FEMARA
Comments
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The epsom salt bath was wonderful and Chrissy, you are amazing with the amount of knowledge you provide! I also knew it worked but didn't know why. Only my buttocks are sore today. Now I have a new question for you all: I'm gaining weight! Femara related? I know I have been less active recently but have started back with yoga and a little dog walking and not much wine, almost no junk.
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Hi ladies. I have been off Femara for 1 week and I don't know if it is all in my mind or not but I started to feel great after one day. My major problem was my knees but now I only have a little pain in my right knee at night, just like I did before bc. I'm hoping I will continue to feel good. I'll be back to let you know. Hang in there. I did 5 years without a break. You can do it too.
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dkerler, i hope that you feel better and better each day! amazing! you did it! thank you for coming here to let us know that it is do-able. I am glad you are good to go!
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Klj,
Yes, I too have horrid ♡burn and reflux. I had it a lot as a undx Coeliac . Following that it wascontrolled with Lansaporole I only had to take it once or twice a month
at most. But now I am getting it loads again. I was wondering why and never consider ed it might be Letrozole.
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My post went really odd with half the text missing then! Yes I have started with horrid ♥burn and reflux that is waking me at night. I used to have it loads as an undx Coeliac. It was well controlled following that with Lansaporole. Now even if I take that I am getting it a lot ( have it now). I never considered it might be Letrozole. We need to check the data sheet. I was going to mention it to my gastroenterology doc when I see him in August.
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Are you taking it at bedtime? I take mine with food in the morning.
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I am taking it with dinner Lee7. Maybe I need to switch. I hate to think how my stomach will react when I start taking the new med my oncologist is talking about for osteoporosis. He said right up front that it was going to upset my stomach. If it's not one thing it's another :{0 -
intothewoods, I've gained some weight too but I think I've just been eating too much! It is so easy to gain when you change diet or exercise and I was sick with shingles about a month ago.
I've decided today to concentrate more on eating well. Sometimes that's all it takes. Hopefully, you'll stabilise now that you're back to your normal routine.
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If your osteoporosis med is like mine, the thing to do is to take it with a whole glass of water. If I do that, it doesn't upset my stomach.Heartburn or some sort of digestive upset has happened to me at night occasionally in the last few years while on Femara which may or may not be the cause. An extra pillow really helps.
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I have not, KLJ. Sorry you are experiencing it.
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I have acid reflux from hell, KJ. Part of it was the ibupropen, but I'm wondering if part is the Femara. I take the NZ equivalent of prescription prylosec (sp?) twice a day and it keeps me pretty much ok, but I can't eat spicy foods anymore or I wake up just sick.
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I have had reflux all my life so I can't say if I do or not........I do take prescription strength Somac which stops all stomach acid production so if the Femara were to cause an acid problem then it would be be counteracted by that med.
Please don't let the reflux go on without getting it sorted by your doc as it can scar you esophagus and create other problem.
Love n hugs all! Chrissy
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My husband had acid reflux for more than a year. None of the doctor's scripts or OTC meds helped. One of his colleagues at work told him to take apple cider vinegar.....1tbs three times a day....after sometime it disappeared and has never come back. It's worth a try.
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Thanks everyone! Definitely going to bring it up to my MO. The last time I saw him I had decided to give up due to the side effects which didn't include the reflux at the time. He lectured me (nicely) and told me to think about it. I decided to give it another try. Still have the same joint pain, especially in my hands and now the reflux. Has to be the Femara since it's the only new thing that has been added to my regimen! I'll be sure to find out! You guys are great!0 -
I just looked into the use of Apple Cider Vinegar for acid reflux and yes it says that it does help since the reflux is due to the lack of acid in your stomach but long term it has an adverse effect on your bone density. Since I am dealing with osteoporosis also it looks like that won't be an answer for me!0 -
I just had dinner with a friend who does a lot of herbal therapies, etc. She suggested Nigella seeds; it's helped her a lot. Obviously, check with your MO, but she said it's great for getting rid of acid reflux.
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The proton pump inhibiters should be taken a half hour before eating at least that is what the companies say. (Omeprazole, etc). Obviously do what your doc says to do
Gaining weight in your belly can increase GERD symptoms. Eating late at night can increase symptoms. Eating spicy foods or fried foods can cause a flare of it too. Maybe you have none of this but just mentioning in case.
You might have a hiatal hernia, not very rare to have that.
