FEMARA
Comments
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Hi PEG73, I've had the hair loss as well but it started when I was on Arimidex. I started taking Biotin each day and the hair loss has gone back to normal and my hair is already starting to grow again. Also, I take the Femara at night and I sleep much better.
Peace, strength, love n hugs. chrissyb
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chrissyb, how many mgs of biotin do you take per day? And how soon did you notice it helping?
I'm about to start week #4 of the little yellow buggers. Hair fallout is one S/E I'm really watching out for because my hair is already trigger-happy these days. I've already had two rounds of major fallout from PTSD flares over the past three years since dx. I took biotin during the second flare this past summer, and it did seem to help. I don't recall how much I took, though.
Golly, if it ain't one thing it's another, huh?
lulubee
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lulubee - interesting you mention hairloss due to PTSD flare ups. I didn't notice any hair thinning until I had been on Femara for about 4 months and it calmed down about a year after starting it - thank goodness or I would be totally bald by now! I put it down to the Femara but your comment has got me thinking it may have been partly due to PTSD. I had it really bad from about 3 - 12 months post op and that is much the same time the hair loss was at its worst. I think I will try the Biotin too - I pop so many pills - drugs and support vitamins and minerals - that one more in the pile won't be a problem - lol!
chrissyB - yay for you feeling better on the Femara. Hope it carries on!
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raeinnz-- It IS hard to know what's causing what, isn't it? Your hair loss might well have simply been from surgery or hey, just simply from going through this pink corner of hell. I do know that general anaesthesia and oxygen can do it. I lost wads of hair after my BMX, for which I was under general anaesthesia for almost 10 hours. I lost more after all three subsequent reconstruction surgeries. I just cut it shorter so it wouldn't freak me out so much, took my vitamins, and eventually it thickened up again.
And like I said, both times my post-BC PTSD has flared (which was before Femara), my hair has come out like crazy. Like when I swept my bathroom, the dustpan practically had a cat in it. I would just choke up over it every time; I had no idea if or when it would stop. And I would check the shower floor every time I shampood, and just be horrified. I lost probably 40% of my hair during the first flare, over about 4 months' time. It was just beginning to feel thicker again a year later when my teenage daughter almost died of mycoplasma pneumonia in ICU this past summer while she was away on vacation, and I was in isolation with her for a week almost a thousand miles from home, not knowing if she was going to make it. I could literally feel my adrenal gland revving up a big PTSD cyclone there in ICU, and sure enough, two weeks later my hair was hitting the floor again. That time, I got myself to the acupuncturist right away, starting taking Adrenal Health (an herbal formula by Gaia) and biotin... and it stopped much sooner that time.
My daughter recuperated beautifully, by the way. However, about two months after being on high oxygen for a week, her long, beautiful hair started coming out in wads, too. I was *very* sympathetic. It kept falling out for about a month, but just lately stopped. She took biotin and used my biotin shampoo.
So who knows. You might have had hair loss even if you'd never popped the first Femara. You know, we've all been through hell here, and anymore I kinda suspect that anything can cause anything.
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Hi im new here im from Manchester England, can i first say if it had'nt been for you ladies on breastcancer.org i really don;t know where i would be to day so thank you . i am on Femera and Zoladex for the last 12 months my hair as thind and ive lost some eyelashes i have joint pain and i walk in a morning like a 90 year old and im 52 i have had weight gain but im here ,when i was dignosed 12 months ago i never thought i would see christmas this year, you are all amazing and i thank you i wish you all the best for 2011 x x x x
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Hi juntom - yay, you are 'here' and you are here on the boards. I know what you mean by feeling like a 90 y/o at 52. I am just turned 54 (52 at dx) and feel the same way most mornings too but we get up and we get going and I guess that is the key - not giving in! I think most of us here feel exactly the same about the other ladies on these boards. I didn't join until I was a year out but I read the boards and it was so comforting to know that what I was feeling was 'normal' and that whatever I tx I had to have someone had been there before me and that it was all 'doable'. Even now when I am past the worst and on Femara I just love to come here and chew the fat with all these lovely ladies. All the best for 2011 to you too.
lulubee - oh my goodness, that must have been terrifying having your DD critically ill. There were some nasty pneumonias going round in NZ last year mainly associated with the flu and a number of people didn't make it. Lucky she was young and strong and had you to hold her hand all the way through. I am definitely going to get some Biotin (if someone would post the dose I should get) and give it a go.
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Hi Juntom and welcome to the family of BCO. We're not a bad bunch and some of us have been around for quite a while and plan to be around for a whole lot longer yet.
