Femara versus generic Letrozole

gps
gps Member Posts: 25
edited March 2017 in Stage IV/Metastatic Breast Cancer ONLY

Can I get some feedback on whether the people on hormone therapy (Letrozole) take the branded version i.e. Femara or do they take the generic Letrozole? (in general, for a cancer drug, do you take the branded version or the generic?)

If you take the generic letrozle, which company manufactures it (and in which country?)

Are there people who mix these two i.e. take Femara one day, generic Letrzole next day and so on? (to cut costs)

Thanks.

PS: Sorry for posting this on both hormone-therapy and the metastatic forums.

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  • cheryl1946
    cheryl1946 Member Posts: 1,308
    edited June 2012

    Hi,                                                                                                                  The only time I took femara was when I got samples from my onc; that was 60 pills and was months 2 & 3 of taking the drug.

    Letrozole came out in generic the week I started it; the pharmacy took 3 days to get it because it was new. Mine is from Mylan Pharmaceuticals in Canonsburg PA.

    My tumor marker (CA 27/29) has gone from 135 to 31.7 and my PET/cat in April showed markedly improved.

    I would probably take name brands of all my meds (I am on a lot of meds) if they didn't cost so much,but generics work fine for me.

      Cheryl

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  • nancyh
    nancyh Member Posts: 2,644
    edited June 2012

    I was on the name brand for quite a while, maybe a year, before it went generic.  I had no trouble at all switching to the generic.  I truly could not tell any difference whatsoever (aside from the delightful feeling at the cash register because the copay was so much lower!)  Eventually my cancer became resistent to Femara, but I got a nice long stretch on it.

    I am a firm believer in generic drugs.  They have to meet the exact specifications of the drug ingredients, chemically there is no difference whatsoever, so I don't even think twice about it.

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  • Mzmerz
    Mzmerz Member Posts: 1,054
    edited June 2012

    I know there is a pink one, and there is a baby poop yellow generic, which is what I take, made by Sun Pharmaceuticals, as per my bottle.  I wouldn't think that taking one name brand one day and one generic the next day would make a difference, not to mention I don't think your insurance would pay for two of the same thing.

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  • Cif
    Cif Member Posts: 12
    edited March 2017

    With blind tests my body reacts different to name brand Femara vs all manufactures of letrozole available to USA CVS and Walgreens. On name brand I am achy and uncomfortable, on generic I end up in wheelchair and tons of pain meds. I had to chose quality vs quantity life and stopped drug and felt great. Doc and company gave me access to name brand for 6 months at generic cost rate and life was doable without pain meds and confusion and dizzy small. Now 6 days back on generic and close to wheelchair and writing this because we know soon will be unable to read/write fingers and be confused and loose time again. There is a difference, but cannot get access to name brand affordably. To those told no difference and you think there is, you are not crazy. To researchers out there that say issues are related to menopause and not the drug, stuff it, off the drugs no pain or other issues, on the drugs I feel and act 200 years old. It should be a crime to prevent affordable access to name brand drugs. And yes, it was a blind test as to which I was given, and yes, my body 100% could tell you within short timeframe it was generic.

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  • zarovka
    zarovka Member Posts: 3,607
    edited March 2017

    Check out the Femara thread. Be aware that you are wandering out of the Stage IV forum because this drug is widely used to keep early stage MBC from spreading. There are pages and pages on this topic. The difference between brands is entirely in the fillers they use. It is possible to have a reaction to some of the non-active ingredients. It is worth trying different generics and even Femara if you can get it to see if you have any reduction in side effects. I tried the Teva brand based on suggestions from that thread and I do feel a bit better. Not night and day like some people experience.

    I don't believe there is any difference in efficacy, but side effects are a big big deal. The fatigue and muscle aches you can get from letrozol will impede your activity which has a HUGE effect on outcomes. It is very important to look at everything you can do to minimize these side effects.

    >Z<

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