FEMARA

I am stage iv and I take 125mg of Ibrance daily for 3 weeks and 1 week off to rebuild tanked white blood cells. That is pretty standard. The cost is $ 9somethingK a month but I have insurance that dropped to to $288.00 and i got in on the Pfizer co-pay program so in the end I am currently only paying $10.00. Scary.

Manufacturers' co-pay programs are not available to those on Medicare Part D unless they go wholly out-of-pocket. I’m gonna get a nasty surprise when after my 90-day supplies of Dexilant and Benicar run out I will have to refill them under Medicare,

I think the discussion was that someone experiencing sudden se could have gotten a different generic brand of Letrozole. That some formulations might agree with some better than others. The Teva recommendation was by a couple of long time, very knowledgeable, frequent posters in the stage iv group. For me, I've had Sun Pharma and Teva both and I have fewer hot flashes on the Teva but maybe I have just gotten used to the drug. I don't know. I just thought that being aware that the fillers can be different and you can ask for a particular maker is good to know. There may be more makers of letrozole also--

My letrozole is made by Roxa Labs

Mannitol isn't a sugar per se, but rather a sugar alcohol. It's used in some diet candies & cookies in lieu of sugar and in addition to aspartame for both flavor & texture. Its chief side effect? Flatulence and, uh, “anal leakage." Not surprising it's sometimes used in laxative preparations.

Scottlee, Chicago is only a day's drive from Ontario--it might be worth taking a little jaunt over the bridge next time I play in the Detroit area with a Canadian doctor's scrip in hand (DH no doubt has colleagues from his med school & residency days, or maybe my own MO might have friends or colleagues across the border). Or perhaps I could kill two birds with one stone and look for an echocardiography CME course for him in Vancouver, Montreal or Banff (with a medical visit for me, and a trip to the drugstore, while he’s in the scientific sessions). Would be much more expensive than if I were a Canadian using Nat’l Health, but still cheaper than pharmacies Stateside. (And I doubt that’s the kind of “drugs” ICE’s dogs are sniffing for coming back across the border to the US).

I just called my prescription drug plan (Medco) and a 90 day supply of Femara will cost me $138, 90 day supply of Letrozole is $20. If I get it monthly from a retail pharmacy a 30 day supply of Femara is $656 and the Letrozole is $10 for 30 day supply. WOW. I am going to try the Femara from Medco and see if the SE are less than with the generic Letrozole. I was taking a half of a tab of the Letrozole (and felt so much better) and got an earful from the NP in my oncologist office about how there are no definitive studies on that dose, etc.. but yet I read from the FDA website insert for Femara that anywhere from 0.5 mg to 2.5 mg was effective. I want to be compliant with my medication so I am willing to pay a little more and take the full dose and hopefully have less side effects

When I showed DH Costco’s e-mail about Femara vs. generic letrozole costs, he gasped. He was expecting the difference to be 10X more. Considering what Femara costs in Canada, he says he will talk to his many patients who claim to buy their meds “from” Canada: whether they actually go to Canada to buy them (there are below-radar “through-the-grapevine” groups who organize bus day trips for seniors to Detroit/Windsor, roughly a 6-hr. trip each way) or they buy from questionable online sites and strip-mall storefronts here purporting to deal with Canadian pharmacies but really getting inferior and even counterfeit drugs from India. If they’re taking the prescriptions he writes across the border personally for Canadian docs to reissue and then physically buy their meds at brick-and-mortar stores in Canada, he says he would like to take a jaunt out there himself (hopefully bringing me along). We’re looking for CME courses and meetings in Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Vancouver or Victoria around the time my first 90-pill supply of branded Femara is about to run out. He’s also going through his U. of Wash. Med. alumni directory to see which of his med school classmates ended up in B.C. or any other province. At any rate, he says $300-400/mo for branded Femara from Canada is doable for us.

(BTW, it looks like Benicar may soon be going off-patent, and Avalide already has. Since Avalide seemed to work well for me, I might switch to its generic once I go on Medicare. The only satisfactory alternative to Dexilant would be to buy a shitload of generic OTC lansoprazole--half the prescription strength, double the dose, take that BID, and get up 4 hrs after bedtime to pop another capsule. Thanks, but no thanks).

What I am interested in, is getting a letrozole pill with the smallest amount of lactose, and without any really bad other ingredients. Has anyone already worked on this question? It sounds good to go with a brand that has fewer extra ingredients, but not if some of those are particularly bad ones. ChiSandy, are you saying that drug labels are like food labels, so the lower lactose is on the list of ingredients, the less it has compared to other ingredients? Still no way to know the absolute amount of lactose. Also, I wonder if drugs from certain countries are more trustworthy than others?

Ellelou, thanks for the list of ingredients and the link. I had checked on this question before, but lost my notes.

(Artist, normal liver enzymes here.)

Anybody notice any change in their teeth or their mouth with Femara? I'm thinking mine are getting yellow.... : (

My Letrozole is from Accord (I think). I have had few side effects, but I have only been on it since mid October. I will have labs in January, so I'll find out about my liver enzymes then.

Thinking positive, yes I looked it up and chemo can change tooth color. But Femara is not really chemo. Yellow teeth is not OK with me. I am seeing the dentist Monday and so I'll ask. Kbee, I just want to say again, it is amazing what you have been through. I hope I don't have to go there, as have many. I have an occult primary and that scares me. Now I think I'm finding lumps, like in my jaw, in my elbow, in my other armpit, in my tailbone, I know it's crazy but.... On the otherhand, I was told two days ago that I have never looked better. With the main tumor out (lymph node) who knows, how hard my body was working to contain it. Just thoughts for now. Thinking positive!! I've read the book!

Oh great, radiation is next for me. Good to have a heads up. How long after radiation did the cavities show up

I have read where some people do better on one generic versus another. Ellalou, I think Teva was mentioned as a good one for letrozole. I'll take my first letrozole tomorrow. It's from Sun Pharmaceuticals. Fingers crossed.

I use a rinse from the Oratec corporation called Therasol and got thru chemo with no dental issues. You can research and order it online. I brush with it after regular brushing and using a waterpick. Be sure to check with your doctor since it does contain alcohol. Love, Jean

Jean is that the Therasol that removes Tartar? It's at Amazon - concentrate 3oz for $26.95? Does that sound right?