FEMARA
Comments
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Thanks LovesChristmas-Barb!! Down the hatch today!0
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tenaj, thanks for the suggestion. I'll get some Biotin and add that to my repertoire.
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the brain fuzziness is the thing that makes me the most crazy. Whoever said it is like watching your life from afar is so right....I am so amazed at what I forget--- it is my short term memory that is fuzzy--- I just don't seem to have that laser like focus I used to have-- sigh.....
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Yeah, the short term memory is what I notice, too. I can't hold things in my head for even a few seconds sometimes. I notice it most when I'm watching my son's baseball games. I seriously cannot remember what the last batter did, or how he got on base, or how many outs there are. It is really weird. It is almost like I missed it--but I know I didn't!!!
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Ok...Now that we've established the fuzzy brain is affecting many of us, anyone here who has gone through their whole course of Femara and can tell us if the fuzzy brain goes away after? And if so, how long it takes?
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I am late to this party! I wanted to make it for the full 5 years, but I stopped taking Femara 1 week ago. (what was I talking about.....oh yeah, Femara) Did someone say fuzzy brain? I have always been in charge of my life, and now my life runs me. I have the memory loss and severe joint pain, along with practically every other symptom noted in this forum. I have stayed on this drug for just about 3 years and am literally overwhelmed, especially this past year. Things have really taken a turn for the worse with every sympton and I am only 48 but feeling more like 98. So I stopped. Called my onc and told him I was taking a 30 day vacation from this drug, and we can discuss it further at my next appt. Today, I felt slightly better, but after reading many posts, I see that it may or may not take a while for symptons to subside. I worry about recurrence since I had a stage 3 IDC with positive nodes. Don't know at this point which is gonna kill me first, cancer or heart attack/stroke. Now, where was I?? Oh, fuzzy brain. I will get back to you if/when mine gets better. Wish I could forget about the pain for a while!
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Also wondering if anyone here is on Neurontin (Gabapentin) and if it has helped your pain, especially leg pain. Getting my dose upped totally changed my pain level, and the few times I have missed a dose suddenly the pain returns, so I believe without a doubt it is the Neurontin that is helping. However, my body has been through SO much that I have no idea what the leg pain is from - Taxol, Tamoxifen, Femara - any one of a zillion other things...If you are experiencing this same leg pain - horrid shooting pain from hip to knee - you might ask your Onc about Neurontin. It has been a godsend for me.
Although I must warn that friends have told me Neurontin caused them fuzzy brain...I was on it years before cancer for seizures, and never had fuzzy brain from it myself back then.0 -
Has anyone hands get numb. Mine just do at night it wakes me up. I use the hand braces for carpel tunnel but, they still get numb l
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bluecowgirl - I have that pain from knee to hip - mostly centered in the hip joint. I can't walk up stairs anymore because it just hurts too damn much. I've been taking curcumin and glocosamine which helps some. I'm seeing my onc today, so if I remember
I'll ask. Thanks for the tip.0 -
wow....fuzzy brain anonymous is born.....I do the most ridiculous things....forgetting everything....
I do think I am getting used to it....it is most difficult at work. At home, I become impatient with others and myself...joint pain is very bearable but persistent. shoulder, arm, elbow, knee.....yup, feeling older0 -
Nanna-I have the numb hands when I am sleeping. Can't turn off alarm in the morning till they wake up. I also have terrible joint pain, swelling and trouble sleeping. My legs are so painful. I also feel like I am 90 not 48.
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Ginger, yeah that's me. 39 going on 80. The insomnia thing is obvious, seeing as I'm posting this at 1:15 am with no sleep in sight...And the legs? Yeah, I get it. And I'm so sorry so many of my sisters here are going through it.
Joan, re: the memory thing. I have also had a stoke which has affected this, but I feel your frustration. For me, it's totally losing my train of thought, being in the middle of an intense and intellingent conversation and totally forgetting what's going on, not remembering words or even names of people I've known my whole life.
Nanna: I had the numb hands thing for so long and it has passed. Mine was due to chemo I am sure...can't remember if you had it or what kind. Hope so much that yours passes too.
Gardengumby, curious to know if you asked your onc about Neurontin and what s/he said.
So many of us have been through so much, and so many of us so much more then me, I know...the chemo, the drugs, the SEs, the cancer itself...Sometimes I think it's a miracle I can function at all. I know one thing for sure: I TOTALLY don't take anything for granted anymore, from the littlest gifts to the biggies, it is all worth more somehow. The good stuff, I mean.
Love and peace to you all.
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Gosh, reading all this posts makes me sad that we have to live like this. But then we should be
thankful that we are still living. I keep telling myself 'breath' and then I keep counting down to the light at the end of the tunnel.
Hang in there.....keep your fingers crossed...it's mammo day.Ugh!
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bluecowgirl - I got so caught up in her allaying my fears about possible mets in my lungs (don't have 'em
) that I completely forgot about dealing with the pain in my leg. Today I really wish I would have, as I am HURTING!!! 0 -
I got newer drug information/side effects list from Costco yesterday and finally diarrhea is higher on the list (which has been my main effect after 9 months) but it did get better since they switched me from Mylan (pink) to Sun manufacturer (gold) 3 months ago so I do think that the fillers can be a problem for individuals! Now I've been experiencing more aches in my knees and hips lately... so wondering if it's a trade-off of problems. Has anyone else experienced similar issues with the new pills?
