FEMARA
Comments
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Can someone explain why the Femara bottle says no alcohol? Is it because of breast cancer or does it affect the effectiveness of the Femara? Thanks-
Needing a drink
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Ellelou....that's why I decided to take my Femara in the morning so if I wanted a drink in the evening it wouldn't interfere. I think I interpreted the directions as not taking it at the same time. I may be wrong.
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Femara makes you dizzy? Mine does not say that must be your phcy?
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I take my femara in the am. I take 400 mg of magnesium glycinate - split am and pm.
farmerlucy, magnesium does supposedly help with sleep.
I also have the occasional glass of wine or two...
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Dr told me 3 prunes give you all the Vit K you need. The magnesium counteracts the constipation that the calcium can give you.
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Hi. Haven't posted for a bit. A couple weeks ago I was again diagnosed with severe anemia and relatively severe asthma. I've been taking iron religiously since my last anemia diagnosis, December of last year.... Anyway, as I've felt absolutely TERRIBLE, we had a discussion with my MO and she said I could go off letrozole in February, as that would give me a total of 5 years adjuvant therapy (8 mos of tamoxifen and 4 years 4 mos of letrozole). Still feeling awful, I decided to at least give myself a break from letrozole, so a little over a week ago I stopped taking it. I experienced almost immediate relief of joint pain and highly improved mobility. Also, my brain works a little better (hubby says it works a lot better
as I can remember things again. Yesterday I got my first of 5 scheduled iron infusions, and that helped markedly with energy. I'm still suffering from asthma, but I don't believe that has anything to do with either letrozole or anemia, and am pursuing (with the help of my PCP) a couple other options to increase my breathing capacity.
The real reason I stopped the letrozole was that they cannot find any reason for my anemia, and I read that anemia can be caused by reduced liver function. To be honest, I'm really reaching. I feel somewhat better, but don't know where to go. My oncologist won't consider the possibility of letrozole causing anything other than joint pain, but I have experienced so many problems since starting it, that I have a difficult time agreeing with her. Right now I'm trying to decide whether or not to recommence taking letrozole. I certainly want to do whatever I can to help prevent cancer, but I have to also consider my quality of life - which became nonexistent.
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Many here have donated . Thank you !........Wandering around and cheerleading again
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How to know if Femara stops working
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I suppose I could be wrong, but I don't think there is a way to know if it stops working. I assume that as long as I have no recurrence that it's doing its job.
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Thank you for your reply Jen, but I don't want to find out after there is another tumor or bone or liver mets.... Because then we would have to go through the whole deal again
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Our dx stats are the same, though I had an ANLD. Standard of care for ER/PR+ her2- does not include scans. I think because if it's going to spread, it's going to spread and there is no way to catch it before it does - we already did that. Now, whether we scan or have symptoms, it's all the same - stage IV is stage IV no matter how early it's caught (at least that's my understanding). Since you had a lumpectomy, you will continue to have mammograms - that's one way you will know if the Femara is working.
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Hi, Jenwith4kids. I guess you're right, didn't know of the standard of care. I haven't had surgery yet, in a few days. I sure hope my diagnosis isn't worse after that. It will include Axillary Node removal Right. There is no blood test? What about CTC? Circulating Tumor Cell? I see you gave had a lot of treatment. Reconstruction two times? I've been reading ahead at Stage IV, it's not pretty. My MO did not inform me of the seriousness of my dx. Only realizing it now
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Hi again Marijen, I didn't realize you haven't had surgery yet. Once you have the pathology report from your surgery you will have a better idea of the stage. I see your signature says stage II, is that based only on the size of the mass and your biopsy? Your pathological stage will be much more accurate and may not even be stage III. Please don't read ahead to stage IV, you will make yourself crazy!!!!
Your surgery - lumpectomy, right? Won't likely include an ANLD, but a sentinel node biopsy. If there is cancer in the sentinel node then there will be further lymph node removal.
I had two reconstructions because I had tissue expanders put in at mastectomy time and then had them replaced after radiation with silicone implants.
I don't want to overstep, but I can't help but feel that you don't have enough information about your diagnosis yet..... I'm happy to talk more.
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Hi Jenwith4kids, you are right I will have more information when I get the pathology reports from the surgery. Just hope it's not too alarming. They told me today that return visit for my surgeon is less than 20% if margins aren't clear. I am stage IIIA, and yes I will have ANLD because I had a very big malignant axillary node. It was 4cm, now with Femara down to 2cm. Also my IDC "area" is only 4mm, that's the good news. I keep the page open and check to look for new posts. Until I have a great understanding I'll continue to do that. So how are you feeling in the present?You have had a lot more treatment than me. That does not look good...?
