FEMARA

Yeah, the short term memory is what I notice, too.  I can't hold things in my head for even a few seconds sometimes.  I notice it most when I'm watching my son's baseball games.  I seriously cannot remember what the last batter did, or how he got on base, or how many outs there are.  It is really weird.  It is almost like I missed it--but I know I didn't!!!

I am late to this party!  I wanted to make it for the full 5 years, but I stopped taking Femara 1 week ago. (what was I talking about.....oh yeah, Femara)  Did someone say fuzzy brain?  I have always been in charge of my life, and now my life runs me.  I have the memory loss and severe joint pain, along with practically every other symptom noted in this forum.  I have stayed on this drug for just about 3 years and am literally overwhelmed, especially this past year.  Things have really taken a turn for the worse with every sympton and I am only 48 but feeling more like 98.  So I stopped.  Called my onc and told him I was taking a 30 day vacation from this drug, and we can discuss it further at my next appt.  Today, I felt slightly better, but after reading many posts, I see that it may or may not take a while for symptons to subside.  I worry about recurrence since I had a stage 3 IDC with positive nodes.  Don't know at this point which is gonna kill me first, cancer or heart attack/stroke. Now, where was I??  Oh, fuzzy brain.  I will get back to you if/when mine gets better.  Wish I could forget about the pain for a while!

wow....fuzzy brain anonymous is born.....I do the most ridiculous things....forgetting everything....
I do think I am getting used to it....it is most difficult at work.  At home, I become impatient with others and myself...joint pain is very bearable but persistent.  shoulder, arm, elbow, knee.....yup, feeling older

Ginger, yeah that's me. 39 going on 80. The insomnia thing is obvious, seeing as I'm posting this at 1:15 am with no sleep in sight...And the legs? Yeah, I get it. And I'm so sorry so many of my sisters here are going through it.

Joan, re: the memory thing. I have also had a stoke which has affected this, but I feel your frustration. For me, it's totally losing my train of thought, being in the middle of an intense and intellingent conversation and totally forgetting what's going on, not remembering words or even names of people I've known my whole life.

Nanna: I had the numb hands thing for so long and it has passed. Mine was due to chemo I am sure...can't remember if you had it or what kind. Hope so much that yours passes too.

Gardengumby, curious to know if you asked your onc about Neurontin and what s/he said.

So many of us have been through so much, and so many of us so much more then me, I know...the chemo, the drugs, the SEs, the cancer itself...Sometimes I think it's a miracle I can function at all. I know one thing for sure: I TOTALLY don't take anything for granted anymore, from the littlest gifts to the biggies, it is all worth more somehow. The good stuff, I mean.

Love and peace to you all.

Sea, your insurance pays 500 for a drug that costs 3.22? 

Weird, and it sounds like a scam. No wonder insurance is so expensive. Unless the 3.22 is only your co-pay.

about 95% of any prescribed medication is the 'active' ingredient - the rest is the filler which holds it together and that is what some of you are reacting to when you see a difference in the brand of femara you use.  some of the fillers contain, among other things - sugar, wheat, flour, egg....so if you have any allergies - these must be taken into consideration.  The  % of the drug that is the active ingredient is set by the FDA in the US and can't be changed in any way for the company to still have license to make and dispense the drug.

I don't quite understand this, but I am not charged anything for my letrazole, I've only been on it for 2 months, but both times I've gone to pick it up, they said the charge was $0. Yet everyone here is saying it's so expensive. Usually I have at least a $10 co-pay. Weird. I guess I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Ginger - if it is not included on a printout inside your prescription, ask the pharmacist for it.  Again, by law (FDA in the US) the company which makes your brand of drug must disclose all ingredients, and that includes the fillers.  If it says may include, nuts, eggs, etc and the key word being 'may' you can write directly to the company and inquire.

I do think this is why some of us have side effects or worse side effects on some brands of Femara /letrozole than others.

Again, after reading many of the posts here over time, a repeating side effect seems to be joint pain/aches and a fuzzy brain. We, as women are used to having some level of estrogen in our bodies all of our life, that is until we started taking Femara, which is designed to take the estrogen out of our bodies  as we have had the type of breast cancer which likes to grow/feed/blossom with the nutrient estrogen.  

Take the estrogen away and all sorts of things go wacky. When I get tired or mad about the side effects I have, I try and remember I'm also starving any potential bc cells in my body.

Also, and this is only my thinking: BC really takes us on a wild ride, taking every essence we have of strength, patience and mind, and with having to deal with all the junk that comes with having or having had BC, no wonder our brains are fuzzy with the overload.

Also - posted this elsewhere, but wondering who on Femara has experienced this. I was premenopausal, tamox didn't work out for me, now Lumpron and Femara, planning ooph. I have been bleeding vaginally for 3 days now and docs are saying ultrasound and endometrial/uterine biopsies. Anyone here been through this before? It seems like a strong doc response to a little bleeding IMO, but maybe better safe than sorry?

Gardengumby - So glad to hear you don't have lung mets, but sorry you didn't have a chance to ask about Neurontin. May even be worth making an extra appointment if your pain is really bad. Like I said, it has totally changed my QOL. Best wishes to you (and everyone else here too) for pain relief - that leg thing truly sucks!

I prefer Femara to Arimidex any day.

I'm on Femara almost three weeks after switching from Arimidex. My hot flashes and depression have decreased but my joint and muscle pain have increased, especially my legs, hips, knees, hands, shoulders, and upper arms. I feel old when I get up off the couch too....I laugh because for a few minutes I waddle like my poor grandmother used to do all the time.

I did get a wrist splint for my right hand that I wear to bed at night and it does seem to be helping the numbness and tingling a bit. I think back to a year ago when I was first being diagnosed and never dreamed that I woud have all of these issues a year later. I had no clue then what all the BC women went through on these meds.