FEMARA
Comments
-
Thank you chrissyb.....I know all the tricks, believe it or not I used to be a registered
Dietitian, giving all this advice to my patients....for myself.....not so much. I just made a pot of green tea and I'm looking forward to that. My L Etrozole I take in the evening after dinner, but right now, it's not helping. I may have to contact my MO.0 -
Scottie, you may have picked up a virus. The main thing is to not let yourself get dehydrated particularly as it is so hot. Sure hope you get it sorted asap.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
0 -
Thanks chrissyb: I'll give it a day or so then call my MO or maybe even start out with my GP. Thanks for your concern.....just feel crummy re the nausea.
0 -
Scottie nausea has a habit of making you feel crummy. A call to your GP may be a good starting point and maybe ask him/her for a med to calm the nausea.
Good luck!
Love n hugs. Chrissy
0 -
I'm taking gravol which seems to work, but can't imagine popping gravol for the next 4 1/2 years😱
0 -
Scottie if it is the Femara the nausea should pass fairly quickly and not bother you any more but it could be not related to the Femara at all in which case it should still pass fairy quickly.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
0 -
Chrissyb, I have had it on and off for the last two weeks, yesterday being the worst where I spent all day in bed.😨
0 -
Scottie if it's been that long already I would definitely contact your GP asap. Even if you just speak on the phone and report to him/her how long it has been going on. Time to get some answers from the proffessional.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
0 -
Thanks Chrissyb ...I'm on it.
0 -
Hi Scottiee, I have been away for a few hours & missed all this. I wondered what happened as I expected to hear from you this weekend. So sorry about the nausea....I am often plagued by that when travelling. In fact that is why we are back home now...Went out on the boat to swim & it was too wavy..hence the nausea. It does seem like the Femara is getting to you and for sure you should be calling your doc.
I drink as much water as I can throughout the day by putting lemon juice in it...have been doing this for years & am trying to drink more since I started the F. Sat. at the market I bought pure cranberry juice & now I am alternating lemon juice & pure cranberry in my water. I have been taking the Femara first thing in the a.m. with lots of water & so far no s.e. Do not know what else to tell you and it is very hot here too but probably not as bad as TO. Get better and come for a visit. i will take you to the market for the cranberry juice which is straight from Bala, the cranberry capital. Wish I could help.
0 -
Scottii, just thought of something else that works for me (my husband finds this disgusting). When we are travelling in our coach sometimes I am queasy in the a.m. and I eat a piece of pickled herring or sardines. I think it might be the salty fish that helps to settle my stomach.
0 -
Greetings, I was wondering if anyone knows how Femara affects the immune system? I've been taking it for 16 months, and I've having difficulty with reconstruction on my left side. My right implant had no problems, but my left side keeps getting infected after 3 attempts at reconstruction. My most recent attempt was a lat flap, but the TE became infected, too. I guess I'm looking for ways I can be proactive if I take another shot at reconstruction.
0 -
Isabelle2, you are killing me😱 Breakfast used to be my favourite meal of the day. In my old age it's coffee and toast.......herring or sardines would send me straight for the gravol for sure😝 If it's not any better by tomorrow, I will deal with it.
0 -
Isabelle2, you are killing me😱 Breakfast used to be my favourite meal of the day. In my old age it's coffee and toast.......herring or sardines would send me straight for the gravol for sure😝 If it's not any better by tomorrow, I will deal with it.
0 -
Scottiee1, get better & come here for a visit before the rads get the better of me. My dear Doug will make you the best breakfast you ever had. i made strawberry crepes for us this morning which is not our normal deal....but the berries were just too tempting. I love to cook & bake & Doug usually does brekkie. Get on the phone to that doc.
0 -
I recently took a 8 week vacation off Femara after being on it for 5 years. I previously posted how the body aches and constant joint pain finally wore me down in addition to osteopenia issues. My new oncologist strongly recommended I stay on for 7 years minimum but I really needed to take a break. My blood report showed elevated cholesterol levels and CRP along with other cardiac and inflammatory markers. I did notice after about 3 weeks off drug I finally realized one day -- I had no joint pain! I had almost forgotten after all these years what it felt like to be without constant pain. However, after reading your posts where some of the oncologists strongly discouraged these AI extended holiday I decided to start my daily dose again. Tonight I took my Femara pill and will see long it takes for me to feel like crap again.....
0 -
jlmg, I don't know of any immune SEs, but maybe ask the onc. How are your white blood cells doing?
