FEMARA
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Thanks so much Omaz. I'll be sure to copy it this time.0
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I'm posting this not to scare anybody but to let you know what happened to me in case it happens to you. After 3 1/2 days off Femara I felt really great, then over a 2 hour time-span, my chest and back began to hurt, 3 hours later I thought I was having a heart attack, seriously. My husband took me to the ER on Thursday afternoon. My blood pressure was very high. They ran a bunch of tests and kept me overnight to run more and to keep an eye on me. Tests thru the night and a CT scan in the morning all showed my heart is fine. They released me Friday around noon and all that day I felt like my bones were breaking, I hurt so bad. The cardiologist and my oncologist both prescribed vicodin, which I only took 1/4 tab twice, to get some sleep. I awoke this morning and the pain is almost totally gone. This is the craziest thing that has ever happened to my body over the course of a few days. I don't know what is going on inside me to produce these symptoms, but I am hoping that if I relate this and it happens to anybody else, they'll know they weren't the first.0
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Isabelle,
It can be overwhelming to read about all the side effects at once. Every drug comes with a list of potential SEs.
Drugs that alter hormone levels will cause observable side effects, but often the body and mind adjust.
I took AIs because I did not take chemo and had rads on one side...I want to do what I can to prevent recurrence on either side; and more extensive surgery.
When I started with Arimidex, I immediately had joint pain in my thumb/palm joints - arthritic-like, and that never went away; but I hardly notice now. During rads, shoulder pain. I switched to Femara after a rads break. I definitely feel more hormonal symptoms. Warm ensations, especially bad in the heat and humidity. Occasional moodiness like PMS/menopause; inability to focus and food cravings. After a few weeks on Femara, and adjusting the time of day I took it, my body adjusted. I never have these all at once, and often no SEs. I know I'm not the same, but if I keep mentally and physically busy and watch carefully what I eat, I am fine.
Sending hugs and prayers for all who are starting Femara.
Joan0 -
Question - has anyone experienced increased underarm odor or sweating with Femara?
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I am starting my Femara tomorrow......
so worried. 0 -
You'll do fine. Keep in mind what it's doing to the cancer.... that manages to keep me from EVER forgetting to take one.
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I agree with garden....whenever I have a little joint pain or one of the hot flashes that I get, I think......take that you sneaky breast cancer.....here's another Femara for you today!
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I like that, Filter Lady....and you just reminded me to take my Femara before bed. Thanks....
Isabelle, sending positive thoughts and hugs your way. It should be ok for you. If Femara doesn't sit well with you, there are a number of options....keep a little journal the first month if you can so when you talk to your MO you can both decide if it is the right choice. (I keep notes on my phone for everything)
Nite all.
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Hi Joan:
I, too, keep notes, list of medications, etc on my phone. If I had a piece of paper, I would either forget it or lose it, lol.
I take my Femara in the morning since it was causing sleep issues for me.
Isabelle....I'm hoping if you have any SE, they are mild.
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I took my first little pill this a.m. & so far at least no dizziness or nausea which the pharmicist cautioned about. He said I would know today....so far so good. My biggest problem right now is fear. You wonderfull women are helping me with this.
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Atta girl, Isabelle! My doc claimed that SEs would not start until I had been on it for 6-8 weeks. I still think some started earlier than that, but so far, 3 months into it, I have not had anything too horrible. Most of the SEs are more annoying than really dreadful.
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Diana
I'm so sorry for what you are going through. I know what it's like to have multiple health issues, and then feel like we are dreading' the next med' which may actually make us feel worse. I'm sorry I don't have any advice or info , but did want to send my hugs !
(((HUGS)))0 -
Filter Lady, I lose everything...especially in the past year. I have a long list of things missing since BC...some important.
Momine, my SEs did kick in early but then they leveled out.
Isabelle, it's a pill that you should take regularly because your body maintains a level of the drug to suppress estrogen. But if the drug is not right for you, it is not so serious to stop while you find another drug under the direction of your MO. So knowing you have choices can make it more acceptable. I choose to take the drug and accept the SEs for now...if I note any debilitation (bone loss, physical changes) I will consider my options.
I want to have a healthy life and lots more birthdays!
Hugs to all,Joan
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Hi all,
I've been off BC.org for some months because other things in my life were more important than bc. Don't you love that? I've been able to more or less forget about it, barely noticing my lopsided bosom and little pink scar, and am just thinking about it now because a month from now will be the anniversary of my diagnosis. To catch up, I read the last few months of this thread.
