FEMARA
Comments
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nursecal ....seven years? I don't blame you for sticking with it though. I hope that I am still here in 7 years! But after just 4.5 months of Femara, my lower body joints have gotten so darn stiff. I called my ONC's office this week and his PA called me back to discuss options. Decided to stick it out on Femara until I see my ONC again next May. Guess I need to start checking out the Arimidex thread to see if anybody has had luck switching to Arimidex to ease the joint pain and stiffness. MY PA mentioned that alot of women do better on Aromasin as it has a small amount of a steroid in it.
I am better if I keep moving but not always possible. It is discouraging since I am used to being a very active, athletic person. Just whining today, sorry.
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nana, 5 years is the usual....my onc is keeping me on due to the number of nodes i had involved...each has their own ideas.
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Another SE of Femara is Meibomianitis which is a fancy name for clogged tear ducts that become infected. I looked this up and a cause was hormonal changes. Warm compresses and lubricating drops for 4 weeks should take care of this but if not antibiotics will be prescribed. My major symptom was waking up with a red eye. I just thought I would pass on this information to other Femara users.
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Wow, thank you for that dkerler, I have been wondering why I keep waking up with what I thought was "pink eye" so often but without the gritty irritation, now I realize perhaps it is not. My tear ducts do look kind of swollen/blocked when this happens. I have been using antibiotic polysporin eye drops to treat it and they seem to work well, but just when it seems to have cleared up back it is again. These boards are a wonderful source of information and sharing!
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I'm glad I could help. It's the least I can do after all the information I've gotten from these boards. It took me three trips to the eye doctor before we figured it out.
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Does anyone know when femara going generic i heard last of march then also last of may?
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I already checked, and was told no, no generic yet, just in India............not sure if that is right, but that is what I was told......you can buy it online from India, but I'm not willing to take that chance......
Ok, now my gripe............clogged tear ducts..........what the hell else can happen from tis friggin drug...........I am suppose to start this shit after i finish Rads, but the more I read the more I think..........the hell with it...........I am so fed up with the whole BC thing..........My surgery went well, my pathology was very good, margins ok too, but they still want to do Rads, even though I was told I can go without because of a small margin 1.2 in one area and that is very tiny. 2mm everywhere else. .............I'm not being ungrateful, and I'm happy with what result I got so far, but this bullshi-, of dealing with the SE of the Al,s is getting to me...............5 years of that crap, what about quality of life...............I've had it.......................
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Hi Duckyb1,
I felt the same way, but Femara has been fine for me. I have been on it 4 months, and sometimes I feel stiff in the morning, but only when I first get out of bed. When I first started Femara, I told my onc. that I did not want to take it and feel like crap. She understood, and said it was my decision. She asked me to give it a try for 6 months and then make my decsion based on my own body not what I read. I agreed, and so far so good. We are all different, and I know lots of people have terrible side effects, but lots don't too.
Good luck with your decision and take care!
-Crystal
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cdean1971.thanks for our input......I'm sure I'm gonna do it, just not happy about it, but maybe I will be one of the lucky ones who have few SE.
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Woke up this morning and my right bottom cheek and upper leg feel weird, kinda cold and numb. I can walk fine but the sensation is definitely not normal, feels like when you have been kneeling down for too long and your legs go dead. Anyone else experience this?
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Answering the question regarding help with payment of Femara. Went through the same situation. I exhausted the Femara coupon. I then called Novartis and was denied by their program because of income exceeding a certain amount. However, they did refer me to another company which I now pay $30.00 as a co-pay. My premium for insurance is $492. and cost of Femara as a co-pay is $261.00 and my pharmacy bills do not go towards deductible. Call Novartis and they will refer you to at least 3 corporations who might be able to help you.
Wishing you much health and luck.
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Have you thought about changing to arimedex. It is generic now. I am going change in july when i finish femara >I can get for $10.00 a month. If femara is not generic by then my onc said it is suppose to go generic at the end of may. Just something to consider.
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Gaynort............Don't know how old you are, but be careful what your feeling is something else and not related to Femara, although I hear the SE can be nasty.............Just make sure it isn't a mini-stroke.......don't want to scare you , but just giving you a heads up.
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AFter a yeaer, no major or bothersome SE's from Femara; love it and plan to stay on it as long as my body cooperates. Note that they seem to be finding that some women may have a genetic trait that predisposes to arthritis when taking AI's so that may be why it hits some so much harder than others....Good luck to everybody.
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Ciastypo
Thanks for that info. I had arthritis before BC.
Grrr. 5 months on Femara and my knuckles have started hurting. My right hand has trigger finger bad in the middle finger and the left middle finger is starting. Both knees still kill when I stand up or I have to bend them. The right is the worse it even hurts if I am sitting up with outstretched legs on the couch.
I don't go back to the Dr. until June. I will keep on taking it and saying ouch a lot.
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Yuk, gonna go on this crap after Rads which start Monday, and I already have bone loss (ostopenia), and some arthritis......................but Tamox is not good either since I have had phlebitis, and a mild heart attack........Thank ;you estrogen 0
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GRRRR.... I started mine a week ago. I think it's the "axe approach", but hey, I NEVER want to go through this again!!!!
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I read today that Femara will be available in US as a generic beginnning in mid-June....by Mylan...
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I've been on F'in Femara for 2years-argggggg, body ACHES are the worst! I am only 55, not 95, bit i feel it!
And weight gain. I start tamoxifen tonight, hoping for less SEs.0 -
Does tamoxifen tend to have the weight gain, too?
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Finished rads yesterday and took my first femara this morning. So far so good.
Hope to go the distance with minimal side effects, but 5 years feels like such a long time. Sigh.0 -
Good luck with it! I'll be joining you in May.
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Teal3Pink1-if you have trouble fairly quickly - especially with fatigue-change to taking it at night--I switched after taking it for 2.5 months in the AM & was having to go home @ lunch & nap, etc. Switched to bedtime & I am soooooooooooo much better-have been taking since Nov '09.
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I start on this crap right after Rads, and I really don't want to take it, but have to be careful what I take since I had a heart attack..............I really don't want to do this, but I'm not sure if not doing it will hurt me, after going through all this shit I went through.........The last thing I need is more aches and pains, with Ostopenia I have my share now.....they did a dexa scan this morning. I guess that is to see if they can make my bones more like swiss cheese with this shi--ing hormone........oh well.
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I developed a rash from, I think, Anastrozole. I'm off it for two weeks to see if the rash goes away. If it does go away, then she wants me to start Femara. I'm hoping I won't get all the SEs I've been reading about. Glad to read that a few people have tolerated it well. I'm kind of afraid to start something new. I took Tamoxifan for a few months, I just had to take a Clariton with it, because it gave me watery eyes and runny nose, like I had a bad cold. ha! I didn't mind because the Clariton really helped. But the doc said I should try something else.
My big concern is anxziety. I already take meds for that and have things balanced. I don't want to rock that boat; It's hard to get steady again. I noticed some anxiety with Anastrozole, so I hope Femara isn't as bad.
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yeah! femara is generic i get 3 months for $10.00
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Nanna: That's great news! Where did you find/get the generic? I thought it wasn't coming out until next month.0
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I picked up a refill last week and generic was available- CVS in Tyler, Texas
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I am thinking it must be available here too because when I handed her my prescription today, she said wait a minute so I can make sure we still have the brand name. I guess they make more money off the name brand with that coupon from Femara because my generic copay is the same and my prescription said it was okay.
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It's been a week and so far so good. Was pretty tired over the weekend, but not sure if it's the Femara, still recovering from rads, or waking up at 4 am for the wedding on Friday!
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