Low Neutrophils on Letrozole.

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Coco59
Coco59 Member Posts: 3
edited December 2019 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

Hi ladies, I'm curious to know if anyone taking Letrozole/Femara has been diagnosed with low neutrophils. My count is dropping and my oncologist wants to retest in two weeks. She did mention that it is listed as a rare side effect of Letrozole. I have been lucky so far with side effects as in I've had very few, just minor aches so I really don't want to change to another! TIA for any responses

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  • Newnorm
    Newnorm Member Posts: 100
    edited November 2019

    Hi Coco59

    I’ve just had my bloods done and my neutrophils were low also. They have rarely recovered back to normal since I finished treatment. I’m concerned it may mean something more sinester

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  • KBL
    KBL Member Posts: 2,521
    edited November 2019

    I’m on Letrozole and Ibrance. It’s not the Letrozole in my case but the Ibrance that drops them very low. On my week off of Ibrance they rebound. I’m still on Letrozole during that week.

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  • Coco59
    Coco59 Member Posts: 3
    edited November 2019

    Hi Newnorm,

    Thanks for responding. My levels haven’t rebounded fully since I finished radiation either but they’ve stayed more or less the same level until this last check. I’m not too concerned that it might be anything ominous. I am relieved to know why I’ve been getting little infections that I wouldn’t normally get and my mouth has been sore for a while which from what I’ve been reading is consistent with low neutrophils. I’ll get retested in a couple of weeks as I’ll be traveling next weeks so won’t have the opportunity to do it until then. I’ll post an update with the results. Try not to stress about your levels, easier said than done I know! What did your oncologist say

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  • Coco59
    Coco59 Member Posts: 3
    edited November 2019

    Thanks for responding KBL.

    How are you doing? I see that your diagnosis is fairly recent! As I said I'm hoping that it's not the Letrozole causing the drop in neutrophils because my side effects are minimal to none,which is great and that's not the case for a lot of people! I really don't want to change but I guess I'll have to if it comes down to it and will deal with it.

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  • KBL
    KBL Member Posts: 2,521
    edited December 2019

    Yes, I was just diagnosed de novo in May, although my symptoms started in October of 2018. I started both medications in June. I’ve taken the letrozole the whole time, but I’ve only gotten through 5 cycles of the Ibrance due to my neutrophils being too low. Whenever I’m off, they rebound.

    I have good days and bad. I go through periods in the day with no energy, but I just keep moving. I’m still able to work, but I’ve slowed down just a tad. I’ve just started getting the sores in my mouth as well. I’ve always been prone to them and was very happy not to have them. I bit my lip a few weeks ago and got a doozie that took much longer to heal than normal.

    Other than that, I’ve got a good attitude and still have a hard time believing my diagnosis, as the only way we found it was through two endoscopies with biopsy. Not one image has picked it up. Just odd.

    I hope you are able to stay on the Letrozole, especially since you have no side effects.

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