I have been taking generic femara (Breckenridge brand, mustard yellow) faithfully since last October. The only side effect I can be SURE is from the med is achey muscles, specifically my glutes, and one ibu takes care of it. I do have that old-lady feeling when I get up from a chair, but I already had osteo-arthritis in my knees before bc so I'm not sure I can blame it on femara. I only I feel sure I can blame the muscle aches on the drug because I had never experienced them before taking it, and they began the very next day.
My main reaction to what I read here today is to notice that some of the SEs discussed are things that often appear during middle age (achey joints), during and after menopause (dry skin, insomnia, osteopenia), or with weight gain that may have come from stress eating or diminished activity caused by chemo or rad fatigue. We know that those symptoms are known to be sometimes related to AI use, but we don't know whether we would have them even without the drug. Other symptoms that are not on the official AI list may be related to other things in our lives, other drugs we are taking, or the interaction between them. Drug interactions are complex and not always well-understood, especially those involving herbal medicines -- they may be natural but they are powerful! One person taking a drug, having a symptom, does not prove causation. It takes careful analysis of a lot of data to prove causation.
I'm not saying we shouldn't ask our MOs about problems we're having (reporting SEs is crucial), or ask them to consider other meds (I've often read on these boards that someone got relief by changing AIs). I am certainly not opposed to people posting their miseries on the boards. We all need support and sympathy! Suggestions that we give one another can also be very helpful. We need to share our questions, doubts, and concerns, and help each other, and bc.org is a wonderful way to do it.
My concern is that we may be too quick to assume that all symptoms are AI side effects, and focus too much attention on how the drug is harming us. Solid statistics show that AIs are likely to improve our survival odds a lot. If you're reading this because you're told you need an AI, please don't hurt your own survival chances by jumping to the conclusion that you'll get every SE on the list. There are many thousands out there like me, cruising along with minimal problems related to the AI we take every day. As people sometimes say on the forums, those of us without problems are too busy living our lives to visit bc.org as often as we did when bc treatment was dominating our days. So, listen to the many wise women on here, and allow those in pain and misery to vent and get support without assuming that the worst things will all come your way. They probably won't.
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Hi everyone: I have been on this site many moons ago and Treeskier I am with you. I tried to stay off all forums except the exercise thread. Now I need my femara sister's help.
Crazy question: Has anyone experienced great sensitivity to hot and cold in the teeth and gums? Also I had novacaine for a cavity the other day, dentist put air to see if I was numb, no I was not. He told me to see a doctor and get a blood test. Also has pain in ribs been an issue with anyone? I am driving my PS crazy with these pains and he also has me seeing a Pain Management Dr. who has already injected me with kellogg stuff to break up scar tissue. I have been on Femara for almost 2years and this is the first time this nonsense has started. I am on the generic, little pink pill, never had a problem with the real pill. Has anyone experienced any of the problems I have recently encountered. (I was on Arimidex for 6 months and had to go off - that one killed me).
Thank you.
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Ronqt1-I have not had any noticeable teeth/ gum issues. Might be the only part of my body not bugging me.
Has anyone on letrozole been prescribed vagifem? My onc prescribed it for dryness/ itching issues but it contains some estrogen. He says it is fine but I am a bit nervous...any thoughts?0 -
ronqt1 - The pain could be caused by the fillers in the pink pills. At the top of this page Omaz posted a chart with the fillers some generic manufacturers put in their pill. I've been on a pink pill from Mylan and it has 15 fillers listed and a lot of those are dyes. You may be having trouble with some of those and could ask your pharmacy to order one with less fillers. About the dental problem, the only thing I know about, is if you're getting a biphosphonate for osteoporosis caused by Ai's. Some have reported jaw problems with those, but not sure about teeth/gum issues.
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Hi treeskier, good to see you and know you are doing well.
It is so true that in a thread such as this, people are going to share questions and problems about the more difficult issues whil on AI drugs.
And I agree that AI drugs are one of the reasons that there is a growing number of Stage 1 and 2 ladies who can leave BC behind them.
Yes, I had SEs with Arimidex and Letrozole (also the mustard-colr pill) but I am learning to live with theissues of getting older and dealing with SEs.
Right now I am trying to cut out fast acting carbs and sugar; and adding walking to help me fend off these SEs.
We are fortunate to have these options.
Joan
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Grandma and Ginger Thank you.
Until this situation with teeth no problems at all.
Unfortunately or fortunately with this problem I am losing weight. (which I am not complaining about).
Thank you again everyone.
