pill that I didn't need chemo only radiation for my treatment. My Gyn informed me if I am taking Arimidex I am taking Chemo for 5 years. (Look up Chemo Pills and Arimidex is listed.) My quality of life was gone taking this medication and after being off of it for 6 weeks now I am starting to feel better. My husband said he can tell a difference in my personality and I am more like my old self again. I will risk cancer again rather than the side effects of this medicine. I can't even imagine what my health would be like if I continued to take this medication for 5 years. With all of the money being given for Breast Cancer and Research there has to be something better on the market. F 58 15 months
1 MG 1X day
4/17/2013
 4  Stage 2 Breast Cancer Severe depression, trouble sleeping, "twitching" in sleep, fuzzy brain, joint pain in hip, ankles, lower back and shoulder Asked doctor to put me on anti-depressant (Effexor); reduced pains by 50% but hasn't helped depression or sleep issues. Going to double dosage of anti-depressant. i'm 55 but I intend to do whatever it takes to get through this. F 55 120 days
1X day
4/16/2013
Email
 1  BC, invasive dcis, stage 1, Er/pr+ Severe depression, fatigue, memory loss, general brain function, blood pressure increased Doesn't make sense to me (my body made that clear) that you take away all the many important and positive functions of estrogen for a very small decrease in the chance of recurrence. Why does everyone get the same dose? Why don't they measure estrogen levels before starting the med? What is happening to the brains of women 20' years after depriving their brains of estrogen for 5 years. I'm grateful my lymph nodes were clear. Ill take my chances now without this brutal drug. F 58 27 days
1 mg 1X day
4/14/2013
Email
 2  B/C, IDC Dx, Stage 1, ER+ Fatigue, hip and lower back pain, knee pain, cannot walk a mile w/o misery, thinning hair, joint pain throughout my extremities although not as bad as the back and hip pain. Also, memory trouble, but then again I did have chemo so it could be chemo-brain. Pains seem to get worse when it becomes humid outside or maybe with the change of the barometric pressure? Was certain a couple weeks ago that I had fibromyalgia, too. Could have been a flu virus.Nonetheless, I am determined to find something to help with the pain and continue to take it and remain active. F 52 90 days
1 mg 1X day
4/8/2013
Email
 1  Weighing taking it, deciding not to Idiot oncologist recommended, forget it after reading these accounts! Ladies, this is made from POTASSIUM CYANIDE. I'd like to thank everyone who blogged here, it made me decide to look further and forego this. It doesn't 'cure' anything, it just lowers your chances of recurrence very slightly. My idiot (now fired) oncologist told me that my request for a bilateral mastectomy after diagnosis of IIA invasive ductal and also LCIS in the lumpectomy specimen was 'overkill' and called it 'like having a splinter in your toe and amputating your foot'. I told him that I didn't have a splinter, I had diagnosed cancer, and that I was using my feet but my boobs at 59 were trying to kill me and weren't exactly in use anymore, either! What a jackass, beware if you live in Roseburg, Oregon. I'd put in his name if I thought it wouldn't get me in trouble. He smugly told me that I'd never find a surgeon to do a bilateral on me (with apparently large amounts of LCIS on one side, I presume also on the other); I talk to the surgeon next week who did my lumpectomy, I trust him and we'll see what he says. But no way I'm taking any drug that reduces your estrogen levels down to zilch; this is insane. Your body, your bones, your joints and your brains need a little bit of estrogen. The data on this says it doesn't change survival rates. If I was younger or had young children, I might be willing to throw everything at it, but at this point, I can't die young anymore. My cancer is also mucinous which may well be less aggressive and slower growing. I'd rather F 59 0 days
1 1X day
4/8/2013
 2  breast cancer reoccurence Joint pain from neck to shoulders, thighs and shins, nausea and vomiting and headaches Feel like I have a constant Flu - no quality of life -this drug should be pulled ! F 56 7 days
1mg 1X day
4/7/2013
Email
 3  Breast Cancer Stage1,Her2+,PR+,ER+ Joint pain, trouble sleeping, bone pain, foggy brain, slight nausea, weakness and blurred vision. considering how bad chemo and radiation was, I am pretty sure I can deal with this for 5 years if it will in fact keep the cancer from coming back. Not a great feeling but there is light at the end of the tunnel. At 45 years old I have a lot of living to do and am not going to let the SE of this drug stop me!! F 45 6 weeks
1MG 1X day
3/6/2013
Email
 1  post breast cancer jaw pain became so severe I couldn't chew. then it hit my right leg, couldn't put any weight on it and limped for about 3 months. Oncologist recommended an mri and that said I had bursitis which never happened before. Liver functions became elevated and oncologist took me off it. Then tried another aromatose inhibitor with same effects. Then tried Tamoxifen and took myself off that. Quality of life counts! I read that only about 20% experience side effects and apparently I'm in that group. I eat real food, go to a personal trainer to keep my muscles and bones in shape, and smile and laugh with my wonderful husband as much as we can. F 67 15 months
1 mg 1X day
3/3/2013
