FEMARA
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Hi not sure what you mean about not taking it any more? Please hang in there, there are lots of women on this forum who may be of help to you. We all have our bad days, and meds can affect moods etc. Hope you can find a way to cope soon.
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Teresa, I understand what you say about people not believing you had cancer. I didn't have chemo and everyone expects that if you have cancer you will lose your hair and look terrible. I didn't look great after radiation but I probably just looked really tired! Lucky me!
You are going through a normal acceptance process and I know it is hard to meet someone new but it has happened to friends of mine post bc so it could happen for you too!
Please look after yourself and join with your friends here....we're in this together
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hi snowgirl - for many of us a Bc dx can bring to the surface past traumas that drag us into a pit of depression and despair. An onc told me that anti anxiety meds, an anti depressant and counseling would be needed to pull me out. In my area at least it is very difficult to find professional counseling instead I found someone to talk to at a local church. Also search for Immerman Angels they might be able to help. Here is a link to another thread here you might find interesting.
https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/102/topic/830233?page=3#idx_88
This can be a terrifying time. I'm sorry you are struggling. Sending you a gentle hug.0 -
https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/55/topic/779734?page=50#idx_1471
Snowgirl, I am Canadian but on the other side of the country. Have you seen the forum Canadian Survivors of Breast Cancer? That forum also has a thread (link above) for Ladies in British Columbia. I am not divorced, nor have I had to go through the tragedy of losing a child. I can only try to imagine dealing with breast cancer in top of that. I am sorry you didn't get a lot of support from your Cancer Connection partner, Mine called weekly at first and now we talk every month or so. Take care of yourself.
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My diagnosisbrought all kinds of stuff to the surface. Not immediately. The first few months I was numb and never cried once. Everyone sai I was so strong. I was just numb and in shock. A few weeks ago the depression hit. 9 months post diagnosis. Thank heaven for wonderful counseling. I think it should be part of everyone's BC care. We have been on a roller coaster through hell. What has also helped is connecting with survivors further along to realize that this too shall pass and there are things to look forward to in the future
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Hugs to everyone tonight! Teresa, I have not experienced losing a child but I do understand trauma. I am a three year survivor and I stopped taking the Femara on September 1st, because I have been unable to keep my moods stable. My employer actually walked me out of my job in April of this year saying I was a danger to myself or others. I haven't been back to work. I have been in all kinds of therapy and counseling and the only thing that I think is making me cry so much is the Femara. My employer, well, I won't go there but I will say that I have never been anything but kind loving and a very good employee. They didn't understand why I couldn't just get on with my life after surgery/chemo. I did the best I could but sometimes I was emotional. They knew why but I know they don't understand depression/anxiety nor did they give a darn about me. It really broke my heart and I felt / feel so rejected. Sorry for the ramble......anyway......I stopped my femara. I am hoping and praying I will be able to get it together now.
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Just got the call from my MO's office, the nurse said that they received the results of my bone density scan. She said my spine is -2.5 which is border osteoporsis... I should make an appt with an osteo specialist to see what needs to be done. I guess it could be worse.. all other levels for hip, forearm and wrist were..-1.2 and -1.5 which I guess is considered osteopenia. The spine level changed dramatically from last time I had test...others stayed the same. What happens now? I take Vitamin D3 and calcium... guess the fermara has contributed to this..been on on it for 6 months. Anyone else in this situation?
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Thinkingpositive....I just got my bone density results last week. Lumbar -3.5. They are putting me on Fosomax and saying to take calcium and D3 and of course weight bearing exercise. I do yoga but I guess that hasn't been enough. I'm not sure if the Femara contributed to the bone loss....my last bone scan was about 10 years ago and I had osteopenia then.
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thanks nash54.
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Snowgirl, I know how you feel, at least in part. I've had quite a few things happen, and will PM you. For me, the teariness is just hitting 7 months after diagnosis. We really have to soldier through treatment and so I am sure this is common. But where to find a therapist who understands?
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A follow up on the emotional impact of BC. Don't know if this is an appropriate but as I mentioned I was numb for 6 months after diagnosis. I never cried. What hit when the treatment was over and I was on the AIs a while was the connection with my sexual violation near puberty ad my body image now. I was fortunate to find a great therapist. She has helped me pull myself up to a positive place
Sometimes it takes some dead ends. First went to one who said "that's terrible. I don't know what I would do if I had that happen" LOL.
