FEMARA
Comments
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ya know I was on a gaggle of supplements to include coq10 but couldn’t afford to reup until recently. My diet which was void of carbs has fallen awry. My belief is that inflammatory foods make SEs worse. Perhaps that’s why I’m feeling all this now. I actually missed my onc appt bec I was so so achy n had a cold bug. We did talk on the phone and we’ll disvuss a break this coming week
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Maryjc, I agree inflammation is the root of so much illness. Diet, exercise,etc....
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Hi everyone, a fellow triple positive thread friend suggested I come to this forum. I'm so sorry to ask what I'm sure has been asked often many pages prior, but here I go...
I've been on Letrazole for about 8 months. I had the expected stiffness in knees and hips and, for a short period of time, in my fingers. About 6 weeks ago I started in with some aching in my upper thoracic spine. Nothing severe, just noticeable. I feel like it's in the T1 or t2 area. I complained about it and had a bone scan and also X-ray. Nothing showed up. I still feel it, and a couple weeks ago, my lower lumbar started getting achy.
Is it odd to have side effects start 7 months after being on this drug? Can upper back get sore? Can Zometa have ongoing side effects too? It - the pain - usually feels quite focal but sometimes it radiates out in my upper trapezoids.
Any insights are much appreciated!
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I do think the side effects can go through periods of getting worse and then better. It is frustrating. I workout a lot and if I do too much, I feel like I am 80 years old
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Hello everyone , I had my port taken out last week. It was such a relief to have it out and feel that I have passed yet another hurdle on this cancer journey that we are all on. I find that for most of the day I can forget all about cancer and chemo and radiation and then the time comes in the evening to take my letrezole and I am once again reminded . . .
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I'm in the same boat, just when you think it's manageable, something else aches. I am having constant hot flashes again. My spine pain moves around. Not really joint, and not muscle pain. Drives me crazy b/c I'm a physical therapist and I cannot figure out how to treat it.
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2fun- indeed! I was taking turmeric capsules but they’re expensive. Will reup on those next paycheck. Since my dr said we would talk about a break, I started it already. Has been about 5 or 6 days. I started feeling better day 2! No more sugar cravings, not constantly wanted to graze on food.
Posey Girl, yes 100%! I didn’t start feeling stiffness until this summer. But it’s now become almost debilitating. It’s an extreme quality of life issue. She mentioned others we can try but honestly it wasn’t until my diet went awry is when these SEs kicked in. Gonna use this break to get back to my best practice.
KBee, same here! I was running 4 miles a day. Now I ache when I push myself so I don’t. On a mini lwtrzole break and I feel so much better. There’s got to be a better way.
Congrats Indigo29!
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MaryJC - thank you!
Re turmeric, I drink organic turmeric tea to which I add black pepper as it’s meant to enhance the absorption and benefits of the turmeric. I’m hoping that the anti inflammatory properties are helping because the tea tastes gross!!😄
I’ve only been on the Letrozole for 5 weeks but i understand from reading the posts on this forum that a lot of women start feeling joint pain and other side effects a couple of months after starting letrezole so I’m not looking forward to that. So far only the hot flashes have been a cause for discomfort.
2017 was a crappy year so Wishing everyone a healthier and happier 2018
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Indigo29--don't suffer through the tea! Take a pill! I take 1 Gaia Turmeric Extra Strength and it works great. (and has no taste!)
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Lala1, I agree; I think it’s time to move away from the tea!!😄
Where do you get yours from?
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instead of the tea, has anyone tried Golden Milk? A dr friend of mine recommended it yesterday for these crazy hot flashes and said it helps you sleep. This wonderful winter storm hit before I could make another trek to the store for the ingredients I didn’t have in hand so I can’t comment on it’s effectiveness or tastiness but it sounds yummy with the coconut or almond milk, cinnamon, honey & ginger...
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/golden-milk-turmeric-tea
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indigo29-- I buy mine from Amazon but I know you can get it from the Vitamin Shoppe as well. My holistic doctor suggested the Gaia brand because he said it's locally sourced and already has the black pepper in it. It worked so well for me that my dad decided to try it because his knees hurt so bad he had to give up golfing and hunting. Three months later he called to tell me he'd just golfed 5 days in a row!! This was last year and over time one knee got bad enough that he had a knee replacement at Thanksgiving. He said they made him go off the turmeric for 2 weeks before surgery and that it was truly tough...all his pain came back within days. Dad is actually a retired doctor who thinks all this supplement stuff, yoga, meditation, etc is mumbo jumbo but when I saw him at Christmas he said he's definitely a true believer in the Gaia Turmeric!
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I can't say enough good things about yoga and pilates reformer for the joint pain (but back pain isn't one of my issues-- yet anyway.) I also have to use two mats now for yoga because the floor on my bones hurts so much more these days. Especially if done 2-3 times per week both really help me. I have tried acupuncture- it helped during chemo with other things, but jury is still out on this joint pain, only been doing it a month or so. Also, epsom salt or magnesium baths at night seem to help if I've overdone it during the day. I also take Tumeric and Glucosamine/Chondroitin.
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Lula - thanks for posting that recipe! It was yummy
. I add a couple whole cloves as well - tasted great0 -
lala1 thank you , I'm going to go ahead and order them from Amazon. It's so good to hear that it is helping your dad with his knee pain. My DH also gets a lot of knee pain so I'm going to get him to try the turmeric supplement.
