Has switching aromatase inhibitors helped with joint pain?

Even though I travel a lot I think if I get this side effect I will have to get a dog to make me do all the walking.🦮🐕‍🦺🐶🐕🐩🐾🦴

I do about 10,000 steps per day, half in the morning and the rest after dinner. I have very little joint pain now , I’m on anastrozole , the thing that I hate is the thinning of my hair🙁. I’ll start using minoxidil . My hair stop shedding and the minoxidil works. I know of two people that also had hair loss from AI’s .

Do all AI’s cause hair thinning?

I think so

Switching can help. Exercise really made the difference for me. It is hard to get moving once you start having joint pain, but it helps so much. I take classes at the gym. They help to push me to do it

No joint pain after my one month on Arimidex/Anastrozole. But I am exercising daily at the Y...weight machines, tai chi. Zumba, bikes, and soon Aqua Zumba. Find something fun to do!

I have been taking Glucosamine Chondrotin and it's helped a great deal. My oncologist said it was good to use.

Hi I had the same issue and my oncologist switched me to Aromisin. Made a big difference for me

On letrozole and horrible joint pain to start. Swimming and walking routinely unbelievable improvement. Same as others, if a break in exercise I feel the pain return. 18 months now and doing good and my hair grew back, lost alot on AI in beginng....Hang in there!

I too use Glucosamine Chondrotin it helps a great deal. I notice when I forget it. So I try to be diligent about using it

My new side effect of anastrozole is dry mouth , my hair issue has substantially subsided . It seems that different things come up at different times(:

Went for a haircut today. MY hairdresser was appalled at the thinness of my hair. I am on anastrozole. I have lost 52 pounds But my belly looks like shreks. I change clothes 2 to 3x a day because they are soaking wet get night sweats also. Bone and muscle pains are terrible. So they can prescribed⁸ more meds to help side effects so ridiculous. My problem is onco score 30. I am 77 have other comorbities. She won't do chemo cause it might hurt me. No radiation, either. Was told by my surgeon I should be happy with a 20 percent return rate if I don't take the inhibiter, it's 50+ percent chance of returning in breast and elsewhere.didnt even consider oral chemo which is also give for wegners which I have for 10 years my tumor grade 1a stage 2 no lymph. My concern is it. Was in there for 6 mo before it was removed because of a broken arm What do I do?

Kathy H. I am not a medical professional. I will be 71 in October. How long have you been on anastrozole. When I was diagnosed at 62, I had hair loss in the beginning, but it eventually started growing back in. This time around, I was diagnosed with mets and started back on letrozole. I am having hair thinning but not like the last time. If you recently had surgery, that might be part of the cause, and some will return. As for treatment, first, have you considered a second opinion. Out comes for me has a service for that. Another thought, has your Dr suggested a break. I work out a lot, and movement really helps with the joint pain. My thought is if you take a break, join a silver sneakers class at local gym and get your joints moving. Then go back on the meds. As for the hot flashes, I take effexor. I find out tomorrow if I am NEAD (no evidence of active disease). I will have to stay on letrzole until it stops working because I am stage 4. If that's what I need to die from something else, I will take effexor. I no longer have night sweats or days sweats except when I am working out. At our age, we need quality of life.

I lost about 30% of my hair on the third month of anastrozole. My hair was falling just by touching it. I got a haircut, use minoxidil ( 5%) but the shedding has now stopped, miraculously 🤷‍♀️

This was an issue for me at first too. I kept exercising and added in yoga and after about 8 months on the AI the joint pain became much less intense. Now I am a couple of years in and don’t notice it at all anymore. Hang in there!

I am on Femara but wanted to agree with Jennifer G... for me, walking the recommended 150 mins/wk has helped me eliminate the joint pain. If I slack off for a wk or 2, I start to notice it again. That's my motivation. Good luck in quickly finding what works for you!

Joint pain is a common challenge with aromatase inhibitors, and many patients find that switching to a different AI can make a meaningful difference in managing side effects. The community here has shared valuable experiences about finding the right medication balance, so connecting with others who've navigated similar decisions might provide helpful insights for discussions with your healthcare team.