FEMARA
Comments
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Hi Femara Ladies, I am going on 4 years this Oct. However, I am not able to retain good hemoglobin levels (no retaining iron, although taking 4 iron pills a day and eating well. I am now in iron succrose iv treatments, (introveneously 1 hour for the next 4 weeks). Anyone else having a problem like this, I blame it on the Femara, other than that nothing unusual. I was on Arimidex in beggining, could not take it and have been on Femera since. Actually, the Femera was a blessing, except for my iron deficiency????
Thank you.
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I'm on letrozole, and am very close to the 2 year mark. I have stiff joints, and whenever possible I avoid stairs. Standing when seated is difficult and sleeping in the same position for any length of time is difficult. I need significantly more sleep than I used to need.
My biggest concern however is that my bp and heart rate are elevated significantly. According to what I've read this particular se affects approx 7 percent of those who take it.
Someone aslkef earlier about recurrence rates for women who take this stuff. My MO told me that I would improve my chances of not recurring by 17 percent. I believe though that the rates of improvement are highly individual and are dependent upon the cancer and its need for estrogen. If anyone has more accurate info, I'd sure like to hear it.
I've got to admit that I've got an se I've never heard of...
my eyes sweat. No not tears. My eyelids. Its kinda weird. My personal version of hot flashes I think. 
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Sam, sorry for your troubles. I had quite a lot of joint pain the first 9-12 months or so, but it has eased off. I hope the same happens for you.
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Ronna, all my blood counts have been on the low end since I finished chemo. Same thing happened to my mom after chemo (and ongoing). Have they looked for some other cause of this? Could you maybe have thalassemia or some other illness that is causing this?
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Hi Momine:Yes, they are checking further and keeping close watch on me. Thank you so much for your answer. I just blame it on the Femara.
with hugs and thanks.
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Ronna, I hope they figure it out soon. It does not sound like a femara SE to me, but who knows.
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I've been on Femara for two years, had hot flashes but taking Effexor which really helps. I have a question though...does anyone have numbness, tingling, burning sensations in their feet? Mine is mainly the toes, it drives me nuts! I think it's the Femara because it's better during the day and then about 1/2 hour after taking the Femara (I take at bedtime) my feet start burning. I told my onc but he just poo pooed it. Does anyone else have this?
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Shelcat50
Yes, that is neuropathy. I have had it for years, ever since several back surgeries in the late 70-early 80s. I believe the patient insert for Letrozole/Femara lists that as one possible SE.
Vickie
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When I was on chemo I got so I had the hardest time walking upright. My body and neck just felt too weak to hold me up so I would walk around with my head down looking at the ground all hunched over. My sister in law that was on chemo at the same time for ovarian cancer and was doing the same thing. Has anyone else had this happen? Now that I've been on Femara for 8 months I'm experiencing the same hunched-over-head-down thing. Is it me or did that happen to anyone else?
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Rosie, I haven't had that, but could it be anemia? What does your onco say?
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Thanks for the reply GrandmaV. I didn't mention it to my MO when I had it during chemo because I just assumed it was because I was on chemo. Finished chemo end of May 2012 and I took Femara off and on last fall due to other medical issues. By 1/1 felt great and started & stayed on Femara and it slowly started wearing me down again. It's not debilitating but I don't do walks over a mile anymore. I can live with it. Just wondered if anyone else had it happen. That's good about the anemia though. Haven't seen the MO since end of June and will see him again in November. Will see how it is then.
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Does anyth g help it?
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When I'm walking I just keep reminding myself to stand up straight. I gave my husband permission
to remind me if he sees me walking stooped over. I'm 59 and walk like I'm 90. When I go on long walks for exercise I usually end up crossing my arms in front of me to give my torso strength. I'm so weird......0 -
Rosie, not weird just a sister trying to survive.
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Just read on this thread that there are fillers in the Femara and Letrazole tablets that could potentially created SE's. This is unbelievable.
Here is a list of the inactive ingredients for Letrazole, Are they kidding me...talc.? Im sure the other ingredients are not good for us either!
Colloidal silicon dioxide, ferric oxide, hydromellose, lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, pregelatinize starch, polyethylene glycol, sodium starch glycolate, talc, and titanium dioxide.
Not happy about his..the more we educate ourselves... . what to do? Does anyone know if Femara has the same exact inactives?
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Michelleboots, thank you. That was like a hug that I needed.
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Dventi the fillers used by different company manufacturers can be different the only thing that must be the same is the active ingredient.
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Makes you wonder how they can fit all that stuff into such a little pill!
