FEMARA
Comments
-
Steph, Yep, that's me! I'm a kindergartener teacher and there are times during the day that I practically fall asleep while teaching. When I'm doing a calm, sit-down activiity such as small group reading or individual assessing, sometimes I find myself nodding off. Even the kids have noticed it--they say "Mrs. xxx, are you sleepy?" Geez. And it's not age--I'm only 41.
I've noticed it goes in cycles throughout the day. If I can get through the drowsy cycle (I'm guessing it lasts about 30 min) then all of a sudden it's like the curtains open, the sun comes in and wah-lah, I'm fine again. It's very strange. And it really does seem to go away like that in a instant. Suddenly my mind is just clear and alert again.
0 -
Weety- that is me too! I am a preschool teacher and nodding off is NOT a good thing! I think the lack of estrogen causes us to feel much older than our age. I am trying to do some kind of exercise for 30 minutes every day. Even if it is slow walkIng; I think it helps my creakiness and my sleep.
0 -
Ginger...YOGA! Does wonders.
0 -
That's wonderful!! The no SE part.
My left elbow ached the entire time on Tamox.....now they both ache! ~sigh
I've noticed a body composition change. Don't know if it is from the Ooph a couple months ago or what...I weigh the same, but my belly is storing more fat/fluid. You know I count my calories and such, especially now...I've researched and found in menopause women tend to need 200-400 calories LESS a day. Most women don't know this and continue to consume the same amount of calories that kept them trim...attributing it to "middle age spread."
I've also noticed I need a good night's sleep or the next day I'm a bit of a basket case. Not so much on the outside, but inside. I've been drinking a lot of iced coffee! lol
That's all the SE for me so far...glad the annoying vaginal discharge I had with Tamoxifen is gone!
0 -
Artsee- I am doing yoga embodiment, accupuncture, LE therapy and range of motion exercises for my frozen shoulder. Working with a nutritionist also. Feeling better is a full time job...
Tonlee- I think you are right about the calories and retaining fat/ fluid around the middle. I have noticed that since my ooph in December. Also not sleeping well for the last year has also contributed to my weight gain and lack of energy. I am in a fog a lot of the time.0 -
Ginger,
My Onc said swelly belly lasts for some people a few weeks, and others for over a year. I am slow to heal. I am almost 2 months out and my belly button just stopped hurting a couple days ago! But if I press on it just right, it is still not comfortable.
I'll adjust my calories...but frankly I'm at a loss right now. I can't calculate how many calories I should get for REAL since my heart is not working properly. So frustrating! All those years to maintain a quality of fitness...I'm not giving up...I'm just whining.
0 -
To lee-whine away sister; we are here!!!
0 -
Weety & Ginger 48- that is exactly what I am starting to experience. Have been on only 1/2 a tablet of Femara for a little over 2 years, with biggest problem being joint pain. After starting on generic 2 months ago, I now find myself just kind of falling asleep or losing consciousness for 3 or 4 seconds at a time...sometimes right while I'm talking. The bad part is, I drive a bus...it has happened about 7 times in the last 2 months. I thought maybe I was just tired ( which I am ) , but I have driven for 8 years and never had a problem. I can't continue doing this. I am going to take a break from the letrozole for a few weeks and see if it continues. If it stops I will tell my Onc that I need to go back to name brand Femara. He always kind of dismisses my s/e's as "I've never heard of anyone having that". Even the joint pain. I just had a Dexa scan and it showed a 13 percent decrease in bone density since beginning Femara with a perfect dexa score. I'm starting to hate this drug!!
0 -
You're only take 1/2 a tablet a day, jacee? That's what I've been tempted to do. My joint and muscle pain just keeps getting worse and I've only been taking an AI for almost four months. (Arimidex for three months and letrozole for one.) I don't lose consciousness, but I do find myself getting so tired in the afternoon sometimes that I'm goofy and can't stay awake. My speech gets a bit slurred and I have to take a nap. I'm on the generic too. I wonder if the name brand would make a difference.