I only have a discount on drugs, no prescription coverage so thankfully at Costco it costs me $3.22 per month but on my insurance statement it's over $500.00! WTF? If I were to get it anywhere else it would be over $300 out of pocket. Hmm... thinking I'm going to contact the media about this.
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Sea, your insurance pays 500 for a drug that costs 3.22?
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Momine, apparently that's what they show as a charge to the ins. co. but the "discount" they give brings it down to $3.22. No other drug store/pharmacy I've found can match that. But... why not? The Costco Pharmacist told me they mark up strictly by a % on all drugs. So why is it so expensive elsewhere is what I want to know!!
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Weird, and it sounds like a scam. No wonder insurance is so expensive. Unless the 3.22 is only your co-pay.
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SeaShelly - I have pain in my hips and knees. I take a gold colored pill, but thought the manufacturer was Cara. I also get mine at Costco. If I use my insurance I can only get a 1 month supply - which costs me $10 (co-pay). If I pay myself (which I do) I can get a 3 month supply for $32 or $34.00 (I can't remember which). It's worth the extra few dollars to not have to fuss with it as often. But I've never gotten it for $3.22.....
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about 95% of any prescribed medication is the 'active' ingredient - the rest is the filler which holds it together and that is what some of you are reacting to when you see a difference in the brand of femara you use. some of the fillers contain, among other things - sugar, wheat, flour, egg....so if you have any allergies - these must be taken into consideration. The % of the drug that is the active ingredient is set by the FDA in the US and can't be changed in any way for the company to still have license to make and dispense the drug.
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I too take the gold colored letrozole pill. I understand that it retails for $1,500.00 a month, Walmart is still almost $500.00 a month. I get it thru my MO at the cancer center for $20.00 a month. Have been having some achiness, fuzzy thinking for the past couple of weeks (have been on med since Nov. 21, 2011. After reading the above postings, I wonder if this might be a SE of the Letrozole,
I have my first followup diagnostic mammo next Tuesday and see the RO Thurs. I am a bit apprehensive, will be glad to get the report!!!.
Have a good weekend all...
Vickie
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I don't quite understand this, but I am not charged anything for my letrazole, I've only been on it for 2 months, but both times I've gone to pick it up, they said the charge was $0. Yet everyone here is saying it's so expensive. Usually I have at least a $10 co-pay. Weird. I guess I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
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Mary- mine has been free too. I am not questioning it.
Just a girl-how do we find out what is in the filler? I take the pink letrozole but can not have gluten, dairy or eggs. I am having intestinal issues along with joint pain and fuzzy brain.0 -
Ginger - if it is not included on a printout inside your prescription, ask the pharmacist for it. Again, by law (FDA in the US) the company which makes your brand of drug must disclose all ingredients, and that includes the fillers. If it says may include, nuts, eggs, etc and the key word being 'may' you can write directly to the company and inquire.
I do think this is why some of us have side effects or worse side effects on some brands of Femara /letrozole than others.
Again, after reading many of the posts here over time, a repeating side effect seems to be joint pain/aches and a fuzzy brain. We, as women are used to having some level of estrogen in our bodies all of our life, that is until we started taking Femara, which is designed to take the estrogen out of our bodies as we have had the type of breast cancer which likes to grow/feed/blossom with the nutrient estrogen.
Take the estrogen away and all sorts of things go wacky. When I get tired or mad about the side effects I have, I try and remember I'm also starving any potential bc cells in my body.
Also, and this is only my thinking: BC really takes us on a wild ride, taking every essence we have of strength, patience and mind, and with having to deal with all the junk that comes with having or having had BC, no wonder our brains are fuzzy with the overload.
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Justagirl - the wild ride is exactly right! I had NO idea what I was signing up for.
Not too stray too far from topic here, but I think if more people knew exactly how much it sucked, even in the earliest stages, they woud be better about getting routine exams, mammos, etc. I don't think the current approach is working re: awareness. I didn't feel anything, nor did my doctors during exams while my tumor grew for an estimated decade. "Too young" for mammo. If I had only known...I think there is a need for a "scare tactic" style awareness campaign...Or maybe I am just crazy from Prednisone and will re-read this post tomorrow and scratch my head...But I think not.0 -
Also - posted this elsewhere, but wondering who on Femara has experienced this. I was premenopausal, tamox didn't work out for me, now Lumpron and Femara, planning ooph. I have been bleeding vaginally for 3 days now and docs are saying ultrasound and endometrial/uterine biopsies. Anyone here been through this before? It seems like a strong doc response to a little bleeding IMO, but maybe better safe than sorry?
Gardengumby - So glad to hear you don't have lung mets, but sorry you didn't have a chance to ask about Neurontin. May even be worth making an extra appointment if your pain is really bad. Like I said, it has totally changed my QOL. Best wishes to you (and everyone else here too) for pain relief - that leg thing truly sucks!0 -
Justagirl- I think you are right about the lack of estrogen and the toll stress takes on us. I just keep telling myself at least I know it is working and I am alive!
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I prefer Femara to Arimidex any day.
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Two years into my BC journey I had a uterine biopsy after mentioning I had a little spotting several times. I think the doctors don't want us to take any chances having had BC. Also had an ultrasound. Everything turned out fine and it was a relief to know this.
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ronqt - Do you feel better on the femara?0
