Thank you for sharing your effect of being on this med.

@A MyBCTeam Member I take both Claritin for joint pain and Xzyal for allergies. My doctor said it was fine to take both. Ask your doctor if you can take the Claritin for legs and Allegra for allergies. Then you won't have to worry about post-nasal drip/cough.

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A MyBCTea...

I am taking Anastrozole too. I took Tamoxifen 10 years ago for about 2 years but had to stop due to a blood clot in my leg, a superficial one but nonetheless, a blood clot. I also had crazy hot flashes especially the first year. They seemed to lessen a bit over time. 10 years later my cancer reappeared. Was diagnosed in February, had a single mastectomy in March and have been taking Anastrozole for about 3 months. I got through 2 1/2 months with no noticeable side effects. Then I started in with sleeplessness. I can fall asleep but after about 2 hours I wake up and can't go back to sleep. Then the leg cramps/pain started, mostly at night. I started out by taking Advil which helped a bit. Then I read about using Claritin which I took years ago for allergies but now take Allegra. I switched to Claritin and it really alleviated the leg problems but is not very effective for my allergies. Ugh! I guess I'd rather have a stuffy nose and post-nasal drip/cough than leg pain.

@A MyBCTeam Member I have been taking Anastrozol now for almost 11mos. When I first started taking it I didn't have have hardly any side effects. Just hot flashes at night. 7mos into I started having joint pain. Most of it was tolerable. There were days though that I was having really bad pain. Then I read an article about Claritin helping with the joint pain and I realized that the first 7mos that I had been taking Anastrozol I was also on the Claritin for allergies. The Dr had changed my allergy meds to Xyzal. So after a couple of months I asked my Dr if I could take both meds and was told yes. When I started back on the Claritin the joint pain went back to where I could tolerate it again. I still have pain if I push myself too much. I'm the type that doesn't want to stop when I start something. When that happens I take some Tylenol and it becomes bearable. Sometimes I have to just rest after a day of running around. I hope this helps you. If I can be of further help please reach out.

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A MyBCTea...

I have been taking Anastrozole for a year. I have cramps in my feet at night and in my fingers/wrist but not every day. Sometimes Tylenol works to reduce the discomfort but not always. The cramps affect my sleep.
My DEXA scan last month showed osteopenia so my bones are holing up. My blood pressure is normal. My lipids/cholesterol need some adjustment. Overall I am tolerating the anastrozole but I want to discuss a different dosing schedule with my oncologist in September.