I don't even like to think about what is happening to my bones. I have also noticed in the last week that I get a sharp shooting pain in my right shin if I kneel down...it really smarts! I've been wondering what that is too..
I hope that things get better for all of us!
0 -
Last night by 9pm I was out! And I slept for 12 hours. And didn't wake refreshed.
I NEVER sleep like that.
I can't decide if it is the Femara or the Ace Inhibitor. I take both with supper, so about 5pm. I had to take Tamoxifen at night as well so the exhaustion would hit during sleep time....
Ugh. I need more and more coffee everyday just to shake it off!
0 -
Barb.... Have taken 1/2 a tablet for 2 years. I have tried on several occasions to take a full dose, but the joint pain is so severe. It is so weird, as I am not a small person. ( 5'11 and 195 lbs). But I just can't tolerate the full dose. My Onc wasn't thrilled that I switched to half, but said he understands quality of life is important. I just cut the pills in half with a knife. I asked if I should take a whole pill every other day or half a pill every day. He said half every day would be preferred, so that I get some in my system each day. You can look at the Novartis website and see in the prescribing info that in the trials, full estrogen suppression occurred in all groups with a .5mg dose. Half a pill gives me 1.25mg...so more than double the .5mg. So, for me, I am comfortable with that. Granted, best results overall occurred with the 2.5mg daily dose...I just can't do it. I am happy with full estrogen suppression. And the way my body reacts to half a pill, I feel I am doing the best I can. I hope I dont regret this someday! Side note- the joint pain dropped tremendously going to half a pill.
0 -
Full estrogen suppression is at .5mg? Wow...maybe I could just use half also. I go back to my MO in a few weeks and I'll talk to her about it. The joint and muscle pain just seem to keep getting worse and I find myself wondering when/or if it will level out....
Thank you for the reply!
0 -
TonLee - Have you taken your bp? Maybe it is too low on the ACEi.0
-
Ton...try taking them in the morning. I take all mine in the morning and I sleep my normal time during the night. Doesn't make me tired during the day either.
0 -
Omaz, I have't taken it in yet...haven't been anywhere to do that.....but I shoulda thought of that!!! I'll go to the store and get it checked tomorrow.
Artsee,
A few hours after I take them I am OUT, I can't afford to do that in the morning. I have too much on my plate! Maybe this summer I'll be able to try it in the morning just to see....thanks
0 -
Hi all,
I haven't quite caught up on all the posts here, but I sure identify with most of them.
I (like LC Barb) was on Arimidex first; then a break during rads; then switched to Femara. My joint pain is slightly less; my fuzzy brain is the same - maybe I am doing a little better at work; but my mood swings UGh that is another story.
I just switched to taking the Femara right before bed, and other meds in the AM. That way, I am hoping the Femara isn't peaking during my work day while the meds i need while I am awake will. I actually feel better splitting my meds night/day.
A few days ago I got a vague upper back pain around the rib area - cannot tell if it is inside or near the surface. It's bearable but you know, we worry about new aches and pains.
Tonight I bent over slightly and my hip joint/muscle locked....now it's on both sides of lower back. I can't believe it. Always something new!
I also have more warm moments since Femara - and I'm 63. Been there, done that.
Anybody else with back pains? Grrrrrrr
Joan0 -
OMGosh Jacee! I can't believe we are finding more of us that are having this same problem! I brought it up a few months ago and someone said it sounded like narcolepsy. But I don't know if you can just all of a sudden "get" narcolepsy.
Barb, I get that slurred speech thing, too. It's almost like being a bit drunk, but more like I'm listening to myself talk from the outside, rather than doing the talking from the inside. I don't know how to better explain it.
I wonder what weird side effect this is and what it is from!
