I just want to know if anyone who takes Anastrozole is experiencing extreme pain. My GP has prescribed more codeine strength pain relief but nothing tops the pain. At night the pain literally pulses into my lower back, I have reached despair.
Hi Casput
I am on Anastrozole and I haven't had this. Although I haven't had much in the way of side effects with Anastrozole, I know a lot of ladies who have joint issues - hands, knees etc.
There are 2 things I could suggest: (1)Contact your oncology team to try and find out if this is something they have heard of before - your GP probably won't have their experience and is just treating the symptoms. If oncology hasn't heard of it before, it might be worth going back to your GP to find out if it is something else entirely.
(2) Have you tried different brands of Anastrozole? I had the knee/ hand pain really badly when I couldn't get my usual brand of Anastrozole (Accord) - it was within a day or 2! I luckily had some Accord left, swapped back and again within a day or 2 - no pain. I tested it again later and the same thing happened. The tablets can have significant coatings on them and it may be that it is something to do with this. Teva and Accord are similar, but take a look at the ingredients in your packet and perhaps ask for different brands each time.
I did a comparison from going online to each brand to see what they had in them and asked for Teva whilst there was a shortage of Accord brand.
Best wishes, Lesley
