FEMARA
Comments
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Back on the darn little drug about 3 weeks. SEs back with full force. Have decided not to take the big drugs this go around unless am at the drop to the knees point. Trying OTC-but with higher doses. 800mg iBprofen instead of 400. Takes a bit (little) of edge off. Tylenol-increasing dose or time between. But will kill my liver and/or kidneys. Male pattern baldness already starting. Again.
Taking the metformin. No SEs from it. Hoping it is doing the job.
Hugs to all.
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Susan, ibuprophen is not really the best pain reliever to take long term as it can do damage to your liver and kidneys. If you are needing so much it may be worth while talking to a pain management doc and getting something that will ease your pain without damaging your organs.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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that's so messed up, susan, sorry. i just have the regular ol aches and pains in the neck & butt. i do still feel better than i did on 6 months of arimidex, and 5 of tamoxifen, but am taking enuff meds to knock a horse on it's ass, or an ass off a horse... somethin..
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Crissy. I know-liver, kidneys. Or narcs that take the edge off and damage everything.
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Hi everyone:
I'm starting week seven on Femara. The first two weeks I was fine., then different side effects every week since. Such as: Run down/sore throatish-type feeling, FATIGUE, achy joints and stiffness, and a migraine this morning.
The good news is that the drug must be working. And actually the sore throat/fatigue has lifted somewhat.
I added a soy-free multiple vitamin to my daily pills., and added a little more Vit. C. But I'm planning on e-mailing my docs tomorrow to see if I can go up on my generic Ellavil. It works great for migraines., and I know some docs prescribe it for pain management.
And after reading a few threads, it seems like after awhile my body will get more used to the pill.
Thank you.
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Susan, have you seen a pain management doc? They really are helpful and could give you some other options.
Hi Pabboe and welcome to the thread. We are all so different when it comes to SE but with the joint knowledge here and support offered it does make it a little easier to get through. Yay! For minor SE so far here's hoping that continues!
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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Will the hair thinning stop or at least slow down?
Thanks.
Brenda
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Brenda, my hair got so thin I was back to wearing a wig for a while but it did stop and now my hair is back to normal. To help I was taking Biotin but the process still took about a year
Hope yours starts back to thickening soon.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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I have not seen anyone for pain management. But, I have talked with other women who have had the same issues with the drugs. In my research I found several articles discussing the increasing impact of joint/bone/muscle pain. Several sources discussed the number of women needing the drug-15-20 % of those with BC and the % that continue beyond a couple of years-5-10%. My MO has moved me around on the drugs and we have discussed the impact on the quality of my life. He has had other women who do not make the full course of 5 years-and with the new guideline of 10-well who knows.
I have tough German blood and prior to this did not even take tylenol unless I almost cut off my finger. Seriously-pain was not an issue. GB removal, 4 births, several broken bones in my foot, etc. In 13 years @ this university had not had a sick day prior to BC. Tough German stock. Was back @ work 5 days after the first MX, incision opened on day 30 and had to take a few days, couple days when by counts were low and a few days with 2nd MX. But this pain crap--have actually taken a few mental health days to get myself in a better frame of mind. I am also not a quitter-and know I need the drugs. Especially with not being able to finish the others. But-some days I just want to dump them in the trash. I was on tamox prior to this. He had me go off for a month-after 2.5 weeks I felt great. No pain. More energy. Started this and within a week the SEs were back.
I had hormonal issues throughout my younger years. My MO and I have discussed it-but not sure of the impact. I could not take oral contraceptives-vomited starting on day 10 every time I tried. But did need a hormonal bit of help for regulation during several days each month as my periods were extremely heavy-to the point of severe anemia. Vomited with each of my pregnancies beginning almost with conception until delivery. Had IV therapy during pregnancies and meds for nausea and vomiting. When chemo started I had rescue fluids @ the chemo center after the first infusion then the nurses left my port intact and I administered fluids to myself every w/end after chemo due to the almost constant nausea and vomiting. My MO thinks there was a relationship between the extreme NV of pregnancies and what I had with chemo. There were several times my port was accessed and I had rescue fluids @ work-pushing the IV pole around the building. Remember-I work in a health science center and everyone has a licence of some sort. Was well covered with medical people.
All of the above probably impacts the crazy continued nausea i still have. But still gained weight on tamox.
And everytime I see any of my docs or a new one they start with "You should not have BC. You are an outlier with a very aggressive form of BC". Really. No #$#$.
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Susan, yeah, I've heard the shoulda, woulda, couldas all the time and I'm Stage IV!........go figure! Sometimes we just have to take things upon ourselves and try something outside the box to get relief if that relief is not coming from the standard medicine.
I sure hope you find something soon as pain relief is a must!
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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Joint stiffness from the Femara.
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Ha Ha Ha pabbie!
You made my day!
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Lol Pabbie, I don't know where you found that but it's perfect!!! Hahahahahaha!
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I can't remember where I found this but it is perfectly LOL funny and true!
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Hi!
I'm still new to this site. Finally figured out that SE mean side effects! LOL. Now what is MO? I have now been on Femara for 6 days. No side effects yet. In fact, I was getting more hot flashes before I started the drug. Go figure! I also had a large roll of fat, for lack of better words, around my wast which made it hard to bend over. After starting the Femara, it has disappeared. Could that really be a result of the Femara???? My husband is a Rheumatologist and he finds it hard to believe, but I'm just glad it's gone.
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Hi DebWild and welcome to the thread. A MO is a medical oncologist......yes some of the Abreviations can be a bit confusing to start but if you go to the heading 'All Topics' in the list for newbies you will find a pinned list of most of the Abreviations used on this site. You can print them out and keep them hany for quick translations.