Have a safe 4th
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Has anyone lost weight or had gastric bypass surgery. I just keep gaining weight have really tried loose weight but when you have so much pain it is hard to do much exercise.
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Nanna, in the beginning I was a bit taken aback my all the ache and pain in joints etc. But I discovered that moving actually makes it better, not worse. I stick to light exercise, like walking and minimal weights, but the more I move the less pain I have.
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Nana I put myself on a diet earlier this year as I was going in for a knee replacement and I felt I was carrying a bit too much. Obviously I was fairly sedentary but all I did was cut out bread, butter, potatoes, sugar and ate lightly of things like sweet potato, corn and peas but all other veg I ate unlimited amounts, at least 2 pieces of fruit a day and upped the quantity of protien that I ate including fish. If I was looking for something to snack on I had a small handfull of almonds. I drank plenty of water and ended up losing 10kg which is just over a stone in twelve weeks. My DH joined me on the diet and in the same time frame lost 20kgs. The only thing he did as far as exercise was concerned was to walk eack day in the morning.
If you want to know a bit more detail just PM me.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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Chrissy, that is pretty much how I eat too, and it works quite well. Besides, cutting out sugars and white starches seems to have many health benefits, quite apart from the weight loss thing.
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Mommie my DH complained that he was eating so much it would be impossible to lose weight....not so....in order to lose weight you must feed yourself constantly so your metabolism will use the food and not store it as fat. Some get the idea that you must eat less not more to lose weight and so are never successful.....the only rule is to eat the right things.
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I have just been prescribed Femara but am nervous about taking it. With Tamoxifen, the only SE I had was night sweats. I am already osteopenic and my mom has pretty severe osteoporosis. Is there anything I can do besides taking calcium and exercising with weights to protect my bones?
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I have just been prescribed Femara but am nervous about taking it. With Tamoxifen, the only SE I had was night sweats. I am already osteopenic and my mom has pretty severe osteoporosis. Is there anything I can do besides taking calcium and exercising with weights to protect my bones?
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Hi Jaybird, not everyone gets the SE's from Femara. I get the sweats.....sometimes and I have had a different times the dizziness, memory loss i.e. looking for words in my head....lol, disturbed sleep until I started to take that little pill at night but that's about it. It's very possible that you will get some SE's but it's also possible that you will get none. The only way to find out is to take it and see. Never forget that if the SE's are extremely troublesome to you, there are other AI's available.
Good luck!
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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Hello Jaybird, I am on Day 8 with Femara....first few days i was a little" lightheaded" in the a.m. but now not even that. Judging by what others are saying it is early but I am determined to do this because after all, what choice to we have? This is my very first cancer medication and I understand the fears. It was all I could do to pop that first little pill into my mouth and I think I expected to turn purple and fall over dead. lol
I have been perscribed Teva-risedronate & calcium...taken weekly and it comes with its own little list of side effects ..bone aches & so on...do not know when they kick in but have only taken 2 doses (one pill per week).
Nanna & Chrissyb...I eat the same way...it is called "The South Beach Diet"..not really a diet but a healthy food style...lots of veggies..lean meat, fish & very easy to do....so much good food you never have a chance to be hungry. It would be worth buying the SB book as it is only 10.00 & full of good advice & easy recipies and good for the whole family. I do not have a weight problem but do not want these little pills to give me one so I am sticking to the eating style as much as I can.
I am still having a difficult time getting my head around this whole cancer thing...still so knew & shocking to me but my dear partner is a rock. As he says "this is just another job we will do together".
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Hi everybody: I am into my fourth month with Letrozole and the mood swings are horrendous. I am also dealing with a lot of hair loss, my hair is thinning out at a tremendous rate. Is anyone else dealing with this issue and any suggestions ?
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Jaybird, I've just been told I'm osteopenic, too. My onco told me to take 1,000 mg a day of Calcium and 800mg a day of vitamin D3. But, like you I've been wondering what else I can do. I haven't really started any weight bearing excercises, I do try to walk a couple of miles every day, when it's not too hot. There have been clinical trials of a new drug called strontium ranelate with very good results. It's my understanding it's available now in the UK for treatment of osteoporosis, but has not yet been approved by the FDA for USA. I had never heard of strontium before and when I googled it, found that it is a mineral similar to calcium and available as a supplement. I plan on asking my onco about it next time I see him. Strontium is in some foods in little amounts, so I'm trying to increase those foods. Hopefully, the FDA will approve this, soon as I am unable to take biphosphonates.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14749454
http://www.livestrong.com/article/269250-strontium-rich-foods/
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