Karen, I have osteoarthritis too. I'm a 2 yr.breast cancer survivor. I was on exestamane. Very bad joint pain, I draw and paint and couldn't even pick up my pencil. Dr changed me to Tamoxifen, very bad side affects. Vaginal dryness that caused bleeding and joint pain. My oncologist said finally this year, you don't have to take it anymore. Mine was 1st stage cancer with 2 lumpectomy surgeries and radiation treatments. Estrogen positive cancer. I've been off estrogen for 2 years. I do feel better since I've been off of Tamoxifen. I can sit down without pain. Mammogram shows no cancer too. Thank the Lord. Praying for you.😇

Karen cmelik
When I was taking it I thought the cancer is gone but this is gonna kill me. It's horrible.

I am taking anastrozole and the first 2 yrs I had pain in shoulders and then it went to forearms and wrist. I just rode it out and now I’m 4 yrs in and no pain I think some of those hormone blockers r something the body has to get use to. I had some mild arthritis before I started taking it. I have always taken omega 3, 2000 mg a day that keeps me from having arthritis pain. If I go off of it for more then 2 days I start getting that stiffness and pain back. Some of y’all might like to try that. Hope y’all feel better

I haven't started Anastrozole yet because I haven't finished radiation but my oncologist told me that the meds that I take for my arthritis should help with the side effects of the AI. My recommendation is always to start the drug, see how it affects you (many people have no or mild side effects), and then talk to your oncologist if you have problems and work to resolve them with a different medication. There are several available. Don't be scared off starting it by the long list of side effects. When drugs are released to the market, they have to list every "possible" side effect. It doesn't mean that you will get any or all of them. I'm kind of used to hurting all the time so I'm not sure what to expect but I'm sure going to give it a good try. I do not want this cancer to come back. I have a friend who refused to take the meds because she was scared of the side effects. Her cancer was back in less than two years. Second time around, much worse.

Anastrozole did increase my joint pain. After 2 months on it, I developed swelling in my ankles and feet to the point it was painful. It also raised my eosinophils and my creatinine levels.

My Oncology Nurse Practitioner told me to stop taking it. My five years on hormone blockers is up in November so I am not going to switch to anything else.

Hope anyone on Anastrozole doesn't have the same issues as I have.