Femara (AI's) pain control

EWB
EWB Member Posts: 2,927
edited January 2016 in Pain

Please forgive me if this has been discussed already. I was dx w stage 4 bc 8.5 yrs ago. Because I was triple positive the onc put me on Femara and I have been on it ever since. While grateful that it has been keeping the cancer under control, it has caused a lot of problems (pain, fatigue). I am wondering if anyone else has had issues w AI's and what they have done to deal w the side effects (meds, alternative, complementary, diet etc)

Thanks for your help.

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Comments

  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited May 2015

    I changed to an anti-inflammatory diet - completely cut sugar, soy, dairy, gluten, corn, eggs and dairy. Lost 22 lbs. gained from chemo steroids and the initial time period on AI drugs, greatly reduced joint pain, improved my LE arm swelling flares, and fewer hot flashes.  It is a radical step but was worth it for me.

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  • savgigi
    savgigi Member Posts: 376
    edited May 2015

    I found that my statin and Femara did not mix. Taking them at the same time caused a lot of muscle pain. Now I take one of them in the morning and the other at night and my pain is significantly reduced. I still get stiff and sometimes have pain in my knees when rising from a chair, but that is much better than it was before.

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  • Meganmm
    Meganmm Member Posts: 20
    edited May 2015

    I just posted on this topic in the hormone forum. I am having an awful time with the pain from statins and Letrozole. SpecialK, were you taking both statins and an AI? I'm wondering if maybe a change in my diet would help. I don't know what else to do besides not taking the medicine. It's awful to sit here and feel my knees just throbbing.

    I have been taking my Letrozole in the morning, and my statin at night.

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  • EWB
    EWB Member Posts: 2,927
    edited January 2016

    Sorry for such a late response :p I found switching the time I take the femara from morning to evening has helped. Also recently started working on the diet thing, trying to wean off soda (my beloved Tab), processed stuff and such. Have also discovered a yoga teacher who has really helped my develop a restorative/meditating practice. Not all together great but better. Hope all you ladies are doing as well as can be.

    Elaine


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  • windingshores
    windingshores Member Posts: 704
    edited January 2016

    I got so much worse in the winter. I have taken to walking in the mall! And I do Tai Chi. I plan on starting a water exercise program, in a warm saline pool. I think at least 45 minutes of exercise per day is important in managing the pain.  I experience worse pain when I first start walking, then it gets better, so don't get discouraged by the first 10 minutes- keep going!

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  • bluepearl
    bluepearl Member Posts: 961
    edited January 2016

    I read on a medical science site that if you take 400 IU of Vitamin D a day and then ONE capsule of 50,000 IU per week, alleviates pain caused by A.I.s. Worth a try.

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  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited January 2016

    I haven’t had much pain yet--could be because I’m older and had low estrogen levels for over a decade since menopause. I do get startup pain in my r. hip first thing in the morning and upon arising from a chair, but once I’ve been walking for a bit it disappears. (Last year I tore tw glutes shoveling snow and then walking 1/2 mi. in a blizzard, through almost 2 ft. of unevenly cleared snow--gave me bursitis that forced me to use a cane till late April). Perhaps because I don’t take statins (they gave me muscle aches and raised my blood sugar when I tried them), my SEs are very mild. I suspect it also may be because the Roxane-manufactured letrozole I take has few inactive ingredients, and I take it at bedtime.

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  • sbelizabeth
    sbelizabeth Member Posts: 2,889
    edited January 2016

    For me it's exercise. I ride a mountain or road bike quite a lot, and I can tell when I haven't been moving as much as I should. Even then...I still move a lot more slowly and stiffly than before Femara.

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  • windingshores
    windingshores Member Posts: 704
    edited January 2016

    I am so encouraged. I mall walked yesterday for a long time and feel so much better.

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