FEMARA
Comments
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Hi everyone - I just had an oopherectomy, and so will be switching from Tamoxifen to Femara soon. I've actually already filled my Femara prescription, but have been hanging out on Tamoxifen cause I'm a little afraid to make the switch. I've been pretty lucky on the Tamoxifen, with hot flashes being my main SE. And now with no ovaries, well hot flashes are pretty much a given! Was hoping you wise ladies might give me an idea about what I might expect on Femara. I've heard joint pain and vaginal dryness - are those pretty universal or has anyone managed to escape those? What other things that the doctors don't tell you about might I anticipate? Thanks!
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Oaktownmom there is a great list if possible SE's but not everyone gets them all. Because our bodies are all different and react differently to drugs you may experience all, some or none the only way to know is to take the Femara and see.
I have almost no SE's but I also know people who are almost crippled with muscle and joint pain. Having said that, there are some things that can be done to ease the SE's should you experience them.
Good luck!!
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
Thanks Chrissy! Great that you have weathered it so well!
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hi oaktownmom. I've been on letrozole/femara for a little over a year. I have very little joint pain, but I also take glucosamine and chondroitin daily. I have muscle pain in my thighs, but as long as I stay away from allergens, it is manageable. I have not experienced vaginal dryness. I had some problem with my hair falling out and my nails breaking, but started taking biotin and that problem has gone away (on the other hand, I have to get a pedicure more often, as my nails (and hair) grow faster when I take biotin
). Constipation can be a problem, so be sure to drink a lot of water and eat vegies and fruit. Overall, my digestion is much more sensitive than it used to be. I get indigestion easily - when I used to have a cast iron stomach. So, I make sure to take probiotics and always have something like tums or rolaids on hand. I also take ginger capsules daily.
I always take the medicine in the evening as I get fatigued from it. Both the fatigue and achiness is made more manageable by daily exercise. I also try to get a massage every other week, as that also helps my muscles stay more fluid.
Everyone's experience can be different though, (for example tamoxifen almost killed me....) so what I experience may not bear any resemblance to yours.
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All I checked prices on was Letrozole... that $1300 for 90-days and the $626 for 90-days at Sam's Club -- was all for Letrozole. It is crazy!
Costco for me from now on -- for sure -- even if I have to drive 10 hrs round tip to get to Albuquerque and back.
artsee -- It seems that the pharmacy prices vary from city to city... My call to Costco in Albuquerque quoted $25 for 90-days.
Anyway -- I take my first pill tonight! (I was waiting to restart my vitamins/supplements first, in case I had any funny feeling restarting them after being off for 6 weeks -- didn't want to mistake any of that adjustment to Letrozole "side effects".
How long did it take for you-all to see any side effects, if you had/have any?
Thanks,
Linda
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Linda, I got pain in my feet the first week I took the stuff. My doc claimed that was impossible, but pain is pain.
Apparently SEs typically start 6-8 weeks after you start.
I have now been on the stuff for about 9 months, and it seems like the SEs are settling down a bit.
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To be honest - even if Walmart had it on their program, I wouldn't purchase there. I won't shop at Walmart.
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Gardengumby, what a helpful list of tips! Thanks so much!
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Just got my new refill of Letrozole. Changed manuf. on me. Was on the Sun Pharma brand x 6 months with very few side effects. Little sore knees, little sore hips. Overweight so no surprises there. Changed to Apotex Corp. Looks to be Canadian Co. I did find Omaz's list by manufacturer (April 2012) and Apotex is not on there. Anyone else on this brand???
But - it does have fewer fillers than the Sun Pharma and also name brand Femara (googled it on Apotex page). Maybe I came out a winner?? It's on page 101 here for those that want to check it out.
Grocery store, very convenient. Good hours. Hate to change even though we talked about the cost at Costco. I don't drive into the city everyday anymore. Now for a 90 days supply and reduced cost, sure I would/could drive in. This is grocer's new drug supplier. Also changed for my metoprolol but Apotex doesn't make that. As a matter of fact, I think the last glaucoma drop changed also but neither that nor the metoprolol shook me like this did. I'm usually pretty meek but truly objected to this. And - no, no offer to order from any other manufacturer. I was pretty snotty and said I would probably be making some calls to transfer it out. Just checked my benefits page and not on there yet. Curious to see what insurance paid on it. Like I said earlier in the week the insurance payout went from $400 something down to $203 and that was before the change. Mysterious. Saga will continue.
