FEMARA
Comments
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I did get it clarified but wondered about taking Femara alone. Still doing well with little side effects.kkuziel -
Whining is an outlet of our frustration and suffering. Go ahead and vent. We all need to at times but yes you don't suffer alone.
Cathy
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I have no instructions on the label of the Letrozole I am taking as to taking it on an empty stomach or not. I have usually been taking it with my dinner, but as I am seeing my MO next week, I will ask him about that. I am curious now.
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For the almost five years I have been taking Femara, it has been first thing in the morning before coffee or breakfast with orange juice - except for the once a week when the ritual for taking Actonel interferes. Then the Femara is later in the morning.
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I was told when I was given my first AI that they could be taken with or without food, it was my choice. Most times I take mine sometime between dinner and supper at night.
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There are no special instructions on my Letrozole bottle as to how to take it other than to take once a day. If taking it with or without food mattered it would say right on the bottle 'take with food' or 'take on an empty stomach'. If it was important to take a certain way it always is stated on the bottle itself.
I did look on the separate sheet about Letrozole that comes with the prescription and it does say there to take with or without food.
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I know I have posted this before so forgive me. I was instructed by my MO to take the Letrozole at bedtime with a full glass of water. I also take my omegas at that time (which is OK with the MO). The omegas seem to relieve the aching I was getting in the morning. That may be in my head but it works for me.
Hope you all have a great remainder of the week and a wonderful weekend.
Hugs all the way around,
Cakes
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I take mine about 7:30 in the evening. I've never worried about the presence or absence of food - the only thing the bottle says is take once a day, and can cause dizziness.
On the subject of SE's... As I said a week or so ago, the pharmacy changed the generic I was taking. Interestingly enough my SE's changed dramatically with that change. I still have the stiffness, but before (on the old pill) I was having extreme pain in my lower back. That completely went away. Now, though my hands and feet are much more stiff and painful. They also lose sensation. In fact my fingers are all tingly right now.
Chrissy - glad your new knees are treating you well.
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my fingers only on the right hand, and the palm both, have been tingly for a bout a week, as if i had slapped something over and over again, but amplified x10... weird. i do take at night before brushing teeth, cause i tried it after last meal of the day, and got reeeeally dizzy.scary dizzy. so i only take it right before bed, and hope i don't have to get up in the middle of the night.
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Kathec,
When my daughter was having chemo for ovarian cancer last winter, they told her to take vit. B-6, B-12 and the pharmacist added she should also take a multiple B. She had no problems with tingling.
I have had problems with neuropathy on my feet for years from nerve damage from 4 spinal surgeries, so I decided to try the vit B regimen I think it has helped make it better.
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i do take a sublingual b, every day.... i am starting to wonder if it is nerve impingement, from some hard nodes i am having trouble with, that were left after ALND. they did biopsy two of them, in february, and path report said benign glandular tissue. they feel much larger now than they did then, and there are some new hard ones, way up deep into armpit now, that really seem to be the problem. and motions and movements that i have been able to do fine, are now causing severe but short and intense pain there. i do go for my first follow up PET/CT scan early tomorrow morning! No coffee? aaargh!
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Cakes, my onc prescribed the Femara at bedtime with a full glass of water as well. Over the years, I really just take it at my convenience during the day but always drink a glass of water with it.
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hi folks
I have been on Letrozole (Femara) for nearly a year. The main things I have noticed are low energy, and aching feet and, to an extent, knees.
Until recently I have been abnormally tired, very low energy. Then I decided I needed to lose weight for the sake of my poor feet. I'm doing a 5/2 diet, and walk at least 4 miles a day, sometimes twice that; I have lost 10lb abd, incredibly, am much less tired!
My feet hurt in the morning, when I stand much, and after I've been sitting for any length of time. Generally, walking and gentle exercise loosens them up. But it's hardly a cure. Anyone else suffer in this way?
Thanks, folks
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Hi Singinhinny and welcome!! When I first started Femara (I have the brand name) my feet were stiff first thing in the morning and after I had been sitting for a while but now I don't have that problem at all .........well I have arthritis in every joint of my feet so it's hard to tell......lol.....but I find the after walking around for a bit my feet are okay. I've been on Femara for almost five years now and any SE I got have not lasted longer than a couple of months and then it would disappear.
For the fatigue, have you tried taking your pill at night? In the beginning I was so tired I couldn't get out of my own road and then another lady on this forum suggested I try taking it at night so I did. It took a couple of weeks but the fatigue gradually left me. Play around with the time you take your pill to find the best time for you.
Once again a big warm welcome!
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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Chrissyb.....I take mine at nighttime too and it certainly helps with the fatigue but by 8 or 9 PM I'm finished. I guess at 67 this might be normal.....lol. Funny thing......the fatigue doesn't affect me when I'm clothes shopping....
