FEMARA

I have recently broken out with red lesion like bumps on my hands, arms and legs. Saw the dermatologist and he thought it was Actinic Keratosis but it isn't, they biopsied. He said it wasn't normal, ha!, how often do we hear that? I've been on Anastrozole for 7 years, tried aromasin and Femara in the beginning but ended back on anastrozole. I have had terrible side effects when they changed manufacturers on me at the pharmacy so I have taken my first break from the AIs in 7 years (3 weeks off) and then I'm going to try the name brand arimidex to see if the skin issues will continue to improve. It has been getting much better in the last week but I have been using urea cream along with Shea butter and super mosturizers, spot treating about 50 or more of these lesions that have cropped up. I'm hopeful that the brand will make a difference as I'm too scared to stop taking them. 3 more years 😐 I am grateful to be here fighting the SEs everyday. Also, since taking the break I’ve been sleeping great and less irritable. Makes me sad to have to go back on anything but being high risk makes me regard the SEs as a nuisance I must live with

Moominmama

Yes exactly the same here, I used to have very thick hair. it makes me feel depressed

ChaCha57, I had lesions on my palms. Switching to name brand Femara from generic letrozole almost completely eliminated the problem.

wintersocks I hear you. I have developed an obsession with other people's hair and how beautiful it is! Theres a tv commercial with a guy who is the same way about his hair loss - I find it very funny because I completely understand!. There are women who go bald - shave it all off - but I cant go there yet. Hats are a good idea. I am going to look at a better wig too as I cant imagine my hair will improve. I tell myself at least I am here even if my hair is not!!!

Hair is definitely an issue but I am developing a large hat collection. Always hit the thrift stores. I did think I looked pretty good bald but I haven't shaved it off yet although I threaten, especially right after I shampoo.

Hi Abbidoodle. Congrats on almost completing radiation! I started on anastrazole and switched to letrozole, then to name-brand Femara (letrozole). I am tolerating it well. When I was on letrozole, I developed bumps on my palms -- almost none of that on Femara. Both the generic and name-brand were better for me in general than anastrazole. Keep an open mind about the drug -- you may have little or no side effects.

HI Abbidoodle Ive been on letrozole for 5 years...I'll find out in Jan if I am to continue. I think the first couple of months there was some adjustment but overall have not had any major problems. I try to stay active...yoga mostly Best of luck!

I started metformin after about 8 months on AI's. Primary said there was evidence for joint relief and I was on the border line for high glucose. His comment, "I know you don't want to take another pill so it's up to you." Hard for me to evaluate how much it's relieved joint pain as mine were in pretty bad shape and I have had a knee replacement since BC. I have been able to lose a few pounds when everyone seems to be having trouble holding the weight down with these fun drugs so that's a plus for me regardless of joint pain change.

For insomnia, I take 5mg of melatonin before bed. My MO just prescribed low dose Gabapentin for my hot flashes, which I also take before bed since sleepiness is a SE.

Has anyone else had skin lesions caused by letrozole/Femara?

I had them a year ago, mostly on my hands, and asked my MO to switch me to brand-name Femara. It worked fine until just recently, when I got the WORST outbreak of itchy bumps, large and small, all over my hands (palms, especially fingers, backs of hands, wrists, all over), groin, torso, buttocks, legs). Mad itching that woke me in furious misery at night.

I stopped taking the Femara and had a Zoom consult with my primary care doc. In the absence of other symptoms, and because I had them before, he agreed it was the letrozole, and recommended Benadryl and ibuprofen, which I'm taking. He said letrozole's the drug's half-life is at least 10 days, so could take time.

Not sure where my AI journey will take me next. The angry red bumps/welts on my hands are unbelievably hideous. They are a bumpy mess. I hope they clear up soon.

I sent my MO this paper about this particular side effect. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4129361/

I'm 69+ years old I've been on Letrozole (Femara) for over 2 years now and count myself among the fortunate as I have not had any discernable side effects. At one point last year, I developed a lot of hip pain in one hip. My first visit at that point was to my oncologist because I knew he would be able to help me figure out if this was Letrozole pain or something else. (It turned out to be something else in my case.)

My advice would be to talk to your Medical Oncologist. There IS a point in doing so because there are OTHER Aromatase Inhibitors which might not cause the same pain side effects (if your pain is, in fact, due to the Femara). My oncologist had told me early on that we'd start with Letrozole and if I had negative reactions or side effects, we'd try another AI.

As far as osteoporosis goes: I have osteoporosis and so when I went on Letrozole, my oncologist did a couple of things. He increased the amount of calcium I need to take each day. He also increased the amount of Vitamin D3 I need to take. He agreed that lots of weight bearing and resistance exercise is a necessity. And finally, he ordered twice yearly Prolia shots to reduce the bone loss caused by Letrozole. (Sometimes Prolia even reverses bone loss.) My yearly bone scans have either held steady or IMPROVED each year.

In short - I urge you to talk to your oncologist. He or she is your go-to-cancer guru.

I am fortunate so far I have no joint pain with Letrozole. I have been on it only 2 months but have horrible hot flashes. My MO increased my lexapro but did not help. I know effexor can help but I do not want to change antidepressants. Does anyone know of any natural methods to decrease hot flashes? I guess I should tell my MO. I wonder if the other AL's have less SE's of hot flashes. I know hot flashes seem minimal but last night i didn;t get to sleep until 4 am. Fortunately i am retired and dont have to get up to work. The extremely warm weather here and wearing face masks don't help the situation

Fairchild and LilyWasHere,

I just finished my last Zometa infusion last week - I had them twice a year for 3 years, starting when I started Letrozole. My MO also said the evidence showed Zometa likely helped fight recurrence and protected against bone loss that the first few years of Letrozole can cause. I’ll have a bone scan in 6 months to see if there has been any loss. I had almost no side effects from Zometa, felt a little slow on day 2 but otherwise no problems.

Lanne

Wheatscapes, there are 3 types of AI, one of them is letrozole. Can your MO prescrible another one for you to use instead of letrozole?

Annie60....I have been on Letrozole (Femara) since April and haven't had any tinnitus. I hope someone here is able to offer you some advice. I would say contact your MO about it. Good luck...I hope it goes away.