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Y'all may have seen this study (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/health/extended-use-of-breast-cancer-drug-suggested.html) that was reported on this week about extending tamoxifen for 10 years instead of just five. Towards the end of the article, it says
"Mr. Peto said he thought the results of the Atlas study would “apply to endocrine therapy in general,” meaning that 10 years of an aromatase inhibitor would be better than five years. Other doctors were not so sure."
I happened to be having my med onc follow-up this week, so I asked the nurse practitioner her thoughts on this. She said that she believes it is quite possible that recommendtions for remaining on an AI will be extended for 10 years, or even for life. She said the AIs are only about 10 years old now, so they are only beginning to be able to study longer term effectiveness and side effects.0 -
cfdr, I missed that bit, when I saw the articles on this, so thanks for posting. As far as I know, there are some studies running to see if it is useful to continue AIs past 5 years. I have also seen a few women here on BCO who are continuing past 5 years, some with a 9 months on, 3 months off schedule.
Completely anecdotal, but my LE therapist has a couple of patients who recurred almost as soon as they stopped the AI. She is of the firm opinion that use should be extended.
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Scottie-not sure what you mean that is helping your hair. Boy, do i need help with mine! Has been very thin for many many years now. Do you mean that Vit K helps? If so, which Vit K? Tks.
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I have been on femara for 4 yrs had get cortizone shot in both wrist and foot for pain. Had shots about month ago it really helped. Now i noticed my arms have rash on them it does't itch. Has anyone had this problem while on femara?
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Pegnie.....I'm 65 and have always had fine hair, lots but fine. Immediately upon starting
Letrozole, it started to fall out....my pillow was full it every morning. This continued
until about a month ago when it stopped and started to come back in again, to the point
where others remark on it. No secret miracles....was on high doses of Biotin for awhile
But my Dermatologist told me I waswasting my money as the body cannot absorb such high amounts. To be honest, I had the summer from hell....two meltdowns, vomiting,
Nausea, no appetite, trying to stick to an almost vegan like diet....now on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds.....I'm eating organic chicken now, wild salmon, still no dairy, lots of nuts and seeds and many, many supplements....oh, sorry, long answer
to your question.....not sure if anything here will help. Good luck, I know it's not fun, that's for sure. Oh, one more thing, eventually I stopped stressing out about it and decided that
in the scheme of things, it's just hair, and I could always buy a wig. Maybe, the fact that I
stopped stressing over it , helped a little also.0 -
Have been on Femara for 1 month... How do we know that Femara is doing what it is supposed to do?. Is there a test that can be done to determine how Femara affects the Estrogen + path results?
Thank you
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I was just put on Femara three days ago due to stage 4 Met cancer diagnosis 1 1/2 weeks ago. Good question. How will I actually know Femara is doing what the doc says it needs to? What can I expect on side effects? Tips, suggestions, anything, that can and will help me would be much appreciated by my B/C buddies!
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Sorry to here that...How long was it that you were diagnosed the first time and were you on anything when you were diagnosed again?
I have joint and muscle aches. It can cause your cholesterol to go up, and thin your hair. But if it does it's job then these are minor things I guess. My hair is a bit thinner and the cholesterol is up a bit. I've got 5 month to go on Femara.
Don't know about tests to check the path of Estrogen.
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Just took my first Femara last night after 5 years on Tamoxifen. So far, so good!
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Hi everyone! This sure is a great forum.. thanks to all who make it great! I've been keeping an eye on things as I'll be starting in about 4weeks. today is my LAST chemo!! woohoo!
Asked my Onc yesterday to do a hormone blood test - no we dont do that! I know I had them before..years ago, my GP doesn't either. What's with that. I did ask.. well, if the AI is supposed to stop the estrogen from being created, how do we know if it's working without a hormone level test. I think MSP or whichever has decided NOT to allow them? just a guess.
