FEMARA
Comments
-
The prices I quoted above were without insurance. Sorry if I confused anyone. (Kroger owns Fred Meyer...)
0 -
Diane - I take Metoprolol ER for HBP and for suppression of PVCs. Tried the ACE inhibitor but had the "old lady cough" on it. Had not heard of higher recurrence on ACE inhibitors.
0 -
I've been taking amlodipine (a calcium channel blocker) for my high blood pressure for about five years. The only side effect I've had from it is a good one...no more headaches!
I've been on letrozole for 13 months. I switched from Arimidex because I was feeling very depressed. It went away with letrozole. I do have joint and muscle pains, fatigue, and lots of hot flashes but it's all bearable. I had trigger fingers, wrist pain, and numbness in my hands for the first two or three months but that, thankfully, has gone away.
I'm one of the fortunate ones that gets my medication free...what a blessing!
I've also have lost 20 pounds this past year by exercising and using www.loseit.com to track my calories. That has made a huge difference.
0 -
Thank you Luv and Loves! There is a topic in one of the forums, Beta Blocker and Breast Cancer Mortality. One woman said her Dr. uses propranolol as part of the breast cancer protocol. Need to talk to my internist about maybe switching.
0 -
Hello ladies. I am new to letrozole. I took my first pill yesterday...so far so good. I had some super achey lets this afternoon, but it could have been from having my first treatment of pamedronate yesterday as well. I have an egg sized tumor on my the left side of my pelvis. Am I being hopeful to think that it will shrink it?
I too am one of the lucky, I guess as I didn't have to pay for my prescription. I didn't realize until I got home and looked at the papers. I was picking up a few prescriptions so I didn't notice.
Anyhow any advice would be great.
0 -
Hey Michele!
0 -
Hi ladies, just thought I would pop in here and give some info and updates for all you gals dealing with hair loss, which included myself. I started taking large amounts of Biotin (5000mg) but my Dermatologist told me I'm wasting my money because the body
cannot absorb so much, so I'm now taking 300mg twice a day and have been for about
6 months.......it has made a big difference, and I would say most of my hair is back and
very little falling out now.
I was talking to a very well informed person at my health store and she has put me on to
Organic Bhringaraj Oil ....by Pukka....LOVE IT....it strengthens the hair, gives it a wonderful shine and is supposed to lessen grey and actually help with growth, over time,
of course. I have only used it once, kept it in overnight and washed it out the next morning.....wow....my hair looked amazing and was so shiny....couldn't believe it was my own hair. It's worth looking into, but not cheap....about $45 a bottle.0 -
hi Michele
0 -
Greetings!
I've been on letrozole for about 6 weeks now with minimal side effects (tho, I'm not sure it's really working either, since I've had progression in my liver in that same 6 weeks). Two nights ago, though, I was lying in bed and suddenly felt like I was being stabbed or electric-shocked on my back. That progressed to low back & leg ache thru the night. By yesterday, I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I ache from my jaw to my ankles. My ribs hurt so much it's hard to take a deep breath. I've tried oxy-codone, but that barely takes the edge off.
Does this sound like letrozole/femara side effects to anyone? I'm kind of thinking it can't be progression pain since it came on so suddenly and so wide spread.... that's what I'm hoping anyway.
Anyone have a similar experience or does this sound like a call to the onc is in order?
0 -
I would get a call into my oncologist to make sure... Do you take vitamin D?
You've been on letrozole for only 6 weeks? Can I ask - what did you take before?
0 -
I do take vitamin D (and calcium, and Boswellia).
I was on tamoxifen before, but had an oophorectomy and progression, so started on letrozole.
0 -
I've been on letrozole for a year and a half now, and haven't experienced anything like what you described. The aches/pains move much more slowly for me - usually. However, after we spent over a month in Hawaii, when we returned home to the Seattle area, I was in agony for a few days. Just sat on the couch and cried. I attributed it to being cold after having been nice and warm for awhile. But the stuff is weird IMO. The SE's change without a whole lot of rhyme or reason....
(I would, though, check with your oncologist.)
0 -
Thanks gardengumby. I've contacted my onc.
0 -
kebab, You may be dehydrated and need electrolytes. I get leg aches and cramps when my potassium and/or magnesium are low.
0 -
...nothing like hitting that "panic" button...
My onc thinks my pain is unlikely to be either progression or letrozole s/e's --- she thinks I simply have the flu. Sheesh... I feel like such a twit. I hate that cancer has turned me into such a lunatic who freaks out at every twinge.