Lulubee, I take 300mcg of Biotin. per day and it was probably was about a month later that it finally penetrated my foggy brain that I didn't seem to be loosing so much hair. After that, I started to monitor each day what ended up on my floor and it wasn't long before I realized that I wasn't loosing more that you would normally.
Thanks Rae for the well wishes. I too hope that they continue unabated.
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HI Raeinnz and Chrissyb Thank you for your welcome,talking about a foggy brain thats me my lovely hubby keeps blameing my age ,could this be due to the femara x x
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juntom, the foggy brain comes more from the lack of estrogen and seeing as the Femara depletes the estrogen then yup, you could say it was the Femara....lol.
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Thanks chrissyb , thats another thing i will be blameing my medication on...lol x
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I've been using the biotin hair conditioner and taking biotin supplements. So far I haven't seen much improvement but I'm going to keep up with them. I really want my full eyelashes back. They used to be one of my best features.
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Rae -- I purchase Biotin in 5,000mcg capsules and take one in the a.m. and one in the p.m. Started to take it when my hair wa so slow to come in after chemo, and continued after starting Femara. My hair is still thin on top but full coverage on sides and back. And my nails are STRONG!!0
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Hi Ladies:
I'm the one...I LOVE acupuncture, it has helped so much with the Hot Flashes etc. I started out with the "A" pill, well after two weeks tossed those in the river. Starting the "F" pill next week.
They pulled me off all HRT in May when I 1st got BC, I thought I would die with all the HF, but since having Acupuncture, I have very few..
Hope it helps
Julie
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juntom - foggy brain here too - multi tasking is a dangerous word in my life at the moment. I have learnt to do one thing at a time especially in the kitchen! I don't have music on in the car when I drive now as it distracts me. I am not quite sure how I manage to keep on top of my job but I think after 32 years automatic mode just kicks in.
Ladies - re Biotin - I am confused here. There seems a huge difference between chrissybs 300mcg per day and lindasas 10,000mcg per day - can you take as much as you want? and does a bigger dose do a better job?
Texas - yikes, 13 surgeries in 2 years
I had 2 surgeries in 13 months and that seemed a biggie at the time . I hope you have finished with surgery now and that you are happy with the results and I hope your eyelashes grow back think and strong SOON.Hi julie - am glad to hear you found something that eases the SEs and fingers crossed that you will tolerate the Femara better.
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I'm on Femara 4.5 month since July 2010. SE started a month later with a light bones ache and tinnitus like a thermopompe which I even didn't supposed to be in my head. It was tolerable with yoga 15 min every morning and glucosamin 2 tabs until the strong headache appeared in October which lasted two weeks + tinnitus. I had an impression of blown head which is going to explode at any effort. Today, I had an appointment with neurologists during 2 hours. They are puzzled - if it can be a side effect like this? They recommended me to do the brain scan and , if nothing shown, then MRI. If anyone had this - headache and tinnitus?
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mariana23...i never had any trigger fingers or finger joint pains prior to femara...i am going on 6 years as onc is keeping me on due to the number of nodes involved in my dx.....after the 5 year mark i noted different se's....i must say however i never thought of not taking it.....i have had sx for the trigger fingers, in fact all but two have been released.....my feet feel like egg shells int he mornings when i get up and after sitting for a while....i just walk through it and it gets better after a short period of time....if have never felt the se's were so debilitating that i even considered discontinuing the femara...i truly feel it is what has allowed me to be here today, that and a lot of positive thinking and support. it's all worth it to me and i hope to you....everything is possible when you put your heart, mind and soul into it..............Best of Luck!!!
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fromMontreal - it's probably not much help but your headache sounds very like what my migraines used to feel like - when they got really bad I used to hold the top of my head down because it felt like it was going to explode. When I had migraine swarms the headache would come and go, varying in intensity over a week or more, and would eventually work up to a full blown attack. Since being on Femara I have not had any migraines though (yay, a good SE). Haven't had any tinnitus ever either.
Caren - I agree with you, the possible SE of not taking Femara (BC recurrance) far outweighs the SEs of the drug - I will keep taking it and dealing with the SEs for as long as my doc thinks it is helpful to me.
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Hey Guys, I'm new here too, a little late and I could have used this a lot the last 5 years. I started taking Femara right after the last chemo treatment 11/2005. To me, it just seemed like the chemo never ended. Why still tired, achy all the time. Was lucky not stomach problems. Just stopped Femara 3 weeks ago, onc. said 2 1/2 months til I felt better. But now have really bad headaches every day, strange dizziness and nausea off and on. Is this to be expected maybe? Sex life is almost gone, that is the saddest thing after the recovery. When hubby and I do try, it really hurts and I bleed a little.