Like someone said if the symptoms don't calm down see your PCP. Not that we all relish running to the doc again after all we have been through but they will get you into GI and see what is going on.
Hope you feel better!
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Sorry if this is a repeat but I am tired of using the search function to find out info on the manufactures of Letrozole. I recall seeing somewhere the generics aren't held to as high a standard as the Femara. This time when I picked up my RX it came in bottles that said it was manufactured by Intas Pharmaceuticals in INDIA for Accord Health here in the US. I'm sorry to say this has got me on edge. Any input is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Cakes
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Some of the pharm companies list all the info of their drugs on their website which is helpful. I get the Apotex Brand. It says it is made in Canada. I saw they make the generic Arimidex in Canada also. They do have manufacturing places in India too. I found that out because the prescription I recently got for the antibiotic Zithromax is from Apotex and that package said made in India right on it. The manufacturing info can be found at the very end of the prescribing leaflet and that's where I found the list of fillers as well.
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Hi Cakes, I've just done a web search on manufacturers of Letrozole and the main ones that I found outside the USA are Hong Kong, India, Macau and China. The ones inside the USA are Novete Biotechnology, Syntec Pharma Corp, Combi-Blocks Inc, CTO API and in Canada, Toronto Research Chemicals.
These are the ones I found but I cannot tell you where these companies out source the product or even if they do. I can tell you that all drug manufacturing companies are held to a very high standard.
Hope this helps to put your mind a little more at ease.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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Thanks Lee7 and Chrissy. I had read somewhere the amount of the active drug can vary; I do know the fillers are often different. I am not having SE issues with this brand but the fact it's not made in the US or Canada makes me leery. Where does quality control come in? I will call CVS and talk to the pharmacist and report back. I hope I didn't open a can of worms here and cause others concern that isn't warranted.
(((Hugs))) all the way around.
Cakes
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a lot of the medications we take are not made in the US or Canada, so I'm not really concerned about that (maybe stupidly unconcerned, but unconcerned nonetheless...
. I spoke with my MO about the difference between femara and a generic. She said that there could be no more than a 2% difference in the actual drug, but that the fillers could vary greatly. I have noticed a huge difference in my SE's between the generic I am currently taking and the one I took for the last 2.5 years. The first generic I took I wasn't really on long enough to be able to give a valid comparison - only a couple of months.0 -
hi everyone
I just started femara last week after two years on tamoxifen. No side effects from tamoxifen. When do SE's kick in on femara.
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dipad, hello. It is very possible that you will not have any side effects....so don't assume you will. All that said, everyone is different. For me, I had sleep disturbances after about 2 weeks. I changed my medication to the morning and that fixed that issue. After about 1 month, I was stiff and sore in the morning but I upped my exercise and that really helped a lot. I am still having joint and muscle stiffness when I first start out from either bed or when sitting, but after. 20 steps, I'm on my way. I am religious about exercising....walking, stretching and cardio. I don't know what would happen if I stopped, but I don't want to know. Good luck and EXPECT the best.
MsP
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Getting ready to start Femara. I was on Tamoxifen for about a year and had some initial SE of joint pain, hot flashes and of course the middle tummy weight gain. After starting some supplements the symptoms decreased (but not the tummy
). I was taking the Teva brand of Tamoxifen and reading on this site it was the one with the least SE for most. Anyone recommend a certain brand of Femara? I took my last Tamoxifen last night and plan to start the Femara on Monday morning. Thanks for any suggestions. 0 -
I don't have a lot of side effects other than weight gain, increased appetite I think. At least nothing that stays around. I get new refill this week and will find out which generic I have and let you know Tessy!
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Thanks enjoyeverymoment! I am praying for no SE!!!
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Tessy, I'm doing better on Femara than I did with Tamoxifen. In particular, the hot flashes are virtually non existent. I hope you do better too! I'm taking the original brand. I found that when I was taking the generic it was from a different manufacturer every time so I settled on the original for consistency.
Does anyone know if soy is something to be avoided while taking Femara? I'm doing an elimination diet and avoiding dairy so I was thinking of switching to soy milk. I thought it promotes estrogen???? Does anyone have any information?
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Tammy, Soy is something to be avoided as you are ER/PR+.
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Tammy,
It is my understanding that Soy has estrogen properties, and when our BC is estrogen positive we are to avoid using soy products...
Vickie
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