Zoladex/Famara

adymaria

Question for women who are on Zoladex/Famara - does your doctor regularly check your hormone levels to make sure you stay postmenopausal while taking Famara? My doctor says the hormone tests are unreliable so doesn't use them. However, on Famara's website it says "You should not take FEMARA if you are premenopausal". I've also read that taking Famara while you are premenopausal will actually cause the ovaries to produce more estrogen. I'm worried about taking Famara without levels being monitored, because the drug does the exact opposite of what you want it to do if not postmenopausal.

Please share your thoughts/experience if you are on Famara/Zoladex. What do your doctors do and think about monitoring hormone levels? Did you wait to take Famara until your doctor was certain that you were postmenopausal? It appears that many people on this site (based on their profiles) took Famara the same time they took their first Zoladex shot, which is very surprising to me based on what I said earlier. I sometimes see people like myself who took Famara one month after their first Zoladex shot. You would think this would be the norm especially since Zoladex doesn't always work and when it does work, it sometimes take 3 or 4 months for people to become postmenopausal.

Thanks

gkbuser

I am on zoladex and generic Femara (letrozole). Been on zoladex since Jan 2017 and letrozole since march 2017. No hormone blood tests have ever been done. Since I am going to be 53 in july there is talk of taking me off zoladex in the next 6-12 months. They told me if I ever start bleeding to stop the letrozole as it is harmful to not be menopausal and on it. No blood tests though. I think they just go by periods or not. No period= menopause. This is at a major comprehensive cancer institute.

adymaria

Helpful, thank you. Did your period stop after the first injection? I see you started letrozole about 2 months after zoladex. It looks like your doctor also waited until he/she was sure you were menopausal.

nonomimi5

My period stopped couple of years ago (I am 54), but in preparation of Hormonal Therapy that I would be doing after my rads, I had a blood test taken for hormone level. I do not know the results until I see my MO in July, but she said she wants to make sure I am post menopausal. She said some people may stop their period but still not be post menopausal. Sounds like it is important to monitor the hormone level for some of these meds.

Rambros

I took Tamoxifen for the first 6 months on Zoladex and my onc tested estradiol, LH, and FSH for a few months before switching to Femara. My estrogen level was very low but the other 2 levels weren't exactly in post-menopausal range and we weren't quite sure what the LH and FSH numbers should be for someone in chemical menopause versus natural menopause. I couldn't deal with the uncertainty that maybe the Zoladex wasn't totally working on me so I had my ovaries removed.

I believe you can order your own blood test at a lab if your doctor won't (you'd have to pay out of pocket though).

I started Tamoxifen/Zoladex at 37 and was no where near menopause before chemo started

gkbuser

adycort, i was using birthcontrol (nuva ring) continuously for endometriosis - meaning I never took it out for the "ring free" week where you would normally bleed when I was diagnosed in Oct 2016. I did bleed when I took the ring out at that time. But my gynecologist insist that does not mean I was not postmenopausal she said I probably blood just because I took it out. But, I had no bleeding November or December or even January prior to getting the first zoladex shot. It was just really hard to guarantee whether I was in natural menopause from just those two months however. So, I think my oncologist wanted to play it conservative and go ahead with the zoladex shots. The reason I didn't start the letrozole is because right around the time of my first zoladex shot I was also starting my radiation therapy. And I just don't think she wanted to hit me with everything all at once. I honestly don't think that two months time had anything to do with wanting to make sure I was in the menopause before starting letrozole so much as just not wanting me to have too much stuff put on me all at once. And again, I have never had any blood test to confirm anything so there you go. It is my understanding I should be off the zoladex for at least two months before having the blood test checked to confirm. The question for me becomes when is it safe to try to go off. It still amazes me that we don't get periodic symbol estrogen checks just to make sure the medicine we're taking is at least doing something if we're going to suffer all these side effects. But I guess the understanding is these levels can fluctuate so much that isolated blood test here and there don't show the full picture.