Does anyone know of any female drugs that would help that do not affect hormone levels? I need some female viagra or something. How come they never address us when it comes to sex?
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Hi Sue,
I've been on Femara a year so can't help much with the side effects of going off the Femara. I can tell you what my Onc nurse gave me for the dryness, she had me use replens and that worked very well for my pain during sex. I used it before sex and, for me it wasn't messy. I was fortunate that I only needed the replens about 3 or 4 times and I've been good to go since then (used it in the spring and haven't needed it since) but sometimes women need it every time. It hasn't helped the libido but at least it is tons more comfortable for both my hubby and I. Hope this was somewhat helpful.
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My six week break from tamoxifen is up and I am now joining the Femara club. Hard to believe that it has been six weeks since my surgery. Oh joy. I am not looking forward to not sleeping and stomach issues again. Oh and muscle aches. Dr. said I would most likely have the same ones I was having before. Way to many pages to read but I can say I am just as scared of the side affects as I was the other one. I agree though that it is what will hopefully keep my alive to see my girl grow up.
Just had my yearly scan and I am now 9 months NED.
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Any advice would be awesome!
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Yay for you Kitty, 6mths NED, awesome! I've been on Femara for a month now and I was advised to take the liitle yellow pill at night to help with the fatigue so I did and that works very well for me. The advice going around for muscle and bone pain is less gluten in your diet, fish oil and glucosamine and get your Vit D checked and suppliment if neccessary. Hope this helps.
Peace, strength, love n hugs. Chrissyb
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Hi chrissb and kittydog i have been on famera for 11 months the first 6 months was the worst, has time goes on it gets better i still find it hard to walk in a morning but its getting better,i have just started zumba which is a form of excersise which is really uplifting and as made me feel a lot better x x x
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Help to sleep: I wouldn't recommend nozinan - very long lasting, don't fall asleep easily, when finally fall asleep 3-4 hours after taking, gives 7-8 hours deep sleep, don't feel hot flashes though, but difficult to wake up in the morning. Suddenly discovered, common known diphenhydramine of any brand name (dormex or benadryl or any other), just 25mg before going to bed gives a good sleep and no muscle and bone pain in the morning! The headache also is almost gone. Also, better to take Femara before going to bed, the head is clear during daytime, no memory difficulties.
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Hi! Sitting here with aches and pains from Zometa... Had my first treatment yesterday..I was su ppose to have before Thanksgiving but had a bad cold.... Not happy how I feel... Just when you start to feel great they always bring you down... On couch most of the day. Will touch base tomorrow.
Donna
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Hi Donna, did you drink heaps of water the day before, the day of and the day after? I have read from other girls doing Zometa that this really helps with the ouch of the treatment.
chrissy
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Hi All,
I'm in the accupuncture clinical trial and had my first treatment on Friday. I think I must be in the placebo group because there wasn't any difference whatsoever for me. I have another 9 treatments and I'm hoping that something positive re the aches and pains of Femara. My knees are like an 80 year old woman (I/m 58 and used to feel about 10 years younger thn that). I've got the knees, feet, hands, neck and occasional hip aches from the drug....maybe the accupuncture takes a couple treatments to make a difference? I'm hoping! I won't be unblinded at the end and have a gut feeling after Friday's experience that I didn't get into the real accupuncture but into the placebo group (they still put needles in but not in the right places).
I never had accupuncture before.
I'll keep posting to let you know how I'm doing re the accupuncture and SEs of Femara.
Ciao,
Pat
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I've been reading about how in some women Tamoxifin isn't metabolised as it should be. Does anyone know about the AL's? They are newer, but is it possible some of us don't metabolize them either?
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Hi ladies, I have not posted in awhile. I too was on A for 7 months, off for 2 and started F 1/2 pill every other day in August, then every day as of Oct. 11. Much better than A. Clear mind most of all. In previous posts I spoke about my wrist problems which were severe due to A. I have been in PT for about 2 weeks now, and wrists hurt but not like they did. I am a little sluggish in the a.m when I get up, where before BC I would jump out of bed. Other than that, not bad. Down to 1 flash a day if at all.
Just wanted to get back on this site.
Hugs,
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I started taking Celebrex (1 pill a day) and the joint pain almost went away completely. If I was at 100% joing pain before Celebrex (could hardly walk without limping) I'm not at about 15%. It's amazing the difference 1 little pill makes!
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