I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I've been on Anastrozole for seven months and so far so good. I do have hot flashes but those are tolerable. Just recently I got insomnia but I switched from taking my Anastrozole at bedtime to taking it in the morning and the insomnia has resolved at least for the last three nights. We'll see if that continues. I have back pain but I had that before taking the AI and I get diarrhea 3-4 times a month but I had IBS prior to getting BC. It is hard to know what is a side effect or what are just things I had before that might have gotten a little bit worse. My primary care physician told me that around 60% of women can take them without serious side effects. I guess it's just a roll of the dice.

Sweet @A MyBCTeam Member, I am so very sorry you are going through this. You are braver and stronger than I am because I couldn't and would not go through what you are going through. Its hard for me to say what I would tolerate if I wasn't stage 4 but I still think I wouldn't. I wish there was something else you could try . ❤️

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A MyBCTea...

I was on them for 2 1/2 years. I finally told my oncologist that my quality of life was horrible. She agreed to just keep a close watch on me and for me to keep up with my scans. MRI, ultrasound and mammograms. It was not an easy decision, but honestly I was miserable. Besides recovering from breast cancer treatment I was also taking care of my elderly mother who had dementia. It was a heck of a time. I’m doing well, just always have that under current of worry about what’s to come. I suppose that’s a common thread we all share.

anastrozole reduces the risk of recurrence to a greater extent than tamoxifen

I was also thinking about fat stores and general bone health before taking an AI. Maybe women with an abundance of estrogen and good bone health don't feel the bone pain as soon as others do but lack of estrogen decreases bone and is more than likely to cause pain and fractures eventually.