FEMARA
Comments
-
Racy I use the Blooms Curcumin Plus 600mg. One twice a day as the dosage so a total of 1200mg per day. As far as I know curcumin is part of turmeric.
0 -
Just peachy...VitD level is at 22, below the bottom "norm" of 30. Fools didn't pay attention when it was at 32, just said take some VitD. That was about two years ago. Since then, BC with two major surgeries and Tamoxifen for a few months and then onto AIs for the past several months.
On the positive front though, Brca1 and 2 were both Negative.
0 -
Yay Galsal........at least there's some good news in amongst that lot! How much Vit D were you taking? I take 2000 iu per day on summer and double that for winter but at one point mine was almost on existing so my doc told me to take 100,000iu a month for four months to get my level up. Check with you doc about the large dose as here we need a prescription for the massive amounts.
Oh by the way, my levels are steady at 110 but it took me a while to get there!
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
Thanks. The test results showed up in my record online but don't see PCP until Feb or them. Will bring it up to Onc when see her in Jan.
Was taking about 6k OTC type, along with Calcium.
0 -
dkerler, I'm interested in knowing what your surgeon has to say. I found out recently that I have several minor tears in my rotator cuff. I can't imagine how they got there...yoga??? I have also wondered if letrozole could have played a role. My orthopaedist didn't think so, but he is a nurse practitioner, not an MD and no oncology or endocrinology background.
0 -
thanks chrissy for the info on Biotene. My side effects have settled down at this time. I've been on Letrozole for 18 days now. I need to get on a calcium/vit d supplement, say, 1200 mg. of calcium & 800 IU of D. Suggestions on brands please? Also, most of you say y'all are usually on them 5 years. My doctor didn't give me a time frame to stay on these. Hmmm. He did say if/or when Letrozole does not work, there are other meds he can use. Input please? I'm stage 4 with met. (one spot on on rib) nodules in my lungs, tumor on my sternum.
0 -
Naturegirl I'm also stage IV. The rule of treatment for us is use what ever until we have a progression and then move o to something else. We all hope for a long time on the hormonals as they are the gentlest treatment so hopefully you will get those years your doc was talking about.
Oh by the way, I have four years up with the AIs and going strong.
Merry Christmas!
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
Oh, thank you chrissyb. Do you take the calcium/+D vitamins or other vitamins? Others as well?
Hugs back to ya!
Merry Christmas all!0 -
0
0 -
Naturegirl I don't take added calcium as I get all I need from what I eat but I do take Vit D, folate, Curcumin and Boswellia. The last two are natural anti inflamatories which really help with the pain of bone mets. I get so used to popping my pills that I almost take no notice any more......lol.......my grand children call my morning meds second breakfast.....lol.
Hoping you are having a good day!
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
Hi Day,
Oh, thanks for the valuable info re. calcium.
hey chrissyb, you are a good girl in eating your calcium nourishment daily. I did have a good day, thanks dear! Hope you did as well. Where do you have the pain from bone mets? I hadn't heard of Curcumin & Boswellia but I will look into it. I've got the pain in my chest area, left side,(mastectomy) radiates to right breast. Back and forth. My oncol. said he thought Letrozole would help decrease the pain, and it has, somewhat. I was misdiagnosed with costochrondritis and was sitting on this one year and under treatment with a physical med. doc who diagnosed this as costo until my sternum began to swell. I decided to see my oncol for this as I figured something was not right to see swelling there. I had seen my oncol. in April of this year, he did his 'normal' blood work and said everyone was fine. Interesting isn't it? I'm still pissed off about how this all came down really.
0 -
Naturegirl my pain is mainly in my left arm as the mets were so bad I had to have a metal rod put into the bone to stabilise it. I also have osteo arthritis in just about every joint and fine that the Curcumin and Boswellia also help with that.
0 -
Oh my chrissyb, I am sorry to hear that, but glad those two natural meds are helping you dear. May I ask you how you came to know you had Stage IV BC, was it detected from a mammo? If so, were you having mammograms every year? That is just a tough thing to learn out the gate you have stage 4 met BC and no problems prior to that or any indication.
