FEMARA

nanna

Does anyone take there femara every other day. I have been thinking about trying this see if help manage my pain.

chrissyb

Nanna I don't but I have read where some women suffering really bad effects are cutting their pill in half and taking half a day rather than every second day. Not sure if it was Femara or one of the others but I know they were doing okay doing this.



Hope this helps a little.



Love n hugs. Chrissy

jacee

Nanna, I take half a pill a day. My Onc said he preferred that to a whole pill every other day. Said it would be better to get some in my system every day. It helped my pain greatly when I went to half a pill.

gramwe

Much to my MOs displeasure I'm taking 1/2 a Femara per day. He asked me to try a whole one again, I refused, he asked me to switch to another AI I refused. I asked him to research the risks/benefits of a half vs a whole and get back to me. I figure some is better than none, and I wanted quality of life. The hot flashes, muscle and joint aches, dramatic mood swings, and hair loss that I was suffering through are much improved with the half pill. Don't know if I'm doing the right thing for the long term, but for today I'm good with my decision.

SusanHG123

I am so interested in reading all of your experiences with Femara. I am having so many horrid side effects from Femara, Herceptin, cancer crap. who knows. My MO took me off Femara about a month ago. Told me to wait 10 days and start Aromasin. I still feel awful. Bone, joint pain through the roof. Have had a headache for 15 months. Almost every day. Am really sick of the whole thing. Herceptin off and on because of falling ejection fraction. As a nurse i certainly understand the need for the drugs. but somewhere we need to discuss quality of life. Mine-not so hot right now. I am working full time, love my job. Hate the pain and the drugs I take to try to manage the pain. Which does not want to be managed. 

There. A bedtime rant. Even my armpits hurt tonight. 

chrissyb

((((((((((Susan)))))))))). Big gentle ones ..........trying to deal with everything that BC brings with it sure is one of life's big challenges.



Love n hugs. Chrissy

Eph3_12

Had my 6 month onc visit today.  Everything is great.  We talked again (or I should say, she talked again) about taking Femara longer than 5 yrs.  Currently I am not inclined to take it beyond 11-16-14! She said that with the estrogen fed cancers research is showing better/best results taking it longer, since estrogen fed cancers can recur so many years done the road.  Well, I just want to be done.  It's not that my S/E are bad, they aren't, but I am tired of looking at this tire around my middle & wondering if I can get it to go away EVER, because since 11-16-09 it seems to just get bigger no matter what I do.  I was in surgical menopause way before my cancer diagnosis so I have been carrying around spare padding for a long time, but it's much worse since Femara came on board.  

But - - - the nice thing is, I am relatively healthy, happy & feel like BC is in my rear view mirror, getting smaller all the time.  

chrissyb

Yay Eph! That's for a good visit.....lol. Yeah, I hear you on the spare around the middle sure do wish I could get rid of mine too but for me the Femara is really keeping the beast at bay and when it doesn't I have not many choices but to try something else........sigh......at least I'm alive and kicking.........now that really is a good thing!



Love n hugs. Chrissy

Eph3_12

Yes indeed chrissyb.  I'm soooooooo glad Femara is working for you with less problems than your previous Rx.

micheleboots

I might have asked this before, so forgive me if I am repeating..But does anyone here get dizzy spells from Letrazole/Femera?  I have been feeling dizzy but the onc doesn't think it is from Letrazole.  She is booking a head CT, and I,m freaking out a little.  She also found another spot on my latest pelvic ct.  I have to call her tomorrow as she only left a message today on my VM.  I had a fall a couple of months ago so she wants to talk further about this.  Man will this ever end? 

GrandmaV

micheleboots, I have some dizziness, but am not sure it's from letrozole or some of my other meds.  drugs.com does list dizziness, as a rare or less common side effect of letrozole.  

http://www.drugs.com/sfx/letrozole-side-effects.html 

chrissyb

Micheleboots, yes, there are quite a few ladies including me that have had dizziness with Femara. Mine lasted about a month and then disappeared but does return every now and then for a few days and then goes again. My doc sent me for a head CT the first time it happened and all that proved was that I actually had a brain........lol.



Please don't hit the panic button just yet as I'm sure it's just a SE.



Love n hugs. Chrissy

micheleboots

Thanks Chrissy

sbab49

Chrissy you are the best. Your posts are always so upbeat and informative. When I read a post that reflects my feelings or concerns you always respond with something that seems to take the edge off. I have actually picked a date to start Femera/Letrozole after putting it off for 2 months. I have alot of pain and stiffness from osteoarthritis so maybe I won't even notice the difference should that be the main side effect.

chrissyb

Sbab, I too have osteo arthritis and haven't really noticed a difference in my pain level. The only place I'm having extra pain is where my bone mets are but hey! Even those are well under control with my meds. Each time you put one of those little pills in your mouth just think of all the cancer cells it is preventing from going crazy!