GrandmaV - thanks for the suggestion. I ate a banana and increased my water intake today and I am feeling a bit better.
0 -
Kebab, pheww...Don't worry, I'm sure that happens all the time.
0 -
It's good to get things checked out when there are such huge changes in the body. It's for you own piece of mind as well.
I'm done with my 5 years of this stuff......probably won't hang out here. Good luck to all and have gentle s/e's.
Artsee0 -
Artsee...congrats!!! Hope you read this because I wanted to ask you if there was any discussion about staying on for another 5 ?
0 -
Artsee! Yay!
0 -
Artsee so glad your five years are done!.......good luck with the rest of your life!
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
Has anyone developed a kidney infection while on femara....think I have one..scared.
0 -
Theresanne, all of these drugs leave our immune systems at a very low ebb and so leave us open for more infections. If you feel you are feeling the symptoms of a kidney infection please get it checked out and you may need something to help clear it. In the meantime, try taking some cranberry tabs (not juice) as these are good for cleaning the kidneys and helps alleviate the symptoms.
Hope this helps.
Love n UBS. Chrissy0 -
Kebab,
IMO you have NO NEED to apologize.... After what we have been through so far, we become much more attentive to out bodies. (think of the call to the oncologist as job security for her). I have completed 1-1/2 year of the 5 year cycle and continue to have some SEs. mostly achey joints, but that could be because of age too. (70)
I am glad you had your symptoms checked out.
Vickie
0 -
Thanks crissy b...had a bad day yesterday. Heard that femara can effect urinary health. I've also.. Don't want to be gross.. Had bowel changes. Actually more normal..but still a change the last few days. Ive been on femara since aug. 2012 . So I'm wondering can new side effects crop up at any time while on this drug? Always seems like 2steps forward, one step back...
0 -
Scottie.... the subject of continued AI was brought up but my Onco said there have not been any proven indications that there is an advantage to another five years. Sooooo, I'm done....why extend the risk of bad bones, cholesterol, thinning hair, ect. ? I'm just hoping everything will start getting better with the drug out of my system. It certainly was manageable....nothing mayor. The production of more cholesterol and thinning bones is what scared me!
Hugs to you all
0 -
Theresanne, yes bowel changes can occur, they did with me for a while but that one seems to have settled and things are back to normal for me. I think we are so aware of body changes that we pick up each and every little thing........it's unfortunate as under normal circumstances, we would just tend to ignore the little things and just keep going.
I've had a few things come and go but nothing that has caused me too much grief........I've been on Femara for two and a half years now after eighteen months on Arimadex and I'm hopeful I'll get a whole lot longer before I need to change.
Hang in there, a little gentle exercise and some good suppliments can go a long way to helping us get through.
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
What did you find the difference was between arimidex and letrozole please?
0 -
Lily are you asking me? If so here goes.
Arimadex caused me to be so totally depressed, I don't think I smiled let alone laughed the whole time I was on it........then there was the feeling of being over 100, in fact I moved slower and with more pain that my at that time, 82 year old mother. Couldn't sleep, then I couldn't get enough sleep and then it would swing the other way again. My DH threatened to divorce me as my mood swings were totally unbearable to him and to myself..........in a few words I was miserable.
Femara (Letrozole) has been a complete opposite. In reality, I have so few what I would call minor SEs that I don't really count them at all. Within a week of my change over I began to feel like me and not my grandmother, I laughed.....a lot.......I smiled all the time and I actually enjoyed my world and all the people around me. This makes me happy and the the small price I pay with stiff joints, or the occasional headache, or the odd drippy nose, or the thinning hair that seems to go in cycles are mere annoyances and if this is the worst it is going to do to me well, I don't really think I have anything to complain about at all........and I don't usually......lol.
Hopefully once your system gets used to the fact that is is depleted of estrogen (for that is what the AIs do) you will be able to adjust and learn what helps to get you through each day will as few hiccups as possible.........anyway, I wish you all the luck in the world.
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
Artsee.....thank you!!!! I wish you joy and happiness and a "new life" now minus the Al...❤
Chrissyb....you and I seem to have similar S/E....I never had a "drippy nose" in my life until I started Letrozole....thinning hair, as you say in cycles, stiff joints, but I got severely
depressed on Letrozole. I have never thought of changing to another Al but meds are helping me with that. Oh and I also get some headaches from time to time.0 -
Anyone have lower wbc count while on femara? Aside from post chemo effects?
0