Lula73, I read that Christie Brinkley drinks golden milk every morning and attributes it to keeping her looking so young!
HapB, I started drinking turmeric tea in 2015, (2 years before being diagnosed with breast cancer), so I thought that I would be used to it's taste by now but It hasn't happened!😄
Meg2016, I haven't done yoga in over 3 years, maybe it's time to get back into it. Acupuncture really helped with my chemo related neuropathy and fatigue
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HapB that’s a good idea. I’m going to make butternut squash and red pepper soup tomorrow so I’ll add it in that.
I love avocado on toast but my fave is sautéed mushrooms on toast; it’s sooo good!!
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Lala why did your Dad have to stop tumeric before surgery
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Marijen, tumeric can increase bleeding, that is likely why it was stopped pre-op
There are other potenial safety concerns. Most concerning is potential for estrogen-like action, but other info suggest opposite, benefit in BC. No one knows for sure without proper controlled research.
https://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/Turmeric.html
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I remember reading about the potential for estrogen-like activity in turmeric and this was posted on another thread:
Does turmeric (curcumin) have an estrogenic effect?
Bottom line: "There seems to be no evidence to support the idea that patients should be concerned about estrogenic effects from curcumin.
I trust this over WebMD and Komenbecause they do include references to the scientific literature to back up their statements.
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Great website grandma
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Yep, turmeric is much like a baby aspirin which is a blood thinner. Ginger acts the same way too. Before any surgery, tell your doctor about supplements. I was surprised at how many I needed to stop for surgery....i.e. fish oil also. When my DH tore his ACL and meniscus he had to have surgery. About a week after, I put him on turmeric. They told him 4-5 months before he could resume some activity and he was almost back to normal at 3 months! His doctor believed the turmeric helped with the healing and now he puts his patients on it.
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Regarding estrogen-like activity how about flax seed; I seem to read so many conflicting data about it.
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Hi Indigo and others...I just posted this on my other thread I hang out on (Triple Positive) but thought I should post it here too since you're all talking about diet related things. I signed up for a free video or workshop series offered by www.lisaschwartzmd.com. I saw this pop up on my FB feed (she is obviously promoting there) and I am not sure when the next video/workshop is. But it will be soon I'm sure. It's about nutrition/diet for women after breast cancer treatment and will deal with the often conflicting info we receive about some things when it comes to our diets. You might want to check that out.
Thanks for the replies about pain. I'm not sure if my thoracic aching is femara related or other. I truly hope it's something that can be explained. I went in for an MRI last night so am a bit nervous about that (I've had the bone scan and xray).
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Hi Poseygirl, Thank you for the info re Lisa Schwartz; I’ll look her up
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I hear you! I'm 69 but feel 89 some days and that's so not fair. I was in good shape with no pain anywhere in my body until the Letrozole (that's what we call it in Canada.) This aging thing is bad enough without having it be accelerated and I'm not so sure it's helping. I'm on it because of a reoccurence in 2015 and not interested in chemo or radiation but the tumors on the scar continue to grow. Now lymphedema out of nowhere and I have my suspicions about that. Has anyone heard of or seen a connection between lymphedema and Femara or Letrozole?
I'm thrilled to have found you all. I have a million questions but will try to keep them in the proper thread. Bless us all! xo
Angela
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I hear you! I'm 69 but feel 89 some days and that's so not fair. I was in good shape with no pain anywhere in my body until the Letrozole (that's what we call it in Canada.) This aging thing is bad enough without having it be accelerated and I'm not so sure it's helping. I'm on it because of a reoccurence in 2015 and not interested in chemo or radiation but the tumors on the scar continue to grow. Now lymphedema out of nowhere and I have my suspicions about that. Has anyone heard of or seen a connection between lymphedema and Femara or Letrozole?
I'm thrilled to have found you all. I have a million questions but will try to keep them in the proper thread. Bless us all! xo
Angela
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Golden milk for hot flashes follow up:
I made 2 versions of the epicurious.com recipe for golden milk last night: one made with vanilla almond milk and one made with coconut milk. Both tasted good. I drank a mug (6oz) of the almond milk one before bed and it warmed up my throat and upper chest -just a nice pleasant warmth like you Get from hot cocoa on a cold day but prolonged. I was waiting on the rest of the golden milk to cool down so I could put it in the fridge and fell asleep in the recliner. It was a good sleep too even though it only lasted a couple hours. Just 1 hot flash in the chair. I put the golden milk in the fridge and climbed in bed. Slept better than usual (but not as good as the sleep in the chair) and only 4 hot flashes. Not perfect but better. Hoping prolonged use will help reduce the flashes further.
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been on letrizole for almost a year now, noticing some effects, i have a growing cyst on my right ovary, i can feel when it's active. Since it has grown they want to measure it again in february, shouldn't the A1 keep the estrogen levels lower or non existent or am i misguided? I have been a bit achey also, could be weather, and had a bout of bursitis in hip, not extremely achey in knees but just wondering if its a concern for the MO? Any thoughts? I dont see her till april?
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I take co Q enzyme 10 and glucosamine chondroitin. .helps with the aches
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Jerseygirl - AIs inhibit the enzyme Aromatase from producing estrogen, but have no effect on estrogen production by ovaries. You should be post-menopausal or on ovary suppression to take AIs. I'm not sure if AIs have any effect on ovarian cysts.0