0 -
I don't have slurred speech, but I'll be talking and can't think of a word and just stop and stare at whoever I'm talking to. It's like I've got brain damage. And the joint pain is WAY worse. LCBarb and I started at about the same time. I've been on Femara almost five months and it seems like the side effects have gotten much worse in the last few weeks.
Before I was achy, but I had good and bad days. Now it seems like I can barely function. I'm hoping that it peaks and then gets better. Otherwise I'll be asking my onc for another option, as well. It makes me really unhappy to say because I was determined to not complain about this and here I am, complaining.
This morning I got up, had coffee, and then went back to sleep for an hour and a half. I can't do that! I'm really starting to panic. I have to be able to work and not fall asleep at the computer.
0 -
Weety, yes, hearing yourself talk from the outside is a great description. I will let you know how it goes stopping the drug for a few weeks. I really hope I see this doesn't happen during these two weeks and I can go back on the name brand Femara,
0 -
Wow, so much to look forward to! My thyroid is already toast, I take 275 mcg of Synthroid that really does nothing. I have Fibro, which I take 90 mg of Cymbalta for. Since I have been done with radiation, the joint pain has gone away, but I fear that the Femara is going tp bring that back. I am currently on a leave from work, but I used to fall asleep in meetings (so embarrassing) and at my computer so I had to take a caffeine pill (Good ole Fred Meyer "stay awake") to get thru the day.
I also have had issues in the past with different generics and their "fillers" causing issues, so I know that is a true fact and will be watching for differences. I even notice that even my Cymbalta lasts longer on some refills than others. My pharmacist thinks I am crazy but I know it's true. (well, maybe I am a tad crazy)
I am not sure when I am starting the Femara/Zometa combo but I will stay off of work until I know if I can handle the SE's and work at a high stress job and parent 5 kids and a hubby.
Amy
0 -
Amy, five kids! Wowza! I've got two at home that keep me busy, soon to be one. The side effects seem to ebb and flow.
0 -
Just a quick question....
What dose Femara do you all take?
I take a 2.5 mg...is that standard?
Thanks,
Tonya
0 -
I take 2.5 as well. I think it's standard.
0 -
Yeah, that is the standard amount, and strangely, it doesn't matter if you weigh 100 lbs or 250 lbs. Everyone gets the same dosage.
0 -
2.5 mg is standard. I take 1.25 mg...I cut it in half myself.
0 -
They did some dose response studies....if I read them correctly the letrozole builds up and achieves a certain level in the blood and that level is then maintained. Do you guys understand it that way?
0 -
I started taking Letrozole in September, one pill every other day, then in December started with full dose. Since September until February had three ear infections, my right ear was mostly plugged during that time, had numbness in my right cheek that was coming and going and some joint pain. Then in February I was diagnosed with chronic sinus infection and ENT suggested surgery for deviated septum. I never in my life had ear/sinus infection before. End of March I bend during work and my back and left hip was painful for weeks. I called onc and he told me that was normal for letrozole and to keep taking it as it would go away with time. I also started having 20-30 hot flashes a day. My back pain was last strew. I stopped taking letrozole 3 weeks ago and my ear is not plugged anymore, no cheek numbness, my back and hip pain is almost gone, only 2-3 hot flashes during day and I lost 4 pounds without changing diet or exercise routine.
I had oophorectomy a year ago and that should equal 5 years of Tamoxifen. I am working as a nurse and have lots of clients who were diagnosed with breast cancer years ago and were only on Tamoxifen for 5 years, no AI.
0 -
Has anyone else lost completely lost their memory on Femara? And what about bruising? I seem to bruise so easily now. Thx Heather
0 -
I'm bruising really easy too HM....what's up with that?
0 -
I have been on Femara since august of 2011. I started taking the generic (which looks exactly like the name brand )about 5 months ago , BUT my body aches are just about gone except for damp days.. and 6 weeks ago I switched to taking the pill at like 10 pm and I am sleeping so very much better !!!
my next tumor marker blood draw is next week with onc visit the folloowing week. keeping my fingers crossed .......0