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My MO told me during my last visit that they don't make the REAL Femara anymore and they just make them all generic? Did I hear her correctly and has anyone here in the US been told this? You see I told her I wouldn't mind paying more money for the "real" prescription instead of the generic - as long as I do not get the dreaded SE I have been reading about.
So, I am on my 6th day taking the generic Femara and so far, so good. I know it's still too early to tell what the SEs would be and am praying it wouldn't be too bad an experience for me.
Wish all of you a fine day0 -
Hoping for no se's for you!! As far as making the "real" one, I only know that when I called around fot price comparison the pharmacies asked me if I wanted femara or the generic. That was about a month ago.
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Hi Teen 22, Yes, they do still make the original Femara. I have been taking it for 6 years, and even though the pharmacy keep offering me the generic, I continue to use the original made by Novartis.
I think you will find it is the pharmacies pushing the generic, because I think they make a higher profit on the generic. Everytime I put in my prescription I tell the pharmacy assistant that I don't want the generic. She marks it on the script, however when I return to pick the script up, they have provided the generic. I stand there and demand to be provided with the Novartis product. They then have to trot out and relable the product I asked for.
9 out of every 10 times I go into the pharmacy this happens, so I suspect they are pushing the generic because they have a higher mark up on the generic and make more money out of it than the Novartis one. They keep telling me they are the same, but I know the fillers are different and I don't want to change.
Here in Australia the Novartis product is on our PBS, so instead of paying hundreds of $'s, our script costs $36.00 per month, which is the same price as they charge for the generic product.
If you really want the original product, I am sure it would be available for you, just ask at the pharmacy.
Ched
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Thanks Ched! $36 for the "real" Femara (in Australia) is a bargain. I pay $10 for the "generic" with insurance. I will ask the pharmacist (if they still sell the real Femara) on my upcoming re-fill. If I recall correctly, the price difference between the real vs the generic was $400. So far, the generic has been kind to me, so we'll see.
I don't know if I am hallucinating, but it seems like my primary breast tumor (which has not been removed) has shrunk quite a bit and my mets pain is not as intense. I thought Femara was only to "keep the cancer at bay" by stopping estrogen? Not complaining...i will take whatever good it does or gives me0 -
For those asking about the fillers that different manufacturers use, here is a site that has that information:
http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?startswith=letrozole&x=0&y=0
Click on your manufacturer and then scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see the ingredients of your particular pill. I started out on mylan version (first 9 months) and had a lot more se's with it. I'm now on breckenbridge, which has 3 less ingredients, so I'm thinking it was one of those extra ingredients that was causing my terrible se's. I feel so much better.
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Grandma V.. Thanks so much for the site to obtain info on the fillers from different manufacturers..!!! Great site!!.
Ladies, May be a little confusing.. but Click on Clinical Pharmacology to get the info.
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Grandma V... Im also on breckinridge letrazole.. not to sound repetitive.. but I find it interesting and disturbing to see the inactive ingredient list... I know they are fillers. The pill is so small that you wonder how much of the inactive ingredient is in there. But c'mon, talc? there is lots of talk that it is in cosmetics and it is toxic. Why should we be putting anything that has any sort of toxicity in our bodies.
Lactose monohydrate - is milk sugar so if you are lactose intolerant you may have a problem.
Sorry to be going on and on.. but this really bothers me that we are not informed of the inactive ingredients that can potentially bother some of us.. . It is just a hangup of mine.
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Teen I'm pretty sure the L is making your cancer shrink. Yay!! Dventi, I'm right with you about the fillers. You can go on and on as far as I'm concerned. Fwiw, I take one made by Sunpharma and have no SEs except hot flashes, which I had before. Afriend of mine used to insist on getting the one made by Accord.
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dventi, I'm very concerned about fillers. I've looked up my other medicines, too. I tried to get Roxane Laboratories version because it only has 6 fillers (no talc and no dyes), but none of the pharmacies around here contract with them. The following web site tells what the fillers are and a brief synopsis on them.
http://www.ndhealthfacts.org/wiki/Excipients_and_Fillers
talc is scary.
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HLB, I hope it is the L that is making the tumor shrink! I just felt it again..and yes, it's gotten smaller
BTW, mine is also manufactured by Sunpharma, like you I have no SE except (yet) except for the usual hot flashes (that I have had for awhile anyways).0 -
Where does it say on the packaging the pharmacy. I looked but couldn't find a name anyplace onthe box.
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I get mine from Costco. It says CARA on the bottle, and I assumed that was the manufacturer as when it was a pink pill it said Mylan there. But I've never seen a Cara listed as a manufacturer. Anybody know who it could be?
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