Femara v letrazole

Bonnie7

Sorry if this question has been asked before! I am currently taking Aromasim but still have nodules on chest wall and lymph node in axilla!

Letrazole seemed to work better in reducing nodules and lymph node disappeared whilst taking it but it had horrible side effects. Have heard femara has much less side effects?

Opinions pse??? Xx

Beesie

Letrozole is generic Femara. There are many different manufacturers and I've heard that different generic versions might have different side effects. So I would guess that the side effects from the name brand version (i.e. Femara) might also be somewhat different - but whether this means that you would have fewer side effects is impossible to know.

From a more general standpoint, side effects are individual to each of us. While you had horrible side effects from generic Letrozole, someone else might take exactly the same pill and not have any major problems. On the other hand, you might find that the name brand or a different generic version is easier for you to tolerate but another individual might have terrible side effects from that one.

Unfortunately the only way to know how you will be effected is to try something else. Can you switch to either another generic or to Femara to see how you do? Since the active ingredients are the same, there is no harm in doing that.

Bonnie7

Thanks Beesie for your reply - much appreciated! 😘

RatherBeSailing

I agree with Beesie. I had terrible side effects with a couple of the letrozole generics. Switched to the brand name, Femara, and have been fine.

The problem is that most insurance will only cover generics, and Femara is about $700 a month.

However, Novartis (the manufacturer of the brand name Femara) has a co-pay program that will cover the entire cost. But only if you have private insurance - won't work with Medicare or Medicaid. Here's a link to program registration:

https://www.copay.novartisoncology.com/?name=kisqa...

If you don't have private insurance and you have side effects with one of the generics, you might ask your pharmacist if he can source the generic from a different manufacturer the next time, and see if it works better for you.

Bonnie7

Thanks so much. You girls are very helpful and knowledgeable xx