0 -
Naturegirl I had been having a lot of pain in my shoulder and my doc was treating me for bursitis (which I had, could be seen under US) but then I moved house and it just got worse and worse until I was in a lot of pain. Because of the move I was about five months late with my 5 year check up.........when my specialist was doing his routine checking of nodal areas in my neck I winced. He asked if that was sore and I told him it was more than sore, it was painful. He ordered a bone scan and the mets were found. He sent me straight, and I mean straight to a radio oncologist who then did X-rays and then made an appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon for the following Monday (this was Friday). I saw him and the next day was in hospital having my arm stabilised with the pin. I was there for a out 5 days before being released into the care of my daughter and then started rads to the arm the following Monday. It was all a whirlwind again as it was the first time around but this time I was not surprised.
That was almost four years ago and other than being slowed down a lot I am living my life to the fullest possible and enjoying every minute. Yes I have pain but I know how not to be affected by it to a great degree by changing the way I do things and knowing when it's time to stop. Life can be managed in a way that we can still enjoy all that life has to offer.........with some modification.
Oh, I've raved on once again.......lol.......but I did want you to know that even with stage IV it is possible to have a life that is full.
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
Hi chrissy,
Wow girl. Whew. So you were diagnosed back in 12/08/2003 for Intraducal Cars. cancer, then was 5 months late for a 5 year check up five years from 2003?
0 -
Hi Naturegirl, yes, IDC in December 2003 and bone mets in May 2009. I was prescribed Arimadex in 2009 and was on that for sixteen months then when I had scans done there were a few new spots so my doc changed me to Femara in October 2010 which got rid of those tiny spots and has kept me where I am since then.
0 -
hi chrissy, oh, okay. So as you said, right out the gate back in 12/03 you were diagnosed with Stage 4, but bone mets in 2009. I'm sure glad your meds have reduced and even gotten rid of the tiny spots! That is great girl. How much Vit D do you take daily?
0 -
I take 2000iu every day and get the levels tested every three months to make sure they are in the range (100 - 110) that my doc wants me at. They can still fluctuate even though I take it without fail and when that happens I take up 5000iu per day for a few weeks and then drop it back to the 2000iu.
0 -
Hi everyone, new to this site, I have been stage 4 since 2002.....Tamoxifen for 4 years, new mets so changed to Femara for 6 1/2 years, new mets so now I take Faslodex shot and Femara together.....I was on Zometa for 6 years and had a stress fracture in femur so a rod was inserted from my hip to knee then radiation and that was in Jan of 2012....still going strong...taking Coq10 and green tea....tried Vit d , but it caused my calcium levels in my blood to rise...going to talk to Dr about taking the vit d again........great quality of life...
0 -
Hi JudyAlice and welcome to BCO and this thread. It sounds like you are getting a great run out of the AI's which is a really good thing and encouragement for us all as to their power.
My Vit D was bottomed out and calcium level almost off the chart but now the D levels are much better, my calcium is where it should be. Check your magnesium level as well as the two (vit D andmag) work together to make the calcium deposit where it needs to be and not be excreted by the kidneys.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
0 -
JudyAlice, thank you for posting! I wish you (and all of us!) Many more years! Ten + and a long time with each med, that is what we love to hear! Thank you.
0 -
Thanks Chrissy and PA, I am going to look into the Vit D and Mag......I am so thankful for the new meds out there....It seems like when one stops working another is there to take its place.....the worst side effects of the AI's are fatigue and bone pain, so when I have pain that does not go away in 2 to 3 weeks I tell the Dr......last year the Onc. kept telling me my leg pain was a side effect from Femara and Zometa, so I got a copy of my scans and found out I had active cancer in my left femur, so of course I changed doctors, then had radiation and a rod inserted from hip to knee to stabilize my leg, that was in Jan. of 2012....now I am active as ever....what I am trying to say is listen to your body and keep on top of your scans and test.......Bless each and everyone dealing with cancer...(((HUGS)))
0 -
That is ridiculous for an oncologist to miss something like that! Seriously! I'm convinced there are a few out there who just figure we are terminal anyway and have no sense of urgency. Not most, of course. Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about because I'm fairly new at mets, but reading these boards for a few months now it really seems like things happen painfully slow sometimes for some people. Thank goodness you were vigilant. Very good advice.
