FEMARA
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caroleb
I take my "little chemo pill"- Femara after dinner and try to get to bed by 9:30 so that most of the immediate effects will just happen while in bed. Walking has helped with the bone pain.... Good Sleep- I am still waiting on that one, nice to see someone is getting some good ZZZZZZ's I am on week 8, hope my body gets use to this stuff. Sending Peace and Smiles
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Hi Ya'll.
I'm in need of venting & help. Femara SE's are driving me nuts!
I took Tamox from Feb 2005 to Oct 2007 as I was pre-menopause (age 48) when dx'd in Sept 2004. Broke my ankle in Oct 2007 & ended up with a HUGE DVT in the same leg and that's why onc took me off Tamox. Onc put me on Femara after I got out of the broken ankle/DVT hospital stay. I took it at night before bedtime. In the am, my fingers on both hands would be stiff as boards and when my feet came off the bed, they felt like I was standing on bloody stumps. Hot shower's helped me get my day started. I've tried Tylenol, plain aspirin & Advil. No help. I can take Aleve and get some relief if I double the dosage.
On a wild hair, I switched to taking "it" in the mornings. That's had little to no effect in the stiff fingers & bloody stumps for feet.
I am alergic to shellfish & cannot take glucosamin because it's made from shellfish =(
I was taking Omega 3 fish oil 2 times a day. Did that for the last year, no help.
I take calcium 2 times a day & a multi-vitamin.
God help me when I try to stand up after sitting for any lenght of time. I'm stiff all over and feet are still "bloody stumps".
Just had my annual physical. Cholesterol went through the roof!!! It's now 248. Dr put me on Mevacor (lovastatin) to bring it down. "It" has this listed as a possible side effect.
For 2 years now, I've paid $90 a month for my 30 pills under my insurance. What a rip-off by Novartis & insurance company. I should be glad that I have insurance, but it's hard to swallow the Femara when they cost so much & cause so much pain. <boo-hoo-hoo>
I am ABSOLUTELY determined to stay on Femara, but, managing the SE's are getting the best of me right now.
My chemo slammed me into menopause & the night sweats were unbearable. Onc put me on Effexor and we managed to back that down to the lowest possible dosage. Night sweats got somewhat controlled at least enough to sleep. Chemopause SE's became so minimized, I weaned myself off the Effexor a year ago.
Trust me, I'm a tough old bird. I was alergic to my chemo (1st dose cause throat to partially close) & forced my onc to give it to me anyways. I completed all four doses. He wasn't happy, but, I wasn't going to wimp out because of limited breathing due to alergice reaction!!!
I'm only 53 and I feel like I'm 90. God willing, I will get to live to that ripe old age, but I just don't want to be that old today.
I'm afraid if I say anything to my onc other than the minor complaint of stiff fingers that he'll switch me to something else. I truly believe Femara is the better drug for my hormone therapy. Onc says I need to be on it 5 years total. So I have three more to go if I can find some relief of the "bloody stumps" and and "oak trees" for fingers.
Don't laugh, but I've even tried Icy Hot & Biofreeze on feet & fingers. I've contemplated a bowl of boiling hot waterr to stick my feet & hands into.... Now if I could just figure out how to sit at work with hot water pouring over my head.
Good grief!!! There has GOT to be a way to get Femara happy with the rest of my body.
Thanks for listening.
bonny
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Bonny - if you figure out how to make your body happy with the Femara, let me know. I have the exact same SEs you mentioned, plus my hair still isn't growing and I'm experiencing terrible, uncontrollable weight gain.
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Bonny,
Have you tried magnesium Citrate, do a search on it in this site, it has helped me a lot. Still some pains but much less. Hope it helps you
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I just started my Femara 3 days ago. So far so good, but I'm sure side effects don't start for a little while. Can anyone tell me when they first experienced side effects? Thanks.
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Hi all
I have been on femara since July--- I found the joint stiffness to be a real challenge--- I changed the time I took it to lunch time, added in glucosomine 3x a day and ramped up my exercise (weight lifting, walking and swimming). while I am still stiff when I sit too long, I have to say, things have improved considerably--- so I just move around alot !!!! I also take Lupron shots each month-- so I am sure that adds to it---but the exercising(especially the swimming) has really made the difference for me..... I am always hungry-- and have gained a few pounds.... I am in a lifestyle study for early stage people, so I am hoping that will help me prevent too much weight gain----
I do think femara is a good drug and my onc is a firm believer in the hormonal therapies--- so I know this is the one for me for a while---- it is not perfect, but it is ok.
carole
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It's me again. Time to whine. Today is 14th day. The last two nights I slept pretty well. So I thought I was off to a good start this morning. Went for a walk and by the time I was on my way back had pretty bad muscle pain in my right thigh, hip, butt. We had a huge change in the weather yesterday - down to 49 degrees (it been in the 80's and 90's) with winds of up to 50 mph gusts so was a little achy when I got up. By the time I got back from walking, was hurting pretty bad. I am the 72 year old who has been blessed with hardly any joint/muscle pain. My bone density test showed osteoporosis in my right hip. But because I had trouble with Arimidex my onc put me on Femara. I notice that bisphonsphonates not allowed with Femara. I also see that some of you seem to be getting them so am curious about that. Anyway, took a shower and ate lunch and am taking it easy so pain is easing. Glad I didn't go to the 49er game today. I know a lot of my discomfort and lack of sleep is due to anxiety about taking this med. You all give me the courage to hang in there. (One day at a time). Any insights you may have for me are much appreciated.
caroleb
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Carole, you mentioned that bisphononates aren't allowed along with Femara. I'm wondering what your source is, because my onc actually recommended I start taking actonel because of slight osteopenia (as a preventive against developing osteoporosis).