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Hi optimist, I was referring to not taking something called mms that is supposed to make your body alkaline but I have only read bass things about it. But I have also struggled with the feelings of wanting to run away from the really painful side effects I'm having from the combination of the Femera and Lupron injections. Tammy encouraged me to not take the mms. I considered that sage advice. My oncologist highly encouraged me to keep taking the femera and said understandably being thrown into sudden menopause and depleting all the estrogen has been a really hard adjustment. So it helped to have the validation that indeed it is very hard on our bodies ... Just keep fighting theough and who knows what's around the corner for better treatment because she has seen many changes and advancements in the last two years alone. My oncologist and her husband are both from the U.S. And came to British Columbia to help develop the breast cancer treatment program I am benifitting from now. She is very kind and anyone who asks me who my oncologist is says to me how fortunate I am because she's one of the best.
I know I need to ask more questions and participate more in conversations here In order to benifit from everyone advice and encouragement. So thank you for taking the time to encourage me with you message.
Teresa
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Thank you so much Tammy for your encouragement. I'm probably just down on myself I know it has been a struggle for me for awhile to think of someone actually wanting to be with me. I got divoriced cause I didn't want to share ( I know I'm so selfish) so I definitely have trust issues. I'm so busy with my now 19 year old son who has a rare syndrome called XXYY/XYY and all his needs that realistically I probably wouldn't have time to develop a romantic relationship anyway. It just would be nice to know I was actually desired. That alone would probably be validation enough.
I know even with my own mom, she expects me to just pick up and carry on. I tell her it's a little hard when every night when i take that awful smelling tiny pill I'm reminded that I need to take it to keep from getting the cancer back again and that I'm signing up for the side effects as well. She doesn't even want to k ow the side effects. But gets upset when she sees me struggle to get out of a chair after sitting more than 5 minutes. I'm guessing mother daughter relationships can get complicated. And go figure my Mom smokes and I have always begged her to quit because I don't want her to get cancer and I'm the one who ended up with cancer. Some days are just so tough and the thoughts and emotions get to complicated. I need to go into the forest and just scream and come back home and carry on. Maybe that would help release some of this roller coaster of emotions.
I'm also going to come here to participate in the encouragement in conversations here. Everyone here is awesome and if we have to go through this...I'm happy we can do it together👼🏼
My ❤️ goes out to you all, Teresa
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Lucy, thank you for sharing and taking the time to post a message for me ... I will look that up and take a look at the other page on this site you suggested. Thank you for being so thoughtful
Cats, I have been told that I will get two calls from the cancer connection and that's it. They are actually the people whom I think don't believe I have had cancer and finished rads in April. Also had a volunteer driver asking me many personal questions and putting me on the spot while in her car. I felt is was not something I wanted to share with her, and then she would call and ask my results. Not appropriate at all. So I asked them if they wanted my identification number from the cancer agency so they could phone to check if indeed I was receiving care. I can't believe we can go through all this and then have something like that happen. Adding insult to injury. I can be grateful for other help they have providedthat portikn has left a bad taste in my mouth.
Chloe's Mom, thank you for letting me know what you are doing, it sure has helped to see the response I got from you all, it helps me feel normal that we all seem to have this in common. The intense emotions. Not so funny when we talk to people really needing that help and yah I've had someone say 'I would just give up and die if it was me' like holy cow are you for real and they said they are here to help support me in anyway they could this is supposed to be a real life friend. No longer a friend, needless to say after six years of trying to be supportive and going to her MS meetings with her and that was the best she could come up with. One thing for sure you find out who your real friends are.
❤️👩❤️💋👩🙏🏻 to you all, Teresa
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Hi thinking positive, I haven't had a bone density test but my bones sure are sore. I get a bone scan next month so hopefully that will show no problems. I guess I should ask for one, if it what's happened to you in 6 months of taking femera. I take calcium magnesium and a zinc tablet all in one twice a day as well as 2000mg of vitamin d and 400 of nature made magnesium at night. I just started taking more meletonin. But I'm still having to take pain medication 24 hours a day and that just takes the edge off , it doesn't actually relive it completely, my oncologist said just keep moving. Now I know why I'm so stressed, I proof read what I just wrote and I see I'm grasping for remedies for the all the side effects of treatment. I hope your remedy for the bone loss is not to complicated and doesn't have side effects. I know someone who had to take fosomax for about 6 months for osteopenia and it worked well.
