Can Femara cause Vertigo after using it for 3 years

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aussieched
aussieched Member Posts: 244
edited August 2017 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

Hi everyone,

I am desperate, had severe vertigo start out of the blue 3 weeks ago, experiencing it 24/7. Never experienced vertigo before in my life.  I have been on Femara for over 3 years now.  Has anyone experienced vertigo while taking Femara, and if so, were you able to identify if Femara was the cause.

thanks ched

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  • Lovelyface
    Lovelyface Member Posts: 674
    edited January 2011

    I am wondering what Vertigo is.  I am supposed to start Aridimex, which I believe is similar to Femara.  Do you have any other side effects from Femara.  The doctor's office gave me a DVD to watch about Femara, and said it is very similar to aridimex.

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  • aussieched
    aussieched Member Posts: 244
    edited January 2011

    Hi Lovelyface,

    Vertigo, is dizziness, losing my balance, experiencing feelings of disorientation all the time. I don't want to turn you off Femara, however I have been experiencing terrible side affects from femara for the last 3 years.  This is just another unexplicable problem, that I have yet to find out the cause. I have had very severe arthrithis develop (Only aged 52) at time of diagnosis. Unable to walk much at the moment because of painful feet, terrible tendonditis in arms and wrist, chest infections, asthma, and terrible itchy rashes, all of which I have never had before this all started.  Don't have much hair left, most of it has fallen out. Itchy scalp all the time also.  Aches and pains everywhere.

    Even after all of this, I would not hesitate to take it again, and still want to take it, if it will give me only a little benefit for recurrence.

    ched

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  • chrissyb
    chrissyb Member Posts: 16,818
    edited January 2011

    Hi lovelyface, I was on Arimidex for about twenty months which gave me some not good side effects so my doc changed me to Femara three month ago and I am doing great with little or no side effects at all.  We are all different and so react differently to the same medication.  Please don't let other peoples problems with a drug put you off trying it for yourself.

    Hi ched, I did have vertigo for about three months while I was on the Arimidex but so far have not had a recurrence on the Femara.  I took the path of ruling everything else that could cause it out before accepting that A was the cause.

    Love n hugs.  Chrissyb

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  • aussieched
    aussieched Member Posts: 244
    edited January 2011

    Hi Chrissyb,

    thanks for your imput.  This dizziness is really getting to me. Found it so hard to sit and concentrate at work last week.  I am having a flexi day today, but maybe not a good idea. Have had to much time to look at the symptoms and what could be the cause. The doc said on Friday that he may want to do a scan, so I am now panicking that it is the cancer or a stroke, as I see that is also a symptom, and the AI's have a slight chance of being the culprit. And Yes, you are right that different medications affect people differently.  My friend was on Arimidex first and had terrible se's, then changed to Femara and has been great.

    Have a good day

    ched

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  • Laurie_R
    Laurie_R Member Posts: 262
    edited February 2011

    There's another thread about vertigo, its Positional Vertigo

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  • Margaret77
    Margaret77 Member Posts: 8
    edited May 2013

    You know, i'm not sure. i was on Femara for at least 7 years and had no vertigo, or side effects.. Last year I got an ear infection after swimming and had vertigo as a result of labrynthitis. What I now have discovered is that, if I turn suddenly when lying in bed, I get a days dizzyness with vomiting. i have decided its BPPV which is related to crystals in the middle ear moving to a place they shouldn't be, resulting in vertigo.



    You should be diagnosed properly by your gp, but try sleeping on higher pillows and avoid suddenly turning your head in bed to see if it helps. Also some over the counter drugs can give you a nasty bout of vertigo. I took a cold remedy which had phenylephrine in it. This resulted in the worst attack of vertigo to date. It may not be the Femara that causes the problem and as it has been proved to increase survival, I would explore things further before coming off it.

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  • Margaret77
    Margaret77 Member Posts: 8
    edited May 2013

    Yes, you are right, thats what's I think mine is,

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  • Blessedallday
    Blessedallday Member Posts: 1
    edited August 2017

    I have been taking Letrozole for 3.5 years. Recently, I too have been experiencing dizziness. I called my oncologist and was told that it was not a side effect of this medication so I was glad to read your post because I think it may be related. I will go to my GP to make sure but I as happy to find someone else that had experienced this. Do you have any updates?

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  • marijen
    marijen Member Posts: 3,731
    edited August 2017

    I oftenwonder if sometimes we get a bad batch of drugs or the drug is the same but the manufacturer has changed. I did have dizziness for the longest time and it turned out to be fluid in my ear. Two weeks of draamine dried it up. It's OTC and cheap

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