FEMARA
Comments
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Isabelle:
Hang in there. I did 35 sessions of radiation, and compared to chemo, it's a walk in the park! Seriously, there is no pain involved, so hang tough. Do what they tell you and it will be over before you know it. Try to stay as relaxed as possible. I know that anyone can say that, but I did it, and it worked. Take care.
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By the time we get to start taking the AI's we have already been on the emotional roller coaster of finding out that we have BC and then the emotional side of the treatments. Eventually the emotions of having BC finally catch up with us and in a lot of cases, still have to be dealt with then add in the AI's...........well we all know where that lands us.
The emotional side of taking any of the AI's is caused by the lessening of estrogen.Once the estrogen levels have dropped your body will even out and the crying jags will not be as bad nor as often. Hang in there ladies as it does get better.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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Chrissy - how long after starting Femara do you think it takes for our bodies to adjust to the lessening of estrogen?
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Debbie each one of us is different but for me it took a good six to eight months before I noticed that I wasn't bursting into tears at every little thing. Now, three years out, I only cry at sad movies like I always did........lol.......so I'm now what I call well adjusted.
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
chrissie, I've been on Femara and I think I am learning to handle my mood swings and teary times better, and have faced the fact that sometimes I get really rotten hot flashes. It's also been 10 months since my last surgery and I could have one more to improve the reconstruction from the DM but haven't felt able to deal with that yet - or it just doesn't bother me enought (the imperfections) to risk another surgery.
Interesting word - 'adjusted'. I was just thinking maybe I am finally adjusting to the fact that 'this' is what my life is going to be like from now on. I can start each day positive and let it run it's course. Then I can try and start again the next day. As you also say you have found your peace which gives you strength - maybe I am getting there too.
Thank you for leading me through this - I do feel so alone with this BC stuff sometimes.
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Debbie dealing with everything to do with BC is very difficult and we all deal with it differently but remember we never have to do it alone.
I heard another saying the other day perhaps you might like to use it.
Never mind the new normal, this is my new reality.
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
amywolfie, thank you. I know I will do this... I guess it was the fear of the unknown that was so upsetting & of course hearing the stories of 5 minute treatments. I was on that darn table for 1 hour 2 days in a row but yesterday was 1/2 hour so it is getting better. So far what hurts is my arm from keeping it over my head all that time.ouch.
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Isabelle: I think I was the one who told you it would be around five minutes and truly,
That's all it was for me.....I hope the time period keeps getting lesser and lesser. I hated having my arm over my head but I can't image for half an hour to an hour, I think I would have been screaming bloody murder at the techs.0 -
Scottiee, I'm with you. I finished rads last month, and it was 37 treatments total. I'd heard other women talk about "it took longer to take my clothes off than it did for the radiation treatment," so I wasn't expecting the marathon zap sessions! I counted, it was twenty separate zaps each time, and altogether, it took about twenty minutes. The difference is how many areas your RO determines should receive radiation, and for us with node involvement, it ups the ante.
Eventually I became such good buddies with my therapists I looked forward to seeing them. They were what made the whole paducah tolerable.
Think of this as a six-week-long speed bump. One day at a time. One foot in front of the other. Before you know it, you'll be looking at the radiation center in your rear-view window.
Is it as hot in Canada as it is in California?
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What is avatin? Is it a sleeping pill? What is lupron? Should I be taking those? I am starting Femara manana. Hope its better than Arimi. I had some very minor aches taking Arimi but mostly swollen tongue covered in ulcerations which hurt and burned 24/7 and the shortness of breath and faintness after exercising I just couldnt take it anymore.
Got a new MO who gave me Femara. I am so crossing my fingers that it works and I get to live til 89 when the chance of BC statistically takes a deep dive and dont have to worry so much. Just getting thru the BMX and ages 50-85 when the big BC is most likely to strike.Good luck ladies,may your sleep be sweet and restful and may your side effects be few and far between!