Feeling encouraged,
Teresa
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Snowgirl. We have a disabled adult daughter. She lives on her own in an apartment so it's not the 24/7 you have to deal with, but we never know when the phone rings what challenge is next. I have had to work to help pay her expenses as she only receives about 1/3 of what she needs to exist from the gov't so I worry about her as I can't work with the SEs as m job is very physical BC is so much more than a mastectomy and some chemo the way it throws your life on a different track. I would have said off track but trying to be positive and think of it as a different track Hugs
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Snowgirl63, thanks for responding... I need to see a specialist now for the osteoporosis.. MO's nurse says I am right at the edge of osteopenia and osteoposis...so not to worry, how do you not worry? Knowing that it will continue to deteriorate.. I guess they will put me on one of those bone building drugs which I have no problem with and I should really increase my exercise..they say 30 minutes of walking builds bones.. Does your MO send you for bone scans normally or is it because of pain that you are having.? Mine does no scans unless symptoms. My problem is how do you differentiate between bone, muscle and joint pain from the fermara and pain that might be something else.???
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Hello. I just started femara 0729. Oncodx score was 10'so no chemo and no rads recommended. Severe pain in hips and lowere back started 10 days ago. Very significant at times preventing me from going to work. Pcp sent me for cat scan of the spine with renal protocol thinking possible kidney stones but negative. I guess at this point I would assume the femara. Hope it gets better. Can't imagine 5 years of this. Taking 800 mg ibuprofen and muscle relaxer with little relief. Read these posts daily which is helpfu
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hello all! I have a quick question. What time of day do you take your Femara? Does time of day affect your side effects at all? I currently take mine with dinner around 6:30 or 7:00. I fall asleep around 9:30 or 10:00 and consistently wake up at 3 am wide awake. I can usually get back to sleep around 5 but then it is almost time to get up for work. How have others handled this?
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hi knitting, I take femara in the morning. When I took it at night, I had insomnia. Everyone's different, try changing the TOD.
MsP
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I take it in the a.m. Currently using melatonin to sleep
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I take mine in the morning along with 6000 units vit d and my synthroid. I wake up at 3 am every day but did that while on Tami for 6 months and before bc.
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I take mine at 0730 pm. My biggest concern is the pain. I have a very high tolerance to pain. The pain in my hips and lowere back is so significant at times that I use the percoset left over from bmx. I am not taking the femara tonight and will call oncologist next week. I went for long walk tonight. Nothing eases the pain
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good luck Mab60. I've been on it for five months and the feet and knee pain have improved. Even my hands seem a bit better but I still can't make a fist. My onc said it would improve so I'm going with that.
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farmer lucky, what do you take to relieve the pain. I am currently talking 800mg ibuprofen twice daily, muscle relaxer and percoset when it is so bad I can't function
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1 alleve in the am plus glucosamine condroitin and 250 mg of magnesium. Usually by mid morning everything is good. I've been using a hand splint at night for my right hand.
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maybe I should get the glucosamine and magnesium tomorrow? Did oncologist recommend that
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I take mine first thing in the morning.
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Hi Chloe's Mom,
Thank you for letting me know about your daughter, yea I understand the financial strain as my son receives very minimal government support as well and my job was very physically demanding as well and I'm on long term disability from work for shoulder problems, the surgeon who repaired my shoulders said I won't be able to go back to nursing again because of the damage that was done with repeated dialocations and then scar tissue from surgery. I was hoping to be retrained but then BC happened and so that's on hold for now, I'm waiting for surgery for my ovaries. Should happen soon though. But I can't imagine trying to work with the pain and fatigue. To those of you who do I'm in awe and wish I could be doing the same. I guess I have a lot on my plate with caring for my son though and that is a job in itself.
I'm goin to try and do everything I can to make sure he has a good amount in the tax free disability saving account here in Canada for his future and his older brother has already said he will live with him when I'm gone and thank goodness my pension from work pays out for 10 years after I'm gone ,,, not that i plan on going anywhere anytime soon but you know what I mean. And definitely even though your daughter doesn't live in your home doesn't make it any less of a worry or energy to look after her. If anything I would say it is more work...I don't have to leave my home everytime there is a phone call.
I'm so encouraged by positive attitudes towards 'all this' health stuff and I have my good days but right now I seem to feel more discouraged. Probably due to the constant pain and that's with pretty strong painmedication. I like what someone said about it being our new normal, not that I want to accept anything about this is normal but I guess for my emotional health I have to think something.
My other son told me about an app by EWG called skin deep and I encourage you all to check it out, it has a lot of information in it.
Goodnight for now, looking forward to your messages tomorrow.
I wish everyone a peaceful nights sleep. T❤️
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Thank you to everyone who responded to my time of day question. I switched to morning dose today and will see how it goes. I haven't had any pain/stiffness in my joints yet. I've only been on Femara for a short time and I've heard that can take time to develop. I'm hoping I don't get it but sounds pretty common!!
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