Love n hugs. Chrissy

luvmygoats

Michele - I have some dizziness had off/on for several years not particularly worse on Femara. But my bottle comes labelled from pharmacy that may cause dizziness. Would think pharm. thinks pretty important if she has to label it that way.

gardengumby

my bottle is always labeled "may cause dizziness" as well.

Is anyone experiencing high blood pressure on femara?  My entire life I had relatively low bp - usually around 118/65.  My last two were 150/90 and 164/93.  I'm really not wanting to start taking more meds, but would just as soon not drop dead either. 

I did read that about 5% of those on femara/letrozole get high blood pressure. 

I'm not sure what to do. 

chrissyb

Garden I had high BP prior to starting Femara but within six months of being on it my doc had to double my meds.  It's getting to the point where I think I'll be up for review again shortly as the last half dozen times I've been tested it's been way high again....175/110.....too high as far as I'm concerned.  Hope you can get yours down without needing meds.

Lovee n hugs.   Chrissy

gardengumby

I've been reading up on natural things that are supposed to help.  I think I'll start drinking hibiscus tea and try taking some hawthorn.  I probably should also cut out black tea - but I'm going to hold off on that as a last recourse, 'cuz I love the stuff!!! 

Momine

Hibiscus is not a good idea for ER+ cancer:

"According to a 1997 “Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin,” the extract of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis flowers causes irregular estrous cycles in mice because of increased production of estrogen and hormonal imbalance."

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/544564-hibiscus-tea-and-estrogen/#ixzz2dUKzeeMs

gardengumby

oh shit!!!  I never thought to look into the possible cancer repurcussions - I was just concerned about the bp!!  Thannk-you, Momine!!!

Momine

Gumby, no problem. I only knew because I love hibiscus tea and decided to check it out.

Unfortunately, anything that will help with menopausal symptoms (of which BP can be one) is a no-no for us.

Walking is probably your best bet.

sgreenarch

Hi, BP hasn't gone up but cholesterol shot way up. Was normal and within a few months on Femara, it is 256:(!!!! I walk an hour a day or swim a K. I eat practically vegan. My GP says there's not much more I can do re lifestyle and may have to go on statins. Grrrrrrr.!!!

Momine

greenarch, that seriously sucks and I am sorry. My cholesterol crept up a tiny bit during the first year on femara. 

Tammy_M43

Wow, great advice here....I switched to letrozole this week and it is good to know what to watch out for and it is a great incentive to keep exercising.....



I get "white coat" high blood pressure so I'll keep an close eye on it at home. Thanks...

sbab49

Finally gave up the fight to NOT take Femara/Letrozole after 8 weeks of mental anguish. Took a deep breath yesterday and jumped in. I am hoping and praying for a good outcome and will deal with what ever comes my way. Sigh......

Maureen813

Good luck. I have been on femara for 13 months. Only acute joint pain and insomnia. Both I can live with

chrissyb

Sbab good for you! You never know, you may not have any SEs or just a couple that are easily dealt with.........good luck!



Love n hugs. Chrissy

DivePuppy

Thank you ladies for this discussion.  I was beginning to think I was really crazy.  I started Letrozole in late February, after finishing my chemo in late January this year.  Chemo was sheer h***, but the Letrozole isn't much better for me...thick chemo fogs, blurry vision, extreme fatigue, insomnia (hence my posting at 4:15am!), nausea, flatulance that would scare dogs away.  Worst of all...the hot flashes from hell.  I take Cymbalta (for depression before b/c, increased dosage after b/c to help with the power surges.)  I notice that several of you have recommended Effexor...my doc says Cymbalta is better, but I'd try nearly anything now.  Has anyone switched from Effexor to Cymbalta, or vice versa?  If so, what was your experience?

HLB

Effexor has worked very well for my hot flashes! I have been on it for about 9 years now with no problems, 75mg xr. I do have very smelly underarms and it might be because of that but I also do not wear deoderant or anti perspirant of any kind. Also, I read that gabapentin works well for hot flashes. I did get some to try but did not like the drunken feeling it gave me, although I hear that does go away with regular use. Might be worth a try because many people really like it for many different things, such as pain, depression, hot flashes, just to name the ones I remember.



About high bp, I read once that simply sqeezing a stress ball or one of those exercise sqeeze things for a certain amt of time each day can significantly bring down bp. If I remember it was 20 min. Dad keeps one on the coffee table to work with every night while watching tv.