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Layla I started Femara a week ago. Granted that isn't too long a time so I could be wrong but I find it amazing as far as SE go. I have almost none. The only thing I feel is tired during the day. I'm not working so I'm able to take a nap. I have not had a hot flash even. My joints don't hurt. I am a little depressed and find myself crying sometimes for very silly reasons and I get angry at my loved ones for really little reasons. Dep[ression and mood swings are side effects but really if that's it, I'll go with this Femara for 5 years happily. I hope you have a good experience too. Sorry, I don't know what lupron or the other drug is.
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Layla did you mean Ativan? If so it is a sedative and used to aid sleep. Lupron is used as a treatment for cancer and would be prescribed by your oncologist.
I also started with Arimadex and had dreadful SE's but I have been on Femara for two years now with almost no noticeable SE's. I take it at bed time and that takes care of the drowsiness/tiredness SE.
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
OK ladies.....latest update on my Letrozole journey. Was having major issues with nausea and finally went to my GP....requested a lot of blood work and an ultrasound....
all came back clear and then suddenly overnight it disappeared. So I was feeling pretty
"good" considering some of the horrible SE you ladies are having. I got thinning hair and
some fatigue...big deal....took Biotin and got on my treadmill to take care of the fatigue.
WELL, three days ago I was stopped in my tracks with horrible bone pains from the waist
up....I of course am thinking of mets.....most of you seem to have joint issues (I don't)
If anybody is experiencing deep bone pain, could you post and try to reassure me that it's not mets😱0 -
Scottie, bone pain is definintely one of the fun side effects of Femara. Muscle, joint and bone pain. I started taking it a little over a week ago and luckily, no serious SE's yet but I even googled it now to be sure I was right. I would not worry about mets. You wouldn't have mets everywhere from the waist up and I think your doctor would be aware....Maybe you need to switch to another hormone drug? This is something to talk to the doc about.
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Bevg49....Thank you for responding.....feel better now.....I don't have to tell you that now
every pain or twinge I get scares the hell out of me....Have an appointment with my MO
on the 23rd and will mention it. I'm terrified that he might want me to have an MRI....soooo claustrophobic , I don't even want to think about it.....Will keep you updated.
Thanks again.0 -
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Day have the docs suggested Tamoxifen for you? Maybe that might be a little gentler on your system. It's not commonly used after menopause but is done. Ask about it next time you see your doc. Hope something eases your pain as it certainly does not help with QOL unless you can control it.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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Bevg49 - It took almost a year for me to get a hotflash. I think its because of the surplus of estrogen in my body, I had to work it off so to speak. The only inital side effect I had when I started Femara was a little fatigue.
Lets face it having and treating breast cancer is a very frightening experience. It took a while for me to gain control of my emotions. I feel much better about it now as each of my blood test results are getting better and better. My tumor markers keep going down which is a very good thing but I still get a little anxious with every blood test I take and each Onc visit I go to.
Others have mentioned that I seem much calmer now. I don't sweat the small stuff anymore.
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ktab, I'm so glad you're doing better. As for me, after reading I am realizing the SE's don't show up for months or even a year, like you, so where I thought I was incredibly lucky, I might not be so much. I wonder if the SE's will be worse than all the complications I've had so far. The cancer surgery was a raging success. The BS told me all the cancer was gotten but the 2 emergency surgeries in the two weeks after the original surgery where almost killers and now, 2 months later, my surgical scar is open and I have to wash it, put bacitracin IN it, pack it with cause and bandage it daily. I am incredibly depressed and angry all the time. I think it's a combo of the meds and the situation. I was diagnosed in April. It was a complete shocker and now, not even 4 months later so much has happened. I really and truly hate this shit. Excuse my french
.... On the other hand, I'm trying to keep it positive. We are here, we are fighters, we will get beyond this.0 -
I've been on Femara since February and have developed drug-induced lupus. I have an appointment with the oncologist next week, but was wondering if anyone else had this happen and if so, what did you do? I am so achy and have developed five trigger fingers and my bloodwork confirmed the lupus. Between the cancer and this, I just want to go to bed, pull the covers over my head and stay there forever.
