FEMARA

Jmlg- that is Interesting because I had been taking the pink letrozole and having terrible joint pain. I started taking the yellow one a week ago and I have barely any joint pain now. I think we all react differently to the fillers and have to work hard to find the right fit for us.

Nanna,

Since starting Femara my hands get numb when I sleep...though the non cancer side is doing it much less now.  The other side had gets numb if I hold it up in the air for more than 15 minutes and while I sleep....weird.

Okay, so what causes this?  Is it all on your breast cancer side?  I've wondered if it had anything to do with that before. . .

Aot of times it is caused by arthritis or narrowing in the cervical discss causing compression in the nerves that go to the hand and arm. I haven't figured out why the AL's aggrevate this.

I wanted to share something I use for knee pain.  I put Lidoderm patches on my knees during the day, and I use castor oil packs on them at night.  You soak a piece of flannel in castor oil, put it on your knee and cover it with saran wrap.  Be careful becasue the castor oil stains.  I also sleep with a pillow under my knees.  I add a little bit of castor oil each night to the flannel.  I cut the lidoderm patches in half and put them on the tops of my feet during the day, too.  The arthritis doc gave me the prescription for the patches.  Votaren gel is also a  prescription, and sometimes I use that instead of the patches.  It helps if I do leg extensions with an exercise band and swim.  Hope this helps someone!

Ok.  I know this has been asked a million times...so here is one million and one.

Joint pain.  I'm having a lot of it in the knees and elbows.  Woke me up last night hurting, and I haven't woke up hurting through this entire thing.

I'm 4 weeks into Femara, just started my second month's bottle.  Does this get better for some?  I noticed on Tamoxifen most SE came and went, and by 6 months I knew which were hanging around for the duration.

I'd appreciate any feedback....even if you've said it a thousand times already. 

Thanks Vicks.

If it stays this bad I will ask to try something else.....

I was very achy in knees and feet about an hour ago. I am staying ina hotel with an exercise room, so I went and walked on the treadmill for a half hour, just leisurely walking, 3mph, and it feels much better now.

Does anyone think femara might be causing my TMJ?  My left jaw is popping in and out of the socket, and it is driving me crazy.  Femara affects all of the other joints, many it might be affecting my jaw too?

Weety, I have TMJ and it has been actng up after starting femara. So, yes, I think it is related. It also got bad during chemo, and my onc said it was from the inflammation caused by the taxotere.

There is no real treatment for TMJ. Some doctors and/or dentists will try to sell you expensive guards for your teeth to prevent grinding of the teeth. They don't work well.

Do not "pop" the jaw. Try to relax the jaw. Avoid biting nails and chewing gum. Don't grit or grind your teeth. I also find that if I wake up and feel the TMJ hurting I take 200mg of ibuprofen and that usually nips it in the bud.

Weety, one more thing. The past ten days I was in the US (from Greece where I live). We stayed in hotels and ate out, so my diet took a nosedive and I kinda gave up anyway. I ate white bread, fries, meat even sweets. My knees, hips and feet ached like crazy and the TMJ acted up.

I got back Friday and Saturday I was back to eating a better diet, cabbage salad, lots of garlic and onion, no sugar etc. I am much better today. It may be coincidence, but you may want to try to make sure that you eat some anti-inflammatory foods daily. 

Very simple really, something I eat at our local noodle place. Shredded white cabbage with some shredded carrot and some strips of red pepper, poached, chopped chicken, some coriander and dressed with lime juice.

Thanks, Momine, for all the tips and tmj info. It doesn't usually hurt--it's more of a nuisance.  I'm just worried that it's going to get worse.

 Your cabbage salad sounds yummy--I'm going to have to try it.  do you add any oil at all (olive oil?) or just the lime juice?