Hormone therapy struggling in 4th year

Dear @Silvergirl
You’re not old, bits of you just feel that way as my GP once said (I’m 75). Your medication is hard work but you are almost there, if you are doing 5 years! Some people manage better or longer or both, because they don’t experience the same side effects - I am in year 8 of Femara, and while I have side effects (vaginal atrophy, a bit of bone thinning) I don’t have any pain or fatigue.  I can do it because it’s easier! My admiration is for those who do any amount of time under debilitating circumstances. Give yourself a pat on the back, you deserve it. I can’t say how it feels when you finish but at least there is the satisfaction of knowing you’ve run the course and done all you can. Exercise may not feel like it’s helping but it does. I hope someone else can give you some joy about improvements when you finish. Best wishes. 

All I can say is you’re definitely not old, and this medication is hard work 😩. But it’s keeping the cancer away. Maybe talk to your onc about changing your antidepressants or AI to another one?

@Silvergirl the AI thing is a real lottery. I could not tolerate Letrazole and ditched it after about 9 months. I felt like shit all the time. So, I switched to Aromasin. No good either. My last option was Exemestane, so I gave that a shot. I can't say I'm pleased, but I feel less desperate and my onc is happy that 4 years after starting the wretched things, I'm still swallowing one of them.
It's really possible that what I was suffering in the early days was some pretty nasty long term effects from my last round of treatment; which might explain how I found the drugs I've ended up taking more tolerable--could just be time. 

Having had one recurrence, I'm pretty motivated to avoid another and these foul pills give me the best chance of doing that. It's not ideal, and I wish that I could spend a couple of months feeling 'normal' but I think the damage is probably done now.

By the time I'm your age, I'll have done my ten years. I shudder to think what sort of condition I'll be in by then, but hopefully I'll still be around to find out. MXX

Hi Silvergirl,
I am only 6 months in to Letrazole and so  far so good.
I do know from what I have read that a significant proportion of women have adverse side effects.
So congratulations for making it to 4 years!
I liken it to a marathon , you have got this far, and the finish line is in sight.
The pill  does have a real impact on the likelihood of recurrence so seek the advice of your medical team to help you finish this marathon.

Definitely not old!!  Welcome to the forum @Silvergirl - well done on doing 4 years on Aromasin!   I am at 3 years now - Letrozole, then Exemestane and currently Arimidex (last 2.5 years.).  I was mid 60s when diagnosed & went from being a relatively fit, 'ok' sized lady - to now feeling like I am 80 & weighing an extra 10kg!  :(   My aches & pains 'come & go' ... I haven't had a break on Arimidex yet .... tho did on the other 2.   We live in hope that when we stop taking the tablets, that our bodies will return to some sort of normality ...... I hope so!

Take dare & all the best xx

I'm coming up on 3 years and have had a helluva ride on Letrozole.  I've stuck with it because it is supposed to be the most effective for my bc.  My onc would let me take a break but he agrees that it can be harder to go back on.  It is getting a bit easier.  Exercise definitely helps but I know how hard it can be to A) fit it in, and B) to do it when you're in so much pain and you injure so easily.  Go to an exercise physiologist who specialises in cancer treatment to make sure you're doing the right things, the right way.  You can get a health care plan for it.  Even if you don't continue with them, you'll get the right steps to do elsewhere.  Try Encore through YWCA.  There may be other things local to you.

My oncologist stopped my hormone therapy at my yearly checkup in February this year. I had completed 7 years and 3 months on a combination of Tamoxifen and Letrozole. In answer to your question about how does it feel after stopping and do you feel better etc, in my case, the answer is yes.

The lack of estrogen was resulting in many soft tissue (tendon) injuries that just wouldn’t heal for me. I did wonder if it was just my age (I am 55 now) but it seems that as the time off the medication has gone on my body is repairing itself. Mentally I am happier and calmer. My pain is gone. Hope that helps to know that your body can function more normally again once the hormone therapy has done the important job of reducing the chance of recurrence. Take care and best wishes for your last few months of it. xxx

Hi Silvergirl
I remember my terror at having to take an AI and the list of side effects. I started off well but unfortunately 18 months in I am feeling the joint aches and hope this doesn’t get worse.
I am dealing with insomnia and hot flashes and hate the memory issues.
My oncologist doesn’t believe in side effects and flatly doesn’t want to know  I don’t discuss them. Or anything else. Has the personality of a pot plant though competent in oncology I guess.
I have read the side effects recede once you finish but I fully understand how you feel and the will to return to the life you had otherwise expected. I never expected to age prematurely and the change in me is significant. 

@Temple your oncologist doesn’t believe in side effects?! 😳. That’s pretty ridiculous. I would change my oncologist 🤔

Hi Temple, I know what you mean about feeling you're the only one, a friend was diagnosed with BC, had a mastectomy, chemo now hormone therapy, she defiantly gets it, other friends can only sympathize.
 I tell them about the side effects of the meds, they listen but can't see a physical change and usually can't help with the phycological for long, they end up avoiding the issues after a while because they don't know what to say.
Its good to talk to someone who can say "I get insomnia too and I never was anxious before but now Im anxious all the time and I take a sleeping pill every night!" You're not alone, and I've found this forum is a good in giving me hope and support.
With regards to my oncologist, I've always thought her job was just to get me through the treatment, jolly me along as she puts it! I think she listens to my complaints, she does acknowledge there are side effects then writes a script to fix the problem, and see you next time!
She doesn't sympathize, she doesn't go there, I go to a phycologist from the Cancer council for that! They were very helpful in getting my head sorted, they understand the journey of BC and side effects. 
I want to get to the finish, I want to know I've done everything I can to prevent this hideous disease coming back.
I remind myself of why Im doing this and keep going. 
I wish you all the best, it can be a long journey (hate that reference, none of us want to go on it) but hopefully we'll all get there and find some normality at the end.
Hope Ive helped you as you have me, all the best, congrats on 18 months!