FEMARA

I didn't know about this. I'm going to try taking milk thistle to oprotect the liver.

Scottiee, I read the same thing about milk thistle.  I have not taken it since.

My onc agreed to give me one month off Femara.  It's been a few weeks and I have noticed my hot flashes have decreased SO much.  Also, my deep fatigue has changed significantly and my mood has lifted.  I thought the rash on my chest might go away - nope.  Come February, my options will be to resume Femara for the next 4 yrs (plus a probable additional 5) or to swith to Aromasin.  Given that my BC was lobular and stage 3, I think I'll stick with the Femara.  It's been nice having a little break

0

Thanks for that info on milk thistle. Apparently it has to do with estrogen.

I read several articles on milk thistle and they are conflicting. The estrogenic component is found in the flower and leaves which isn't used in supplements not in the root which is used. One article said that the study which said it was harmful used dosages much higher than would be used in hmans and another study said that milk thistle has been beneficial in breast cancer so I guess you just have to choose what you want to beleive and look at the sources.

I just started letrozole today, after a year of tamoxifen and an oopherectomy in November.  Wish me luck!

I just started taking Femara on January 12 after nearly two years on tamoxifen.  I was very fortunate in that I had relatively NO side effects on the tamoxifen - a few hot surges but that was about it.

Can I possibly be having side effects after less than a week on Femara?  I had the strangest leg cramps last night and the joints in my fingers were "stuck" for lack of a better explaination. After opening and closing my hand a few times the joints moved just fine. 

I got the foot pain almost immediately, in the first week. My doctor insisted I must be mistaken, because, he claimed, it takes 6-8  weeks for SEs to show up. Sure, sure! 

Sue2010, I got joint aches after about  days I recall--lasted for maybe a couple of days and then went away--it was very immediate but fortunately did not last. I had no SE with tamoxafin and I am finding hair thinning is the only one on letrozole (also had some UTI issues that went away)--but we are all different. Good luck with it.

Sue, my husband says my hair has thinned some, but I haven't actually noticed it myself.  My hair definitely did get more brittle, so I no longer have long hair.  (I actually think my hair hasn't thinned, but that my husband misses my long hair....)

I've been really whining about side-effects on a different thread, so for those of you who don't visit that thread I'll tell my latest experience.

We spent 5 weeks in Hawaii, I had contemplated taking a letrozole "vacation" during that time, but after discussions with my oncologist chose to continue the medication.  I am SO glad I did, as my experiences were eye-opening.  After about the first 3 days I found that that I could walk MUCH more freely, morning pain was gone.  While I was there I continued to improve.  Hubby and I figure that about 75% of my aches and pains disappeared.  Then I came home to Seattle.  The first day or two I was pretty much OK.  By day three I was starting to ache and on day four all I did was sit on the couch and cry I was in so much pain.  I'm slowly adapting and am certain that within another week or so I won't remember what it was like to be without it (there are certain advantages to the lousy memory the drug induces.... )

So, here's my thoughts on the situation:

Hawaii was WARM.  Each day was in the mid-eighties.  Here it's been in the twenties and thirties.

I got a LOT of sleep.  I probably slept 11 hours a night.  Here, not so much, as I'm back at work.

My eating was about the same, as we were in a condo and I did the cooking, just like at home...

Stress was less - after all it was vacation (though there were some familial issues that beat out work stress in some respects....)

I swam almost every day for at least an hour - and that felt GREAT.

I'm now attempting to get more sleep each night, and hubby is looking for a sauna to put in our basement.  I'm also strongly thinking of retiring next fall so that I don't have to do another winter here.

All in all, I believe that the two biggest contributers to the reduced pain were the warmth and the sleep.  This may not have any effect for others, but that was my experience, and I thought others of you might find it somewhat interesting....

Gumby, leaving today for ten days in caribbean I will see if my experiences mirror yours. I hate this wet WA cold.

Hi Gals! hope your all doing better and/or hanging in there. I've been following your posts for a long time as my Onc said he was putting me on Femara, but now has put me on Tamox instead... now I'm trying to wrap my head around that. I only had a TINY bit of estrogen (weakly positive) in my tumor, so haven't found a forum for Tamoxifen yet, not like this one, where its mainly about that drug. I'm not sure if I want to be on them or not. I had/have so many other SE's from other illness's/diseases & left over added fatigue, that my 1st pill left me almost incapacitated, and I just don't have time to deal with all the SE's right now, even if they're short lived. so will try to find a thread/forum about them. Thanks for being so awesome! I've enjoyed reading & sometimes posting. Blessings to you all!

There used to be a tamoxifen thread for sure, as I was on it (tamoxifen) for six months and used to visit that thread (for ME the tamoxifen SE's were much worse than those I've had on letrozole...)

PT - have fun in the Caribbean!!!  We're thinking of taking a trip there in April or May - or maybe go back to Hawaii again.

Momine - do you know why a sauna would trigger LE when just plain hot weather doesn't???  Where could I go to get more info?

Hi Ladies: just thought I would pop in here and say that I have been on Letrozole about ten months now, and apart from thinning hair, which is starting to come back now, I have no side effects. I am however, in that small minority of women who lose weight with Al's ,

but my anti-depressant gives me an appetite, so I'm able to control my weight.



Just thought it would be good to hear from someone who has had little to no SE with this

med.

Sounds like you may have an allergy....should check with your MO.