FEMARA

Thanks Chrissy and Justa , interesting that you are both from OZ ! It´s exactly right , the active ingredient , ie letrozole has to be identical , but the shell , filler , etc can be different , plus sometin¡mes even the active ingredient can be sourced from different places . Read an awful lot about it lately and it does´nt make me fell very secure about my generic meds . A lot of the stuff is now being sourced from China and other , to my european mind slightly suspect areas . I spoke to my oncologist , but he just seems to take the view that this is what is happening in Spain  and that we must all put up with it . I just wish I could . I don´t want this stress . We all have enough to deal with without problems with our meds . Are you all still able to have the "proper " version , or do you get put on the cheaper generic brands ? The UK still has Femara under licence , but Arimidex has just come off causing a lot of problems for the women who find the generic forms , incompatible .

I did look up the cost of buying on-line , but it´s much more expensive than buying direct from the pharmacy in Spain , here it has come down from 169euros to 97 euros , May not sound a lot , but my husband is on a pension , and I don´´t get mine for another 12 months .

Justagirl, I'm on a pension with a Government health card and I pay $5.60 p/month for thé 'real' Femara.  I have never been offered a generic for any of the cancer meds that I have taken but for all other drugs, antibiotics etc I have a choice but what ever I choose my price is always $5.60.

Jackwagstaff,  Justagirls suggestion about trying to get an letter from your doc that you can take to the Gov. Health Dept. there stating that you cannot take the generic due to ill effects but the real Femara is okay.  I don't know how these things work in Spain but here, you can under special circumstances get very expensive medication under a licence number from the government that still only costs the normal for any Px.   Does that make sense?  I'm wondering if you have something like that there.

Good luck with it all.

Love n hugs.  Chrissy

Justagirl, I can PM you a web site where you can get the Melatonin for a lot less than that and you only need either 3mg or 5mg.  14mg for sleep was too much and that is why it left you groggy.  If you want the site or a bit more info just let me know and I will send.  When I say cheaper, 120 pills for $16.95 for the 3mg and one per night is enough.

I also have the safety net ceiling with the meds and once we reach the limit all my meds on the PBS are also free.  I reached it in December last year and it rolled over to start again in January.....I laughed when I got the notification that I had reached the ceiling two weeks prior to the new year.

wish I could start the safety net at the beginning of the year! Some of my scripts before the safecty net kicks in are $37 and $42 a month! The net limit used to be a dollar amount, now it's number of scripts..

Chrissy,

You are an angel!  Thanks heaps.  Deb

Hi Emegram, your body needs estrogen to function corectly and when the AI's deplete us of it, our bodies increase the amount of fat in the sbdonimal area so it can convert part of that fat to an estrogen.  So it becomes a snake chasing its tail, the meds stop the estrogen and the body compensates by storing more fat.   So the answer to your question is yes to the reduces estrogen and also yes to the aging as after menopause, the body tends to do the same thing except not to the extent that we have now.  Good on you for taking the initiative on the Vit D and Calcium and I hope your levels are good on your next testing.

Love n hugs.  Chrissy

You said exactly what I´ve thought since I started taking Letrozole / Femara . I just feel that my body is fighting the medication all the way . that as fast as the meds ae trying to deplete every last vestige of oestrogen out of every little nook and cranny , so my body is saying " hey , I´m not having that !" and desparetly laying down as much as it can .

I´ve put on quite a lot of weight since taking the meds , on letrozole my midriff just turned into a huge spare tyre , ( going down now on the Femara ) I seem to be laying down fat as if it were going out of fashion !

I´m fed up of my body fighting itself . Yes I´m grateful , yes I love life , but five years on this , at my age (60) it´s taking away quality time  and quality of life .However , I suppose it depends on your dx , mine was good cos it was caught so early , and for that I thank God .

Jack I'm on it until it stops working for me, but I hear what you are saying re the spare tyre around the middle.  The rest of me has a bit of ectra weight but I had that before the Dx but the middle bit?   that has decided to settle in and is definitely not moving no matter what I do.  I think I'll just change the style of my clothes and accommodate it!

ihopeg, if the changes have come since changing from Femara to  Generic Letrozole I would say that you could blame the meds. Hopefully, as your body gets used to the Generic, it settles a bit for you and goes back to what you were having or less.

Hi NewatThis,  have you ever had your Vit D levels checked?  If not, ask your doc to test them as it is important to know what they are.  I take Vit D, Omega 3, Magnesium for my bone health and a lot of others take Glucosamin, Condroiton and Calcium.  I also have arthritis and these help with my joint health as well.  For the natural ani-inflamatory, I use Boswellia Serrata and find that fabulous.

Good luck!

Love n hugs.  Chrissy

Estrogen is produced elsewhere in the body not just the breasts.

Thanks Chrissyb.  Just curious, why an anti-inflammatory? (just curious because I'm having nasty chest pain/heartburn/ and wondered if it was from the meds).  I must be getting good calcium from all the Tums I'm taking!

amoccia,  I thought thereason to decrease  the estrogren and progesterone was to quit any breast cancer cells from thriving and growing.  If I don't have any breast cancer cells, whats the purpose?

chrissyb; you are a wealth of knowledge and common sense.  You are so right and I agree with you.  As a nurse I have always believed in doing all one can to fight disease and after all I've done, including a double mastectomy and radiaiton, I would be a fool to not keep taking it.

Yesterday was a really bad day for me depression wise.  I got up at 6 and went back to bed at 7 and didn't get up until 11.  Just no up and go in me.  Too much has been going on at home and I think with the hot flashes, not sleeping and aches I am just worn out and looking for answers.  My almost 18 year old son is driving me nuts.  My 77 yo dear husband is getting more stuborn and set in his ways every days and less tolerant of our son.  Our house has required many repairs as I let everything go this last 1 1/2 years with dealing with cancer so in the last two weeks I have had the tree chopper guys for a day (we live on 8 acres in Doonan, Queensland), the paddock slasher guy, I've mended fences to keep the horses in, the paddock tidy-up man, the plumber to the house twice, carpenter to house, along with shower tiler, shower screen guy, window washer and painter to touch up last years paint to outside of house.

I like my privacy and peace and quiet.  This has been too much for me to be at the center of.  My dh and I were looking forward to repainting the inside of the house and redoing the carpet and screens in a few months but now I don't have the energy or the money for it. Guess I'm just bummed out. Today is the last repair man for this week and he will just be back once next week.

I want to sit out on my porch, in the sun, wrapped up, sip at a coffee and read my book.

I don't know where you get your calmness from Chrissy but please teach me!

Thanks Chrissy -

Debbie

My surgeon told me that there is breast tissue beyond what we call our breasts; it extends under our arms and below the breastbone. My rad onc said he has seen cancer recur on the mastectomy scar in women who didn't have treatment beyond mastectomy.

Ladies: one other thing. I drink tart Cherry juice when I can't sleep. I saw it on the Dr. Oz Show and tried it. It works like a charm. It naturally contains melatonin. It is also good for a lot of other things. I don't have to drink it every night. I rarely have a hot flash since i started drinking it.You can google the Dr Oz show and put tart cherry juice in the search box to find out more information.