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I took Femara from 2006-2008, and really don't remember the SEs that I experienced. I think that I'll be back on it again due to this second diagnosis, so I will be more attentive to how my body responds this time. This discussion is very insightful to me, and I hoping that the doctor puts me on Femara since I've been on it before...
One love,
tp4ever
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thinkpink, I too like the femara, been on it since late March.
To anyone still considering it, so far the side effects have been fatigue, (I take at night). I have joint aches but it is tolerable, and I walk a lot.
I really struggle with getting weight off, I am still up 4 lbs from my weight before surgery (DIEP) and when you figure I probably should have lost weight in that I had breasts removed and the same tissue from one place put in another.... I believe I have probably gained more than I think. My legs are puffy too, and I see swelling can be a side effect.
That is probably it for me, I should have paid better attention to names of generics, since I had way worse SE with my first generic, but I also see that many people have SE that come and go so who knows. I am thrilled to be able to take anything that can help me with this glorious adventure....
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well F**K. just F**K. went for pet/ct scan today, after no coffee,fasting,using gas etc, & machine was down. rescheduled, and now am wondering if in the middle of july when i drink the stuff for my very first colonoscopy,(Oh,joy) if the doc will be detained....is it the femara that is making me intolerant & easily upset? i cry at nothing, & am depressed a good bit of the time & wondering if it is really all worth it..
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Kath - the femara is worth it. It has some crappy side effects, but don't forget that 1 really really GREAT side effect. Just breath deep and tell yourself that this too shall pass. (But to answer your question, yes, the femara can make you intolerant and easily upset. It has definitely affected my moods.)
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Kath- I would have been upset even before taking Femara, to me just having BC makes you want stuff to just move quickly and get the info and address it. Femara is listed to cause depression and emotional ups and downs, like GG said. I would def call them before leaving the house next time, the doofuses should have called you to tell you it wasn't functioning.
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kathec - big honkin' hugs to you....
I wrote a piece somewhere on this forum (or maybe it was the Picture Forum) about how since my BC dx, it hit me that none of us knows exactly how long we have on this earth, and for that reason, I refuse to suffer fools needlessly.
This came after sitting through a "re-evaluation" (Post BMX) at the Rehab Hospital gym I go to. I had my appt lined up with the Director (who is awesome) and instead, got Miss Chicky-Snap-My-Gum every five minutes who said she would do my re-eval instead, as the Director was delayed.
So I listened to her drone on about the machines, talk to other people, answer the phone, and totally ignore my body and recent surgery... she told me "If it hurts, don't do it." BRILLIANT!!!
I finally said "Fine, I've got it." Then I looked in the Director's office, who by that time was re-evaluating my DH - the way it was SUPPOSED to be done, and I felt so ripped off by this little snotty idiot who took away an hour of my life I'll never get back!
I grabbed a ratty old magazine, found a deserted corner, and bawled my eyes out. Then I went back and rescheduled my appt with the Director. He is the one who personally researched my surgery, and came up with an exercise plan that would help me but not hurt me. And then I let Miss Snotty Pants have it. I think her hair was on fire when we left.
Yes, I found myself being emotional and volatile on Femara. I felt like my filters were gone, and at some point I was going to get in a fist fight with some rude person some where. DH said he was glad I wasn't armed.
But in the long run, I have come to value my time SO much more these days. If I want to waste it, that's my prerogative. But NO ONE else has the right to waste my time out of ignorance, incompetency, or any other lame excuse.
I do feel compassion for those who find themselves in the middle of situations they had no control over, and are genuinely sorry. If you are nice to me, I will be so sweet to you.....but DO NOT GIVE ME ATTITUDE!!!
So for me, it's a bigger issue. My time is valuable to me... every single minute.
May the rescheduling go better next time....
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While I intellectually know that I am responsible for my actions, regardless of the medications I take, I admit that I have blamed a "fit" or two on Femara. LOL. I know this sounds awful, but I console myself with the belief that there are more morons walking around every day and the chances of running into them is statistically higher each day. So when I meet one, I just update my stats! But on a serious note, Blessings your comment "So for me, it's a bigger issue. My time is valuable to me... every single minute." rings true. If nothing else, a health crisis reminds us that we have limited time. And if you snatch your time back from the morons, I say, good for you!MsP
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I think some people who work and who have to interact with others wake up and say to themselves" Whose life can I make miserable today"? We have all encountered such people in person and on the phone, and the rudest of all are federal workers in DC when you have to call them about anything. So Blessings, I am sorry that your joy was taken by an insensitive employee whose words and attitude caused you to cry.
I was unaware of this drug causing depression and frayed nerves. I thought it was just me post treatments.
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kathec ~ Let it fly! We are here to support and lift you up. How rude to not have given you a heads up. Sending you a giant sized HUG!