 2  Breast cancer painful, ankles, painful hands, itchy scalp and hair loss, leg cramps, lichen sclerosus, general stiffness I am 72 years old but have always been active. I enjoy walking and gardening, or did until recently. I was dignosed with breast cancer in August 1999. Grade 3 Invasive Ductal cancer. I had a mastectomy and was prescribed Tamoxifen. This caused problems with my uterus and I had a hysteroscopy and biopsy in January 2003. I was taken off tamoxifen and put on arimidex until September 2004. Some time after I experienced painful ankles but did not associate it with my treatment. Then I experienced pain and stiffness in my hands. Every morning I had to spend a log time stretching my fingers before they worked properly. My doctor suggested that when I was gardening I was using my trowel incorrectly. I started using Glucosamine and Devils Claw. After several months the stiffness passed. I have been off Arimidex for 8 years and would not have associated taking it with the problems I am having but on reading other ratings on this website I am now convinced that Arimidex has caused them. I had terrible itching and was treated for Lichen Sclerosus in June 2010. I have to wash with a special lotion in sensitive areas. More recently I have had pains in my left upper arm, right side of my neck and right hip. These problems are very similar to the lady's who rated the drug on 24 May 2012. I feel like a very old woman and I have difficulty getting in and out of cars. I have discussed this with my Doctor but she does not think my problems are due to taking Arimidex. . I have tri F 72 2 years
1X day
2/20/2013
Email
 1  Breast Cancer Stage 2 joint & muscle pain. Vaginal pain. the feeling that I had a UTI although I didn't. Severe back pain. Always feeling lousy. Totally stopped Iscador and every other pharmaceutical suggested by oncologist. I completed treatment (chemo, radiation, surgery)for stage 2 breast cancer 5 years ago.I've been taking supplements prescribed by my Functional Medicine Dr(such as Broccoli seed extract) and I also have been injecting Iscador for the past 5 years and continue to do so but at a decrease frequency Iscador was prescribed by my homeopathic/anthroposophical dr. Iscador has been used in Europe for more than 80 years as a cancer treatment.. no side effects from anything I've been taking. You can find info at Weleda.com Iscador is a mistletoe derivative. I heard it mentioned on the radio 5 years ago butnever again. I believe it was squashed by the oharmaceutical companies. I am not alone in my belief that a cure for cancer will not be found in this country because the business of cancer treatment is too profitable. You have to be your own advocate Check out what Dr. Christiane Northrup has to say about mammograms For the most part Arimidex can destroy your quality of life. There are other alternatives. Check them out Good luck! M 70 2 months
1X day
2/20/2013
Email
 5  Grade 1, stage IIa,ER+PR+HER2-,4cm night sweats and hot flashes not as bad or frequent as menopause. headaches, no bone pain yet, they keep asking me if I have any. slight weight gain, totally no libido. I have totally changed the way I eat. Only whole foods, no processed foods, only whole grains, fruits veggies nuts and seeds. switched to e-cigs(weight gain attributed to this) Had a second MRI in Jan. my tumor has shrunk to 2cm. I have refused chemo because of my results from the Oncotype DX Assay tests. My number came in at 12 which means chemo would be unlikely to help shrink my tumor. I will keep taking this pill until my tumor is gone, and I will not have surgery. My surgeon says that new studies have found that it will be more effective to take this med for 10 yrs intstead of 5. I will continue taking it. F 54 6 months
1mg 1X day
2/19/2013
Email
 3  B/C Stage 2 ER positive At the beginning, some joint pain, mainly knee and hip. Little brain fogginess, but not too bad. After a few months, most of the pain subsided and energy and stamina thru the roof. :-) I attribute my health and wellness, and high energy levels to my nutrition program. Almost all of my pain have subsided. I have a lot more mental clarity, energy and focus now. If anyone here is interested in overcoming and combating much of what you are going thru both mentally and physically, please send me an email. I would love to share some information on what has been an absolute blessing and miracle for me going thru this ! Hugs and blessings to all F 52 4 months
1X day
2/18/2013
Email
 4  Grade 3, Stage 1a,ER+,PR-,Her2- I had arthritis prior to L mastectomy, but knees, wrists, ankles and sometimes hips ache. Knees are the worst. Hair a little thinner but not breaking or coming out. Some depression; very emotional, cry easily. I elected not to have chemo based on my pathological results and other tests. Research indicated that for my particular case, chemo + arimidex was no more effective than just arimidex alone for 5 years. Three lymph nodes were removed and were negative at mastectomy and no signs of cancer spread since L breast removed in 8/11. Really can't say if my arthritis is just worse or if arimidex is contributing a little. Hope I am cancer-free at 5 years. F 67 15 months
1 mg 1X day
2/5/2013
Email
 5  Stage 3C Her2+ Breast Cancer Dec. 2012 I started with pain in my feet and then in my hands. I feel very strongly that arimidex has helped to keep me in remission. I had mild side effects in the beginning, but nothing I couldn't handle.I have been on arimidex for 6 years 7 months. I am going for acupuncture and it's helping. Thankful for this drug and blessed I am still here!!! My oncologist would take me off in a heartbeat if it was necessary. F 61 6 years
1 mg 1X day
1/31/2013
 1  Stage 3C Breast Cancer I took Arimidex for 5 years (there was no 5 under length of time, so I selected 6). I stopped in July of 2012. I have suffered from joint pain the entire time. My oncologist assured me the pain would go away when I stopped the medication. It has not. I feel like I'm 80! F 56 6 years
1/24/2013
 1  STAGE 1 GRADE 3 NO NODE ESTROGEN PO HORRIBLE HIP PAIN, STOMACH PAIN, NAUSEA, STIFF MUSCLES SOMETIMES COULD NOT WALK WELL BECAUSE OF PAIN.hEADACHES NIGHT SWEATS, HOT FLASHES JUST FELT VERY BAD WOULD NOT START TAKING AGAIN, THIS FEELS LIKE A POISON TO MY BODY F 58 8 weeks
1MG 1X day
1/21/2013

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