Yay you for the loss of the tyre!.......lol......Femara for me has worked the other way, I gained one.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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Love that cartoon Pabbie! It is a perfect rendition of me trying Tai Chi last fall. All the Tai Chi did was make my back worse so I reluctantly quit.
Does anyone else have a flushing and full feeling on just one face cheek? My GP said it was from the Femara and I notice that it is more pronounced as the cold I got a week ago is leaving. Or am I the one who gets this unusual but just annoying side effect?
When I had the cold, I took 2 Tylenol night time cold pills and was absolutely astonished when I stood up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and nothing hurt! Of course that didn't last but it was sure exciting for a minute. Made me feel like I was 14 - except then I wasn't getting up in the night for regular bathroom trips.
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Good morning to all,
Love the cartoon; so very perfect! I am pretty spry for my age. I walk about 7-8 miles/day and have been able to control my weight and Femara side effects pretty well so far. But last weekend, I had to squat down to get something off a shelf at the drug store and I absolutely could not get back up. I think I needed the tin man's oil can. LOL Kindly, the lady in the store gave me a helping hand, but it was very embarrassing. I'm not sure what I will do the next time I want to buy something from the lowest shelf. Maybe I will do without???
Thanks for the giggles today, pabbie!
MsP
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My dreams have been more vivid, but I don't mind. Is this another femara s/e or might I be getting it from the melatonin that helps me sleep at night?
Love the cartoon. I am not just getting bone and joint pain. Any semblance of youth that I have left on my face is gone. Femara made me old.
Hugs,
Brenda
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pabbie -
Brenda - I've read that melatonin causes vivid dreams, but I don't take it, so I wouldn't know. My dreams are always crazy anyway - always have been. Last night my best friend and I were working Security at Disneyland... I was Cinderella and she was Nancy Drew... and way out back behind the rides there was an illegal swap meet being held, and we had to infiltrate it... but I digress!
Maybe it IS the Femara!!!
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Thanks so much pabbie for the laugh.
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Love the cartoon. I thought it was a picture of me at first. I have been having some back pain over the past couple of months. I use to be able to bend it like the yoga people, now I am the tin man guy.
I just last week had my ovaries removed and am recovering not to bad. I have been taking it easy, which is not like me. I could get use to this relaxing stuff, but wait, my mortgage needs to be paid...
So welcome to all that have joined since my last post....
Michele
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Hi Femara users.
Just started generic femara 2.5 last week. So far, so good. I got on here today to see how long it takes to get in your system as well as the length of time for SE to occur. What strength do you use?
Thanks!!
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Richall - I think the 2.5 is standard. You might never get any side effects. Or you might get some soon. Or something might happen and you take a while to consider that it is a side effect. And then whatever side effect you get will go away after a while and something new happens. I have a new one this week and it's almost the five year mark. Just carry on carrying on and wait for surprises.
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Hi: I'm glad everyone liked my cartoon.
I take 2.5 mg of generic Femara. My MO (medical oncologist) has me also taking 1200 mg of Calcium per day and 2000 i.u.'s of Vitamin D. My last lab work to check my Vitamin D level was in April, 2013 and it had a 42.5 value which is OK per my MO., the reference range is 30.0 - 100.0 ng/ml. My Primary Care Physician checks all my levels yearly. (cholesterol, glucose, Vit. D.) Once I hit my yearly mark with the generic Femara, my MO is ordering a DEXA scan for me to check my bones.
I also starting taking GNC's Women's Ultra Mega mini multivitamins 2 x's a day; these have no soy. If your tumor is Estrogen positive you should avoid soy. I personally take 250 mg of chelated magnesium., it helps relax your muscles and supports bone health. My MO did not suggest the Magnesium, so I would ask your DR's before adding anything new to your diet.
And I am walking more days than not. I'm on week 7 of the generic Femara and the s/e's do come and go and a new s/e sometimes pops up.
I want to make it 5 years with the Femara. I was on Tamoxifen for 5 years before that for my first BC., but I would cut the pill in half because of the s/e's. This could have played a role in my recurrence., I'm not sure. So please try your mightiest to stay on this little pill called Femara or generic Femara. Take care.
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I am experiencing hair thinning on Femara. Does your hair get thicker after Femara? Does anyone know?
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Pamelahope, mine got really thin and was that way for quite awhile. I started taking Biotin and it did help but after being on Femara for three and a half years, my hair is now back to what it was. It doesn't all go but I know it feels like it is.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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my hair definitely feels thinner too, especially at the crown and front. I think it must be Letrozole as I was done with chemo in Aug 12. Textually, it is different too. My eyebrows are non-existent and my p***c hair is also very sparse. as is my under arm hair too. I do not need to remove it now.
Perhaps it is a mix of getting older and femera?? (I am 53) either way it sure is depressing.
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after 5 months on Femara, just had awful vertigo last nite... guess its time to see the MO......
Know there are some ladies out there that did not get vertigo immediately but several months later while on Femara.
I asked the pharmacist and he said, " you wont get side effects 5 months later -- they happen immediately" Now Im worried.
Just venting..
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dventi, I got vertigo three years after starting the Femara...........I think these so called professionals need to start talking to the people actually taking these drugs to find out the truth rather than the propaganda put out by the Pharmacology Companies. Even the Pharmacist only read what is put out by Pharmacology.
Please don't get too worried but do report it to your MO, there are many who get vertigo and it hasn't come on until they have been taking it for some time.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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