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I started Letrozole last January. In the last month, my feet bones HURT!! If I sit for more than a half hour or so, when I stand up, I feel like all the bones in my feet are broken. I told my husband it would probably hurt less to cut off my feet and walk on nubs. I also have bone pain in my thighs and sometimes my lower back and hips. It lessens when I walk, so I walk every weekday. Mon, Wed and Fri: min 10,000. Tue and Thurs: min. 5,000. But still, after I get home and shower...I sit down to relax and boom...pain.
I suspect it is the Letrozole. Any one else feel this kind of SE?
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SuperFood: I don't have the pains in my feet but I do have a lot of pain (bone mostly)
In my neck, shoulders and collar bone. Some days are better than others. For me. Getting on my treadmill helps a lot, emotionally and physically. Must be very difficult for you to walk when it's your feet that's involved. How about swimming, easier on the joints and bones? Have you talked to your MO about some pain meds?0 -
Hi Scottie: the feet pain just started in earnest in the last month and I haven't seen my MO yet. I have an appt on the 28th and will let him know then. Unfortunately, I don't have access to a private/backyard pool and public ones creep me out...they are like human soup. I do have a Vicodin Rx but feet pain is better than not pooping...Hee! I'm hoping that it is the Letrozole and that it is a "pain" phase/cycle that will mellow out a bit in time...or that the walking I am doing will help over time.
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Superfoob, I have the foot pain on and off. It came on almost immediately with the femara, but it does seem to be easing down (been on the stuff 4.5 months).
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Hi SuperFoob.....I have an appointment with my MO on the 23rd....we wil have to compare notes as to recommendations.
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Hi SuperFoob - I loved your description of a swimming pool. I cannot get myself to go in a public one either. I like the ocean best, so have been planning a long trip to Hawaii with the hope of eventually moving there....
My feet were VERY painful for awhile. That quit, and instead my pain is focused more in my left hip. The root cause of the pain is actually my back, though, not femara. I do believe that the femara aggravates it. Other than that I have overall achiness/stiffness.
I have, however, begun getting some relatively bad headaches of late. Has anyone else had headaches? If not, then I'll probably make an appt with my eye doctor.....
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Scottie: sounds like a plan!
GardenG: I live 3 blocks from the ocean. Unfortunately, persistant ear & sinus infections from my youth have made it impossible for me to go in the water anymore for fear of bacterial infections. I used to love bodysurfing. I'm stuck with staring longingly at it. I bet Hawaii's water is probably a bit better than Long Beach, CA!
No headaches for me....sorry. I would definitely tell my MO though. I did have headaches when I was first diagnosed and I got a Brain MRI...all clear...or as they say, "Unremarkable." I think my headaches/migraines were associated with my ongoing sinus/ear issues which, interestingly went away during chemo and haven't reappeared.0 -
Calling all Femara/Letrozole ladies suffering from fatigue and lack of energy.....I'm guessing that's most of us....Inwas introduced to a product today called E3Live..AFAFresh Frozen Superfood....it's a blue-green algae kept frozen and to be found in your health food store. I purchased it today myself and took 1tbs and OMG...
I had an instant energy boost, which continues after 3 hours....amazing stuff....I'm sooo
Excited about this product, I couldn't wait to share with everybody....please, please give it a try. It comes highly recommended from someone who is a vegan,mbutnhas spent
Years researching for herself and her mother who is a cancer survivor. PS....I have been
on the go all day and usually need to rest when I come home....I'm feeling so energized
nd getting ready to take a friend's dog for a walk. (dog sitting)....please let me know
your results should you decide to give it a go.0
