Armotraz

What Armotraz does

Armotraz is a tablet form of anastrozole, one of the aromatase inhibitors. Breast cancers that depend on oestrogen grow while the hormone is around; these tablets cut how much the body makes, so those cells slow down or stop multiplying. It is used in women who have passed the menopause — after surgery or radiotherapy for early disease, on its own once the cancer has spread within the breast or elsewhere, and when tamoxifen has stopped holding it back.

Taking your daily tablet

One 1mg tablet goes down with a glass of water, at any time of day and with or without a meal. Armotraz is a long-haul medicine, often taken for years, so it helps to tie it to something you already do every day, such as brushing your teeth.

Side effects to expect

Hot flushes and night sweats are the most familiar complaints. Stiff joints and muscles come next, along with headaches and tiredness. Some people get nausea, constipation, loose stools or indigestion, a poorer appetite or weight gain; others notice low mood, broken sleep, thinning hair, vaginal dryness or bleeding, or pins and needles in the hands and feet. Bone is the long-term concern: with less oestrogen around, bone thins gradually, so a fracture becomes more likely after years on the tablets.

A few problems need urgent care: chest pain, a red swollen arm or hand, sudden loss of vision, a feverish illness with a sore throat, yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes, a spreading rash, or puffiness of the face, lips or throat.

Medicines that work against it

Anything containing oestrogen cancels part of anastrozole's effect, so hormone replacement therapy and hormonal contraceptives are not taken alongside it. Tamoxifen and raloxifene interfere as well.

Armotraz or Arimidex?

Two anastrozole listings sit in the shop, both 1mg tablets. Arimidex is the original brand name; Armotraz is another brand of the same ingredient. There is no other strength or form to choose between, so the pack name and pack size are what you are picking.