mind gone on femara

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arabiansrock
arabiansrock Member Posts: 98
edited December 2020 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

I am hoping someone can help me with the one side effect I seem to be having from letrozole. I have been on it since Dec 1. Have been taking it every other day. Starting today I am going to every 3 rd day. I can't take the way it is making my mind feel. I am hoping it gets better with time.

So far (knock on wood) no new joint pain, no weight gain, no hot flashes, hair in place but scalp getting dry. Went 5 days without washing my hair!!! Unheard of, I am an every other day girl. I have had extremely oily skin since I was 12. My face skin is now dry. After only 3 weeks. this am I washed face and put on moisturizer (extra strong heavy duty night cream) and at 5 pm my skin still has NO OIL on it. I do not know how to pick skin care for dry skin. I only know how to degrease and apply drying agents. Any insight, product suggestions etc are very welcome.

But the BAD side effect is the morning after I take the pill. I take it at night with my other meds. In the am I wake up feeling kind of down. Thru the day it gets progressively worse. By early afternoon I am ready to dismember someone, or just lay down and give upl. There is no light. Everything is black, everyone is consipiring against me, no one cares about me. The dog is more cared about than me. All I can feel towards my hubby on those days is rage and anger. By day 2 I am starting to feel better. Today is day 3 because I just couldn't bring myself to take it last night. I feel great today. I fell like myself. I am grateful for what I have, I am not feeling persecuted, I called my hubby and apologized for anything awful I might have said in the last 2 days. But tonight I have to take it and start the cycle all over again. I have this timed so Christmas Day is Day 3 so hopefully I don't spoil the day for everyone.

I am already on antidepressant (effexor) and up until letrozole felt the best I have in my life. If anyone has any ideas on how to handle this I am all ears. I ended up taking a valium Sunday afternoon, I just couldn't take it anymore.

thanks for listening everyone. I hope all of you are handling these meds well and finding ways to cope.

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  • ElaineTherese
    ElaineTherese Member Posts: 3,328
    edited December 2020

    Hi!

    You may have to up your Effexor to cope with the effects of the Letrozole. When I first started Aromasin, I felt like I was PMSsed all the time. I have long had emotional reactions to changes in hormone levels, whether it was my period or pregnancy, or post-pregnancy. I immediately asked my MO for an anti-depressant. She put me on Celexa and my moodiness went away.

    Who is prescribing your Effexor? You may want to see psychiatrist who has some experience with different anti-depressants. It took my son several months and trial and error to find what worked best for him for depression and anxiety.

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  • fifthyear
    fifthyear Member Posts: 225
    edited December 2020

    I have very dry skin for years, really bad, nothing worked for me then I found the lotion from The Honest Company, they are made in us, and mostly glycerin. I use the sweet almond one since it has the most glycerin. Put on once (very generous amount) in the morning, and face still soft til the night. You can buy them at any dept store, Target carries them. They are not expensive ($9 for a large tube), but I have wasted so much money on really really expensive cream, this one beat them all.

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  • ShetlandPony
    ShetlandPony Member Posts: 4,924
    edited December 2020

    Arabians, I wonder if it is possible that taking the letrozole/femara every 2 or 3 days is making it worse than if you took it every day. No, really, hear me out. It could be that the *fluctuations* in hormone levels are problematic. Maybe your body cannot adjust properly. I understand that hot flashes, for example, are caused not so much by the absolute level of estrogen, but by its fluctuating. When I first started tamoxifen I had a few days where my executive functioning was not working and I could not plan, set goals, or accomplish a task in an organized way. But then it seemed my body, or rather my brain, adjusted and I was able to accomplish things again. (Problems with word finding persisted, though.)

    These mood side effects you describe are serious and I hope your oncologist and a psychiatrist familiar with cancer therapy can help you. One option, as Elaine suggests, is to change your antidepressant med or dose. Another might be to try arimidex, exemestane/aromasin, or tamoxifen instead.

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  • buttonsmachine
    buttonsmachine Member Posts: 930
    edited December 2020

    I was on Aromasin, (another AI) and it messed with my emotions too. I got depressed, and I'm not normally a depressed person. It was definitely the drug. The "good" news is that I switched to Faslodex (for other reasons) and felt normal again. I also felt fine on Tamoxifen.

    My advice is this: don't settle for living like that. See if you can switch to another medicine so you can feel better and still have effective treatment for your cancer.

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