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Ah, I see, you already have a biopsied lymph node. I did too prior to surgery. One word of advice, go see a lymphdema specialist before surgery if you can. It's good to have a baseline measurement in the event if lymphdema.
Where are you located?
I feel pretty good. I had every possible treatment due to the size of my tumor and my lymph nodes. I chose mastectomy because I had some DCIS in the other breast. I just wanted to do this ONCE
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Hey Jen, I've spent the last 12 days trying to learn what's going on. Good thing I found this place, it sped up the process for me. Now I feel like I've settled my issues for the moment, of course after the surgery there will be more. Trying to rest up and get ready for a demanding week. You must have a great husband helping you with the four kids and family? A job? Let me know how things are going for you. I'm on the west coast, far far away.
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A very long study on hormonal therapy
http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/4/6/e005285.full0 -
Has anyone asked about taking curcumin with Femera (Letrozole)? Have your oncologists allowed it?
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Hi KBeee, I haven't asked but I believe curcumin or turmeric thins the blood and Femara might thin the blood and I have low platelets so.... unfortunately I'm afraid to use it. My docs don't want too much supplementation either. Just added information you might want to look it up. Drugs.com has most of the side effects of both. You can even go to the Professional tab for more information on side effects and they also have information on supplements. I'd like to know what you find out..
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- I am on Fareston and getting weird white discharge. Has anyone else experience this? I don't have yeast infection. The discharge is itchy. Anyone else experiencing this. Been on Fareston. For 2 years. Any help on how to deal with itchiness?
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I have been on letrozole since May, 2015. I experience the normal joint pain, feet pain, feeling much older than I am, and hot flashes. The joint pain although it hurts, is manageable, I guess. It could be so much worse.
I take my letrozole after dinner so my stomach is full. Lately, I have been feeling slightly nauseous in the evenings after taking the pill. Has anyone else experienced this?
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This may not be the same thing but. For me the warning sign that a hot flash is come is nausea and fast heart beat, then the hot flash blossoms like a flower, then glistening streams of moisture ooze out of my pores. Man, this is fun!
PS TheHF are worse in the evening for me tho my onc said as cold weather arrives they should reduce.
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Yes, now that I am an experienced flasher, I can tell when one is about to hit. I call it the hot flash aura. I agree that they are worse in the evening and in hot weather. For me, any emotion can trigger one. Hubby always triggers one, too, if you know what I mean.
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I am in my mid 60's so hot flashes haven't been a big problem for me, or joint pain (which was normal at this point anyway) and walking helps. I already had osteoporosis.
I wonder if anyone has read anything about Femara/ letrozole causing atrial fibrillation? I just had my first episode with heart rate above 180 and blood pressure below 70, and landed on a bench by the side of the road with a fire truck crew treating me, then ambulance to ER.
I may have been dehydrated and had just flown across the country to help a child of mine who is sick, so both physical factors and stress were at play. But this is a first time for me.
My echo done prior to proposed chemo and Herceptin back in March was fine (I had neither in the end, but it was good to know my heart was doing well).
I used to have some PVC's and tachycardia due to hormonal reasons, before periods and during menopause, but have gone almost 15 years without any heart issues whatsoever so am concerned about this new problem.
I did see a study that showed a very small percentage of aromatase inhibitor takers have some cardiovascular effects- I don't remember but it was maybe 3% or something like that (sorry, I will look it up again later) so don't want to alarm anyone. Just looking for personal experiences mainly.
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I would think that hot flashes are good for the skin, like a sauna or steam room. And maybe kill germs and viruses like a fever.
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no hot flashes for me. Just lots of aches and pains. Now that I was diagnosed with osteoporosis in the spine area I am taking actonel which has a whole new set of aches and pains. I worry as to how do you know what pains arefrom the medications.
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Go to drugs.com and look up each of your medications. I print them and compare the side effects. You can also check for meds that don't work together, I can't think of the name, it's one of the tabs. Also check the professional tab (for the doctors) there might be more info there. It's good you want to know.
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kbee, I'm no longer taking either let rouble or curcumin, however I took them together for a few years. My oncologist knew and had no issue with it.
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I have gained weight on this stuff. Have been wearing T shirts in the warm weather and put on a pullover sweater today. OMG. My waist is so tubby I look like Im wearing an inner tube. Wonder if the cardiovascular SEs are from middle trunk weight gain! Never looked like an apple before. Time for weight watchers
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My weight has stayed the same and I stick to a low calorie diet. In the side effects you can have either weight loss (loss of apetite) or weight gain. I sort of assumed the weight gain is like that which you get after menopause. I am way past. I find that I'm a little less interested in food which has the downside of not wanting to plan for meals and eating a little worse. Got tired of broccoli real fast which is one of the best foods for breast cancer or so they say.
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