I also said I'm a tad nervous, as I have FM/RA/OA & a bunch of other things wrong, & was told by 1st Onc I'd have quite a significant increase in pain on Femara, but this Onc & my GP have said.. not necessarily will that happen. maybe they're trying to be positive or something. I'm hoping I"m one of the lucky ones!
Good luck to ALL with your SE's & such.
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Cher, huge congrats on being done with the poison. Onward and upwards! I had quite a bit of foot pain with femara at first. It calmed down eventually. My joints are still more creaky, but it is not as bad as it was in the beginning. I try to eat well and exercise daily, both of which seem to help.
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any one use or on Letrozole by Mylan? have been changed from generic Arimidex to this starting tomorrow.
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No I was on the SunPharma brand but just got changed to the Apotex Corp brand. I know others have mentioned the Mylan brand. Page 101 has a list of the fillers in different brands.
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Thanks. The switch was made due to the near disabling affect on my hands and fingers along with massive fatigue and headaches daily. I've been wearing braces on both hands to support the wrists and thumbs which does help some with the tingling and numbness. I couldn't keep working like that.
I'd been on the generic Arimidex since 10/6/12, one day after receiving the Lupron injection.
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Hello ladies. This is my first post in this forum, I'm pretty new as a member.
I gotta first say that after staying up half the night reading this thread all I can say is WOW! What amazing warriors you all are!!! You are truly an inspiration and a source of strength for me!
I have been on femara for about two months now and just started experiencing joint pain in the hands and wrist, bone pain down the arm and slightly in the jaw, back pain and difficulty getting up quickly. I will be taking some of the vitamins recommended here along with the juicing of my calcium cocktail in the AM! So thank you!!!
My questions are ...I was told by the oncologist to research the Zometa and decide whether or not I wanted to do it, should I take it??? Have any of you taking it and what have been your bad or good experiences? Is there a thread for Zometa on the site?Thank you in advance for all your help!!
Praying for all of us! Hugs!!0 -
Michy, at first I was all ready to sign up for zometa. As time has passed, I am less sure. It partly depends on the state of your bones and on how great your risk is of mets.
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Michy -- trying going to the master website here (BreastCancer.org) and type "Zometa" into the search box there... hundreds of posts and articles come up... at least a place to start, and you might fing a thread where this discussion is already underway.
Sorry I don't have any first-hand knowledge about Zometa-- but your doc is right (in my estimation) when he/she encourages you to do your own research and actively participate in choosing the right options for you.
It empowers us to make the decisions ourselves -- and feeling empowered sends strength and reslove messages/chemicals from the brain into our bodies... which I believe is our best first-line internal defense. Our natural immune systems are amazing -- I like to imagine an army of lymph nodes and white blood cells -- my own little soldiers -- faithfully doing their best and taking orders from the chemicals sent by the brain.
One of the biggest lessons in this cancer-journey for me so far is that the docs (no matter how smart and how well-meaning) have no simple answers for us. We are their guinea pigs -- and cancer treatment is one huge-on-going experiment.
The docs want us to make the decisions because they don't want the liability -- but my way of thinking is that the more we patients arm ourselves with first-hand knowledge of the most up-to-date research -- the more our docs must stay on their toes and keep up, too. The more minds we put to this -- the better the chance that we (humans) will find what starts the cancer process -- and the more likely we are to discover un-expected outside-of-the-box answers.
Good luck with your research!
Linda
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Momine, sounds weird but how do I find out what my risk is? I had stage 2 with bilateral
Mastectomy, no rads, no chemotherapy. The doctor said reoccurrence rate is 5-11% in cases like mine. Do I ask her anything specific?
Linda, thank you so much your 100% right and Im Trying really hard to stay on top of it all. It becomes overwhelming but thank God I found you ladies!
I searched zometa but didn't see a specific thread. Maybe I'll start one.
Michelle0 -
Michelle, I would consider that relatively low risk. But that is me. How are you bones? I assume you had a dexa before starting femara.
I would ask the doc how she sees the risk/benefit equation in your particular situation.
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