Libido

[Pamela Miller]

Has anyone noticed a lack of libido on this medication or is this due to the chemotherapy?

[Deb]

My dr thinks it is probably the arimidex and I got my libido back @ 6 wks after chemo, lost it when I got radiation(extreme fatigue) and never got it back as I went on arimidex following radiation. Any suggestions on how to deal w the loss of libido and vaginal discomfort would be helpful.

[Sandy]

I am 64 years young. I finished chemo 02-06 and started taking Arimidex. I too have a "severe" loss in libido. The vaginal discomfort can be eased by an over the counter product....but the libido??? I haven't consulted my Gyn yet, but will soon. Even with this loss, I will continue to take the Arimidex. The stats are good and the alternative isn't!!!!

[Jeannette]

[QUOTE who="Sandy"What stats are good? Indeed what reliable stats are there on Arimidex? How many studies are available matching a control group of women (matched for age, breast cancer stage, and prior treatments)with those who took Arimidex? Answer? None of any statistical significance. Even the much quoted ATAC data are made up of data from many smaller studies most of which have no statistical generalisability. I see Arimidex as the most poisonous/toxic part of the adjuvant therapy offered to me. Its effects were far more negative than the chemo and radiotherapy...loss of libido being only one. Joint pain, hair loss and increased cognitive dysfunction being others. Until I went off it, I was going to part of a study set up to determine if the joint pain was merely inflammation or if Arimidex causes damage to the joints. Imagine them not knowing that yet!! On reflection, I'm not surprised by the side effects: Arimidex leaches my body of all oestrogen. and oestrogen has many more important functions than merely being implicated in breast cancer. I'm off it.[/QUOTE]
]I am 64 years young. I finished chemo 02-06 and started taking Arimidex. I too have a "severe" loss in libido. The vaginal discomfort can be eased by an over the counter product....but the libido??? I haven't consulted my Gyn yet, but will soon. Even with this loss, I will continue to take the Arimidex. The stats are good and the alternative isn't!!!!

[donna-sue]

I am 42 years old. My husband and I had a very active sex live even during chemo. I don't remember a whole lot from that period but he says that even when I was extremely ill I was fairly active. Radiation was different. The pain from the burns put me down pretty quick. After I got well and while I was on Tamoxifen we were back to normal. One week after begining Arimidex I lost the abilty to have an orgasm. My sex drive is the same but I am frustrated and no longer want to even try.