0 -
After switching over to Femara from Arimidex, I've only had one headache and one time of ear ache. HOORAY! As for the hands, they never got any better and if any thing have gotten worse. I won't say it's the med caused it, since I'd had the hand problems before starting any meds from Onc. Finally, now the sleeping is starting to even out over the past few days although I do still need a sleep aid.
0 -
I has a Onc. tell me I should not complain about "a little" pain because I was here and some people were not.....so I asked him about quality of life while on AI's? His answer was take advil or tylenol.....I wanted to scream at him about joint pain and weight gain and about fatigue, but that was early in my diagnoses and I have come to believe that I have adjusted to my new normal, I don't know how long it took me to adjust, but I have. I also found a wonderful Onc. she is my age (51 years old) that addresses my pain and fatigue issues.....by the way the Femara has less SE's than Tamoxifen and Galsal I am so glad you have fewer side effects. Thanks PA USA for the kind words....
0 -
Judy, glad that you have adjusted some. I find that it has been the same for me. In my case, after finished treatment I had gotten rid of a lot of semi-chronic pain of long standing, so the femara annoyances do seem like a fairly small price. Still would be nice if doctors would take us bleeping seriously. Mine have been pretty good though about the SEs. They clearly want me to stay on it, so they ask how I am doing with it and do seem concerned about my QOL.
0 -
Take FEmara at night for less side effects, don´t know why but it works....
0 -
Hi everyone--am new to this topic but have read some threads and am encouraged and so heartened by the experiences you have openly shared. I have been on Letrozole for about a year -after tamoxafin for about 2 years--only had brief joint aches which went away; also had some unexplained urinary track infection--everything seemed to settle down--but I have noticed some definite, significant hair thinning on the top of my head. of course I will take thinning hair and even baldness over cancer recurrence any day--but was wondering if anyone who has experienced this can say whether this reverses itself--I have read some on this site taking Biotin--any other strategies?--not a major concern, just curious. I was only advised to take 2,000 iu of vitamin D each day with Letrozole to counteract bone denisty loss. thanks for any advice you may have.
0 -
Howdy everyone -- I have only been on Letrozole since Dec 3 -- but so far, so good! No side effects as far as I can tell.
The main reason I wanted to post was to suggest that everyone (especially new-bies) COMPARISON SHOP for your Femara/Letrozole by calling around prior to purchasing -- I was horrified when I picked up my first 90-day prescription (at Sam's Club in Santa Fe) and they wanted over $1000! I quickly blurted out that I had the "upgraded membership with discounted prescriptions" -- and the price went to $636!!!
I only got a half-filled precription, because I couldn't afford over $600!!!
Well, I called around and found that CVS, Wallgreens, Wallmart (in Santa Fe) were all charging even more -- up to $1380 for 90 days!
I came on here and heard others were paying less than $20 at Costco -- and sure enough, when I called the Costco in Albuquerque they only wanted $12!
Well -- I wish I had my old energy of the 'pre-dx-days' -- but I don't... so I haven't done anything yet (other than scream a little here) about the price gouging. Have realized I must pick my battles and conserve time/energy for happier pursuits! Had my BMX/DIEP recon Nov 6 -- and have been concentrating on healing!
Anyway -- just checking in to say no SE's and do yourself a favor -- comparison price shop -- this stuff can be EXPENSIVE!
Happy New Year to everyone
Linda
0 -
I've been on Letrozole for about 10 months and apart from hair thinning and emotional issues I was fine until about a month ago when I started to experience upper back pain,
some days are more doable than others. Will see my MO in Feb but was just wondering
if anyone else has experienced this. I read that it is one of the SE of Letrozole, but my mind goes to dark places, of course. Appreciate any input.0