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Linda - The sheet that comes with the bottle of Femara says so and also I checked the Novatis web site and they say the same thing as well as mayoclinic.com. I see my onc in November (after having my 5 month and 6 month mammogram). I plan to ask but would appreciate any info you all have about it.
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Carole...You have to excuse me with my english but what does bisphononates mean?
Like Boniva!!!!!!!! not on it yet I have a beginning of osteopenia but Dr wants to wait until next bone density test to decide. What is the reason you are not suppose to take it?
I will go on Femara site so I can understand it better.
Thanks fot the warning
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caroleb,
I'm 63, have osteoporosis and am on Femara. 3 years ago (2 years prior to cancer) I was put on FORTEO (an injectible daily med) for 24 months because my T-score was awful and Fosamax wasn't helping. That 2 years ended just about the time I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and last year my T-score was better than before I started on FORTEO. So, my onc put me on Arimidex, then we switched to Femara, but at the same time I was taking a weekly dose of Fosamax, since the AI's can cause bone density loss. This year, after one year of Femara, my T-score was worse than before the 2 years of daily injections
So - I'm scheduled to get an infusion of Reclast this coming Wednesday - my onc says it's 1,000 times stronger than Fosamax and should stop the bone loss from Femara.I had not heard that Fosamax or the other similar drugs should not be taken with Femara. I'll ask my onc Wednesday.
Please do talk about this with your oncologist - I initially wanted to totally stop taking Femara, but he convinced me that he can stop the bone loss, and that Femara is too important to not take it.
Hugs,
Karen
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Hi again Caroleb,
I think I found what you read, and I believe it's a misunderstanding:
From the Novartis prescribing info:
In the extended adjuvant setting, preliminary results (median duration of follow-up was 20 months)from the bone sub-study (Calcium 500 mg and Vitamin D 400 IU per day mandatory; bisphosphonates not allowed) demonstrated that at 2 years the mean decrease compared to baseline in hip BMD in Femara patients was 3% vs 0.4% for placebo (P=0.048). The mean decrease from baseline BMD results for the lumbar spine at 2 years was Femara 4.6% decrease and placebo 2.2% (P=0.069). Consideration should be given to monitoring BMD.
I believe this means that during the study, it was mandatory that patients take Calcium and Vitamin D, but NOT permitted for them to take a bisphosphonate during the course of the study. This makes sense, since Novartis was trying to test how much bone loss occurred while on Femara.
Hope this makes you feel better about taking Fosamax or Actonel or Boniva, etc.
Hugs,
Karen
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Karen - Thank you so much. This clears up a lot. Couldn't believe so many were taking fosamax, actonel, etc. For me I get anxiety just thinking about adding a med (especially after the second cancer diagnosis) so need to get the femara in my system before trying another med. I will talk to my onc in November. When I went to drug checker they didn't show any interaction between femara and the bisphosphonates. I do take calcium and vitamin D so if all goes well in November with my mammogram can wait a few months and start the next med.
Carole
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Thanks for the info, Karen. Yes, the study mentioned makes sense. That info was not included in my Femara insert (mine is made by Novartis Canada). I think I'll trust my onc with this one!
Linda
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Week ago friday i found a huge lump on upper thigh.Went to cancer dr she had ultrasound and xray ordered. Have not had the results yet. When she saw it she said she didnot know what it was. I have been taking femara 11months. My question can you still get another cancer while taking femara. My breast cancer was stage1 no lympnodes removed. Had mysectomy and 4 rounds chemo. I am scared it is cancer. please pray for me.
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nanna (((((((((hugs and prayers))))))))))
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You are in my prayers today Nanna.....when do you get results?
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Nana I found a couple lumps in my upper leg like that about a year after my bc and doctor told me it was fatty tumors and nothing to worry about. I took him at his word and I guess he was right that has been over a year ago now.....You are in my prayers...Jude14
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I have been on femara since the end of January 2009- about 2 months ago I started taking Omega 3 (dissolved in lemon oil and not soybean oil since I avoid that) and got some relief from the bone and joint aches. My onc tries to get our VitaminD blood level above 50 and mine was still below that even though I was taking 2000 mg a day so she added a once a week Vitamin D capsule- I have gotten HUGE relief from the achy joints and bones since adding that to my vitamins. She put me on it for 8 weeks but Im going to be talking to her about continuing since the relief is so nice!
Kristy
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Thought I would get them today. I called my onc and they said they would give her the message.but , we know how that goes. I am going there tomorrow when they open and tell them i want the results.N O W. I guess no news it good news but the waiting is getting to me.
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I'll be thinking of you.
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My onc called this morning and said the test was negative. Thanks for your prayers and most of all I thank GOD.
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Wonderful news, Nanna!!!
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AWESOME!!!!
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Great news. So happy for you. 0
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That's wonderful news!!
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Hi Michelle,
I am premenopausal as well (age 49). I can't take tamoxifen because of a clotting disorder, so I was put on lupron + arimidex. I have had absolutely no side effects from the meds. However, 7 months after I started I am still having periods. Given that my BC was > 95% ER+ this has me very worried. Did the lupron suppress your ovaries? What dosage were you on?
KS1
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KSI
I am on lupron-since June-- it is 7.5 dosage and I have not seen a period since I finished chemo in February---- I am on femara- with some se's-- I like that you have no se's from arimidex. I plan to stay on femara until after xmas- but if the joint pain continues after that , I may request a switch.
I would talk to your onc about the periods...
carole
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Has anyone been on femara longer than five years. Is five years the amount of time you take femara
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