When do the side effects quit?

SweetLaughter - Sorry to hear that. I saw my MO often but then I had chemo. I only saw my RO 3 times as well but did see other ROs as she was away. My family doctor was much more supportive and responsive than either of the oncologists! You're freaking me out about Letrozole.... I am planning to start it next week after I have a bone density scan.

Hope things improve for you soon!

Wow, I hope that you feel better very soon.

dtad:

Re your comment, ". . . so sorry you are having SEs on aromatase inhibitors. Sounds like they are probably the cause of your problems if they went away when you stopped. . . "

If SweetLaughter is resuming the Letrozole with the knowledge of her medical team, that might suggest that her doctors do not consider the complications to be related to Letrozole.

Cellulitis (infection) and seroma have other well-established causes, and could be related to surgery and radiation, for example.

UpToDate defines "drug fever" as "a disorder characterized by fever coinciding with administration of a drug and disappearing after the discontinuation of the drug, when no other cause for the fever is evident after a careful physical examination and laboratory investigation." If the cellulitis and seroma were excluded as causes of the fever such that the fever was deemed to be a drug-related "drug fever", it seems possible that the "drug" trigger in this case could have been the antibiotic(s)? The timing of initiation of AI therapy and onset these complications could be coincidental. SweetLaughter should look to her treatment team for their expert medical opinion on the cause of drug fever in her case, given that she has been on more than one medication.

SweetLaughter:

So sorry you are experiencing these very serious complications, and I also hope you recover soon.

If you have any concern about resuming the Letrozole please discuss it with your doctors to ensure full consideration, and inform the team treating these complications of all drugs and supplements (prescription or over-the counter) that you take, including the Letrozole (and timing), so they have complete information. At the same time, do not hesitate to request an explanation of the likely cause or causes of the cellulitis; seroma; and drug fever. You can ask them specifically if they have any concern about resuming the Letrozole (given the timing concerns you note) or with endocrine therapy in general, in view of any one of the cellulitis; seroma and/or drug fever. It is possible that these complications may be completely unrelated to the Letrozole. You could also request an appointment with your Medical Oncologist at this time to discuss these same questions. Hopefully, they can put your mind at ease (or address any possible concern (if any) now or at a later date by switch to another one of the three available AIs or tamoxifen, if indicated).

Your appointment in September is for routine follow-up, but you can request an appointment at this time to deal with current questions and concerns.

BarredOwl

[Edited as later post noted stopping treatment]

Thank you, KB870. I've revised my post above. (I tried to use the strikeout feature, but none of the formatting works for me any more.)

I note that many patients suffer from cellulitis or seroma in the absence of any endocrine therapy or prior to initiating it. I still believe it could still be a coincidence of timing, and her medical team should make the determination of whether any of those particular side effects (i.e., cellulitis; seroma; drug fever) are Letrozole-related or not. If they support resuming Letrozole, that would suggest at least that at this time they do not believe so.

BarredOwl