Hot flushes and letrozole

Kanga_Roo
Kanga_Roo Member Posts: 333
edited May 2018 in Stage IV/Metastatic Breast Cancer ONLY

Wondering if anybody has been on Letrozole and not had hot flushes - do they last for ever or is there an eventual end to this horrible se?

If not, do you have tips for minimising se? I was on Effexor but the se of that was worse

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  • pajim
    pajim Member Posts: 2,785
    edited May 2018

    Kanga, the trials including letrozole show that about 75% of women have hot flushes. And those flushes vary in intensity from woman to woman, just s they do in 'normal' life.

    For me, I just got a little hot. A friend said she would feel like she was in a 1000 degree bake oven. Others sweat like crazy. Still others turn red.

    I was on tamoxifen or letrozole for 10 years. The flushes didn't stop until I moved off the hormonals, sorry!

    The best thing I could find for minimizing was to keep the back of my neck clear. Short hair, no turtlenecks, etc. I'm told if you feel one coming on that a cold cloth on the back of the neck really helps. I also found that when I was dieting I had fewer hot flushes. I think because my body was colder all the time.

    Others will have better ideas. I wish you luck!

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  • Kanga_Roo
    Kanga_Roo Member Posts: 333
    edited May 2018

    thanks Pajim, I'll try the cold towel..interesting you mention about dieting - I tend to get flushes when I eat meals - as I have a healthy appetite I guess I'll just have to put up with it

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  • mirryp
    mirryp Member Posts: 41
    edited May 2018

    I've had hot flashes for all of the coming up on 7 years treatment. Highly recommend the purchase of froggs toggs cooling towels. Generic don't compare. In walmart sports section near yoga stuff for 10 bucks. They stay cool and don't drip for several hours. When the dry they become stiff not sure why. I keep two beside the bed and alternate through the night. I also invested in pricy wicking sheets and a bed jet cooling fan that inserts into a special sheet that balloons up with cool (or warm, helpful for drying damp sheets) air. Has a lil remote I attach to my pillow. Expensive but so worth it to me. Cutting out caffeine and alcohol reduced the number but not the severity. I'd love to tell you they go away, but I've given up hope of that. My dr. has mentioned gabentin(sp?) but so far I'm managing and prefer not to add more drugs.

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  • Egads007
    Egads007 Member Posts: 1,603
    edited May 2018

    Mirryp - good lord there’s a bed fan?? Where did you get it? Also the wicking sheets...I need me some of them

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  • Kanga_Roo
    Kanga_Roo Member Posts: 333
    edited May 2018

    Thanks for some more ideas Mirryp - I bought myself a little usb fan which is handy when I'm working on the pc... I have a USB adapter next to my bed for middle of the night flushes....I don't know if I can get frogs togs an Australia, but will have a look for them online.

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  • pingpong1953
    pingpong1953 Member Posts: 362
    edited May 2018

    My hot flashes don't cause me to perspire, but I get this horrible feeling of being pricked by needles all over my skin. At first I thought it was an allergic reaction but I never broke out in hives or anything like that. I just want to rip my skin off. I also have a remote-control floor fan at the foot of my bed that I leave on most nights now that the weather's getting warmer.

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  • Kanga_Roo
    Kanga_Roo Member Posts: 333
    edited May 2018

    hey ping pong, I get the itches too, mainly on my back where I can’t reach to scratch... I might have to get one of those backscratcher thing

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  • Lula73
    Lula73 Member Posts: 1,824
    edited May 2018

    has anyone tried these cooling shirts?

    https://arcticcool.com/activewear/shop/


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  • Kanga_Roo
    Kanga_Roo Member Posts: 333
    edited May 2018

    Lula. thanks for the link, looks like some great products at reasonable prices

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  • mirryp
    mirryp Member Posts: 41
    edited May 2018

    I got the bed fan on amazon. It is called Bed Jet. We saw it on shark tank initially. It was over $300 dollars but I use it every night and love it. Depending on weather I can pre cool or preheat sheets before climbing into bed and then use either cool during hot flash or heat if chills follow the flash. The wicking sheets came from bed, bath, and beyond. So nice not to have to lay on soaked sheets. I do wear running tanks made of wicking to sleep in also.

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  • Lula73
    Lula73 Member Posts: 1,824
    edited May 2018

    mirryp- I saw that bed fan and wondered if it worked well. Good to know. Does anyone have one of those temperpedic type mattresses with the cooling gel foam? My dad was telling me that my sister and her DH got one and it has solved his nighttime sweating issue. He would soak the bed with all the sweat (like a hot flash). Now there’s no sweating. Curious to know if it’s worked for any of us on letrozole before I decide to fork out the money...


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