Aromasin and Weight Loss???

juju15941

I am a five year Breast Cancer survivor. I have to take a medication called Exemestaine (brand name Aromasin). I thought I would be going off it soon, but have just found out I will have to take it for another five years. I was just wondering if anyone else is on this medicine and if you are having trouble losing weight because of this, and what you are doing to get he weight off. Right now I am counting calories. I'd appreciate any suggestions.

kimny72

juju15941 wrote: »

I am a five year Breast Cancer survivor. I have to take a medication called Exemestaine (brand name Aromasin). I thought I would be going off it soon, but have just found out I will have to take it for another five years. I was just wondering if anyone else is on this medicine and if you are having trouble losing weight because of this, and what you are doing to get he weight off. Right now I am counting calories. I'd appreciate any suggestions.

I'm not, but wanted to give your thread a bump

Are you able to stick to your calorie goal? Do you use a food scale? How long have you been struggling to lose, and how much weight do you need to lose to get into the healthy weight zone for your height?

Congrats on 5 years, and hopefully someone with personal experience will pop in soon!

apullum

Paging @AnnPT77 please

I don’t know whether she has experience with this drug, but she has posted about her experience as a breast cancer survivor, so she might be able to point you in the right direction.

AnnPT77

I've never taken Aromasin, but I took another aromatase inhibitor (Anastrozole/Arimidex) for 5 years, after taking Tamoxifen for 2.5 years. I was not trying to lose weight at the time (despite being obese), but didn't notice that I needed to eat less during taking it, or that I automagically lost weight while eating the same amount, when I finally went off it.

It may be worth noting that in the overwhelming majority of cases, a drug that interferes with weight loss does so through one of these three mechanisms:

1. Water retention. This is usually limited in extent, and there isn't a lot to be done (if it's not so extreme as to cause serious medical problems).

2. Fatigue. When we're fatigued, we tend to rest more and do less - at work, at home, and in other aspects of daily life - sometimes in quite subtle ways. Being sure to exercise, get good nutrition (for best energy level), get adequate but not excessive sleep, and paying attention to keeping daily activity high** can counter this to some extent. Moderate, regular exercise may also help, and very intense exercise (especially something like HIIT) has the potential to make things worse, though that's very individual.

3. Appetite. Some drugs make us hungrier. If you're calorie counting, this should be less of an issue for you to manage if it occurs, since you'll see it happening. If appetite causes problems complying with calorie goal, all the usual satiety strategies are worth trying (slower loss rate, varying nutrient mix or food choices, changing timing of meals/snacks, etc.).

** There's a thread here about strategies to keep movement levels higher in daily life:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/

The idea that drugs "slow our metabolism" is really not typically the scientific explanation in these case . . . which is good, because water retention, fatigue, or appetite issues are more actionable for us than "metabolism" .

I think it can be worrisome that something like our drug regimen (or age, menopausal status, health condition, etc.) could be making it harder to lose weight. But, even if some of those factors are actually at play, the same strategies tend to pay off, including the things Kimny talked about: Tracking carefully, being patient, figuring out our personal satiety strategies, watching results, working toward improved nutrition and a consistent exercise routine, etc.

I'm a 18+ year survivor of stage III locally advanced breast cancer, and its treatment (bilateral mastectomies, chemo, radiation, Tamoxifen/Arimidex). I lost about 50 pounds here a few years ago at age 59-60, and have so far stayed at a healthy weight since (I'm now 63). I wasn't taking cancer-related drugs at the time, but was (still am) severely hypothyroid (but properly medicated). It really is just about the basics, eating and activity.

Best wishes, and congratulations on reaching your 5-year cancerversary! :flowerforyou:

juju15941

Thank you all for the advice. I think I need to count my calories, drink my water and kick up some exercise.

AnnPT77

juju15941 wrote: »

Thank you all for the advice. I think I need to count my calories, drink my water and kick up some exercise.

Personally, I found that to be a good approach: Stick with it, and you'll be successful. There's a wealth of good info in the "Most Helpful Posts" part of "Getting Started" and "General Health Fitness and Diet" parts of the forums. Direct links here:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-health-fitness-and-diet-must-reads

Best wishes!