0 -
jimg I haven't heard that Femara causes immune problems but having BC itself does compromise the immune system. As Mommie said, talk to your onc about the problem and see if he/she can give you some pointers to improve your immune system. Good luck and so sorry to hear that you have had so many problems with your recon.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
0 -
Wow, I have been reading and reading, and I am shocked that no one else has said anything about short term memory loss. That is what I was hoping to find. No one has had it? I just lost the best job I've ever had, and the highest salary because of it. I have been on it since November and that is when I started my new position. I started noticing that I would forget things like a name, but only for about three weeks, and then it would be something else. I had a hard time remembering new things I was learning at work like a new data base system, or it could be the sequence of what to look for when entering something. My job also included alot of interaction with clients and such and for that I was great, but between the memory loss, or inability to hold on to the new info, and then the tiredness, wow.
I was let go "nicely," if there is such a thing. They wouldn't exactly say what it was, but since I worked with such a young group, I'm assuming speed of thought, and learning the new systems might have been the reason. Has anyone else out there experienced the memory loss or have had to keep re-asking forgotten things? This is scarier to me than anything else. After 8 months, I never experienced any beginning side effects, no nausea. I take Biotin so my hair is fine, but I do have the aches and pains in my joints and feel 80! Take advil for that.
I saw that only 5.9% had the memory loss in another study.
Let me know if you have seen or heard of this please.
0 -
Gail, when I was researching the different HT meds, I did read about this. From what I read, the AI's were better than Tamoxifen. Sorry you are one of the ones that got this SE, and sorry about the job.
0 -
Gail - I ABSOLUTELY have short term memory loss. I tell my husband that the only thing I can remember anymore is that I used to have a good memory. At work I have to write down absolutely everything, as I'll get up to go do something and forget what I'm going to do by the time I get there. One of the reasons (but just one, there are many others!!) I want to retire is that I know my work has been impacted to a degree. The notes help, though.
So sorry about your job. We've all lost a lot - losing a job over this just feels like getting slapped for getting cancer.
0 -
Hi Gail: I think it depends on age also. Myself, I'm 65, so memory loss goes with the territory. It's hard for me to say yet if Femara is making it worse since I have only been on it for 4 1/2 months. Will keep you posted though. So sorry about your job.
0 -
Gail I too have memory loss but more for words than anything else. My family usually fill in the missing words now but I know that if I were working it could be a huge problem. I'm so sorry you have lost your job over this.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
0 -
I'm 45 and have been in Letrizole generic (Mylan) since January 2012.
I started back at work full time in mid-April.
I think my memory loss started from chemo but letrozole may be contributing as well since it seems to be getting worse.
I have notes for everything all over my cubicle. It's like The movie Groundhog Day -everyday is new.
My biggest problem seems to be remembering words in mud sentence. Makes me feel stupid.0 -
Count me in on the memory loss stuff, but here's my receipe: I was a heavy drinker for about 17-18 yrs, my Dad has Alzheimers, I've had chemo & am on Femara....+ I just turned 58 & have been under the worse stress of my life since March (my Mom was diagnosed with lung cancer w/mets to the liver & brain-she lived 90 days from diagnosis to death).. My memory goes continually. I have the post-it note addiction.
Sorry about the job tho Gail. That does seem harsh.
0 -
Not so much memory loss but having to search for (what used to be) common words and an increase in forgetfulness. I don't work outside the home so that hasn't been a huge detriment to me. Gail, I really think that firing you was awful and I am so sorry.
Someone much earlier questioned if dizziness was a SE of Femara and I'd like to note that it has been for me. Both nausea and pretty serious dizziness (especially when standing up) lasted for about 2 months consistently. I still get very occasional nausea and the dizziness seems to be somewhat better (but not altogether gone) during the last week or so. Those two things, along with deep fatigue, have been the most consistent SEs, and any others seem to randomly come and go. I started Lexapro (to help with hot flashes) at the same time as my Femara and attribute some of the severity of the dizziness to that, as well.
So far, however, nothing that is going to keep me from continuing on with Femara or that I can't manage/live with right now. Fingers crossed that it continues this way.
0 -
Ysa-do you take Femara in the AM or PM? I'm one of the ones who had MAJOR fatigue while I was taking the pill in the AM. I switched to bedtime about 3 months in & fatigue has ceased to be a factor for me.
0 -
In regards to the dizziness - my pharmacy stuck a "causes dizziness" sticker on the side of my bottle
0 -
Thanks for the suggestion, Eph3_12! I actually do take it about 7-8 at night (and have since starting it after reading about other's experiences). I don't sleep well (an issue before Femara and exacerbated since starting it) and am trying melatonin to see if that helps. See my MO in a couple of weeks and will discuss with her, too. Open to other ideas, though!! = )
0 -
I have a problem with sleeping as well. I take the letrozole about 7 PM, normally, and most nights do not sleep well at all. I tried melatonin, but had nightmares. So, if you come up with something Ysa, please let me know, too!!!
0