Blessings ~ There is NO excuse for that woman treating you that way. If she has issues at home or at the office it should be left at the door when she is with patients. You owe it to yourself and others to inform your Director as to how you were treated. I'm sending you a giant sized HUG as well!
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blessings, i love big honkin hugs! thank you for that, and you experience with that gum-chewing whippersnapper! i am so glad it is the weekend...don't have to deal with anything officially.. it is hard to think of myself walkin around that volatile. thank you all for simply just being here.
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Ladies - thanks for all your sweet thoughts. That incident happened about two years ago, and believe me, I have never let it happen again.
I used to blame it on my Femara "loss of filters" but now that I'm off the drug, I have absolutely no other excuse, except to be honest with those who are pissing me off.
And I always ask... "How is your day going so far?" "Have you been busy?" "Thanks for taking the time to explain this to me..." etc.
But if I am met head-on with rudeness, then I have no problem at all asking if I have done something specific to offend them, or are they always this bitchy to everyone that walks through the door? And then I ask to see the Manager.
(DH always finds something else to look at while I do this...
)Seriously, I worked in Customer Service for years, putting myself through school. Things happen, sometimes we aren't as nice to the public as we should be. But if we hate our jobs, are pissed off at our bosses, irritated with our coworkers, late for a break, then really, we should find another line of work. Do not take it out on anyone else who comes in expecting service. Even rude morons. The ruder the customer got, the slower I got. And the NICER I got.
I remember that one time (years and years ago) a customer called me an effing a-hole to my face. I put a thoughtful look on my face, considered his insult, and replied, "Actually, Sir, I do not believe I am an effing a-hole, but just to be sure, I'll go ask the manager. Man, did he get the riot act read to him! I still laugh about that one.
And if any of YOU are in the line of Customer Service in any industry, Bless you!!!!! Hardest job of all, especially with our health issues.
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Awe Kath, what a horrid day for you! ((((((((Hugs)))))))
Yeah, I agree with you all on the not abiding fools.
It just seems like as we get older there are more of them appearing or is it that they don't know how to treat an aged person with respect. It's almost like they seem to think that we have outlived our use by date.......ie, passed the age of sixty......it seems we are ancient to them and not worthy of their attention to their time.
Young wippersnappers!!!!!! Sometimes I wish we could snap our fingers and let them spend a day in our skin maybe then they would learn we are still human and as such deserve their full attention.
Kath, that was bad management on the place where you were to have the scan, they should have a policy in place to notify patents should there be a problem with the machines and I would write a letter of complaint and suggest this be added to their protocol.
Take it easy and enjoy the weekend, tomorrow is a new day and things, with luck be a little different.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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Blessings what you said resonated deeply with me.
Since BC I don't let the stupid things in life bother me. Stupid people are not worth my energy. Stupid situations and people are usually avoided by me after the first encounter.
That being said I find I draw the line more effectively with what I cannot and can do, with ability to say no when I need to, without guilt.
I also have a "crap-o-meter" that senses when something is a dump job and I have less trouble standing up for myself whether at work or in any setting.
I am not sure how much of this is from bc or just getting older and wiser but I am grateful to finally feel like there is balance.
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Hi all,
Will start taking Femara in mid-September, after my radiation treatments. I asked my oncologist about the side effects and she said that the worst SEs are in people who are coming off chemo and have been put into artificial menopause by the chemo. She said that a lot of the SEs are just menopause. This sounds like bull____ to me, but what do those of you sisters who were post-menopausal going into treatment with Femara think about that?
Thanks in advance for any responses,
Cyber
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cyber- I had an endometrial ablation 2004 or so so stopped periods then but as I found out that doesn't mean you are truly in menopause since your ovaries are still working just the uterus lining is not shedding and building up. So when I got BC the oncologist tested my hormones, which sometimes they can shift up and down so unless they are not hard core a certain range they can't always tell you are menopausal. I was, so thus the Femara, and I had not had hot flashes for years and got them back again yet they are so rare I don't even think about it much. For me it is the knee pain but I will keep walking and that seems to help. The memory and mood stuff might just be menopause and getting older, so far hasn't hurt relationships or ability to work so I am ok with it. Oh and not to rain on anyone's parade but I do notice a little bit more chin hair. Yuk but true.
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Oh no, enjoyevrymoment, not more chin hair! Ugh. I could be a bearded lady in the circus if I left the hair alone, was hoping the pills would block all the male hornones too.
I guess I will step up my exercise to prevent or help the joint pain as that seems to be a fairly universal side effect. My MO was saying that menopause causes joint pain, but I never had any to speak of that I didn't have before menopause. Other than the whiskers, menopause was OK for me as far a physical symptoms. Was a psycho emotionally for a few years, but took HRT for that...bad idea in retrospect.
Thanks for the reply!
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