FEMARA Reviews (LETROZOLE)

Average Rating: 2.5 (1087 Ratings)

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 HORMONAL BIOLOGICAL RESPONSE MODIFIERS AROMATASE INHIBITORS

 Type: Rx Drug

  

FEMARA  (LETROZOLE):  This medication is used to treat certain types of breast cancer (such as hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer) in women after menopause. Letrozole is also used to help prevent the cancer from returning. Some breast cancers are made to grow faster by a natural hormone called estrogen. Letrozole decreases the amount of estrogen the body makes and helps to slow or reverse the growth of these breast cancers.   FDA Approval Date: 1997-07-25 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

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Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.)
5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

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RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR FEMARACOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 3  Post BC Stage 2 out 7 yrs. Hip pain, thumb pain, stiffness, thinning hair, very .... dry mouth sometimes with actual lines (cracks) in my tongue. Trouble concentrating, no libido. I know all of this has been said before, but it really feels good to hear I am not alone! I took Tamoxafin for 3.5 years and then switched to Femara. Have been on the Femara for 3.5 years. Really looking forward to stopping in 1.5 years. For the lady who asked about frozen shoulder. I experienced frozen shoulder about 3 years ago. Came on suddenly and was the most painful thing I had. It took a full year of stretching and exercising the arm and shoulder to be able to reach behind my back again. Now it is ok, I can reach my bra again. I don't know if I can blame it on the medication, I was on the Femara only a few months at that time. The stiffness and pain is something else. I have trouble getting up, have given up trying to get up off the floor. My sand chair is in the garage unused now. It seems my legs are getting worse. I do exercise, I am walking at least 3 miles a day, sometimes more. I work two part time jobs, so am not used to sitting much. When I do, I walk like my 82 yr. old mother. F 58 3.5 years
2.5mg 1X day
4/26/2011
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 2  Stage 3 Breast Cancer Major depression, hair thinning on top, weight gain and very bad Constipation. Soreness and stiffness in legs and back, unable to walk easily, I find getting up from the seated position very stiff and painful. Feel like I am 80 years old!! Unable to sleep well, hot flushes so bad I have sweat dripping from end of nose!Fatigue and tiredness. My Doctors think I should quite work. I am only 54 years old and feel like my life is over! However,I am very grateful for your comments because it made me realize that all the problems I have had are all because of the Femara and that I am not the only one with these problems. Thankyou to all you lovely women, God Bless you!XXXXX F 54 2 years
2.5 MG 1X day
4/20/2011
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 1  Avoid BC Recurrence Joint pain, muscle aches, vaginal dryness, fatigue, insomnia. This is an update to my post of 8/2/2010. I saw my onc who fortunately told me we could switch to another drug. Unfortunately, it was another Aromatase inhibitor, Aromasin, which gave me the same side affects in addition to symptoms of Lyme's Disease. After 2 weeks on the Aromasin, I begged to be switched to Tamoxifen, even though I am post-menopausal. My recurrence rate is 7% based on 5 years of Tamoxifen or Femara, so why not let me take it? My onc agreed and in Sept 2010, I began taking Tamoxifen 20mg/daily. I found immediate relief of the joint pain and other symptoms. After crying to my GYN that the vaginal dryness from Femara was a "deal breaker" for me, I can honestly say that I feel like a woman again. Tamoxifen is tried-and-true and has been the drug of choice for decades. The fact that I can produce my own Estrogen (albeit not much since I'm post-menopausal) is a huge benefit. I don't understand why Femara is being promoted as the best if it includes so many destructive side affects -- is it because it is so expensive and the drug companies are pushing it? It has been 7 months since I started Tamoxifen and 1 year since my diagnosis and lumpectomy. I recently had reconstruction to repair my lumpectomy defect and am back to living a normal, active and healthy life. I'm so glad I am not taking Femara. Good luck to all. F 52 6 months
2.5mg 1X day
4/12/2011
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 1  fertility issues Nausea, headaches, wooziness, mental fog, couldn't remember things and couldn't concentrate When you can't remember a really funny story told you three days before, where you laughed a lot; when you don't remember that fact that you laughed so hard, that should tell you something is seriously wrong with your mind. I will NEVER take this medication again. I value my ability to think too much. F 42 5 days
2.5mg 1X day
4/9/2011
 2  sg II Br Ca, her2+, Est/Prog+ Stiff all over in a.m.(esp feet) can hardly walk. Lots of aches in joints, poor hair growth - use eye lash treatments as didn't grow back much after chemo & rad. Hard to exercise with pains - have gained 10+ lbs. Talked to Onc. about stopping, of course was against it. So I'm afraid to stop taking it. I hope symptoms will go away after the 5 yrs of taking it. I agree with some of the other comments - hard to stay focused at times and mind not as clear as should be. Also feel 20 years older than I am. I too wonder if the quality of life is worth the risk or recurrence. F 53 1.5 years
2.5 mg 1X day
4/4/2011
 3  Stage III ductal breast ca ER+/PR+ Initially there was a lot of itching but it slowly resolved but came back for a couple of days after I missed taking the med for 5 days when my Rx ran out. Also have the usual hot flashes which come and go randomly, aches and pains that may or may not be from the Femara. Recently diagnosed with arthritis in right knee and left thumb. Hair loss on top of head, increased growth on face. F 63 15 months
1X day
4/2/2011
 2  BC Stage 1 HER2+ Hormone+ Joint pain, back pain, foggy minded, hard to focus, muscle weakness, extreme fatigue. Was a strong and active person "before" femara. I continue to work fulltime doing accounting..hard to think. I feel isolated with my symptoms as others just can't know what I am going through. The fatigue is so extreme I sleep 4 hours a day on my days off which doesn't leave much time for fun. I take Ambien for sleep and Compazine for my nausea. I have gained 35 pounds ( I have always been underweight and fit) and now feel like a blimp. I feel useless at times with all that I am unable to do. I wish I had someone who understands what I am going through and we could email to encourage and listen to each other. If you are interest please email me, I could use the support. F 59 18 months
2.5mg 1X day
4/1/2011
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 1  Stage III 100%Estrogen 98%Prog rec Immediate first day knuckle joint pain. At two weeks severe headache lasting 5+ days. Stopped taking it and headache less but continued. After stopping 4 days severe vertigo and stil have headache.. Had mastectomy, had ovaries out, had chemo, had radiation. Afraid to go back on this medicine. F 49 14 days
2.5 1X day
4/1/2011
 2  stage 2 ductal breast cancer Hot flushes that are more like nuclear burns; insomnia; weight loss; ankle and knee stiffness; difficulty walking after waking up; mental fog - difficulty concentrating; memory issues; thirst - drink lots of cold water in a day; vaginal dryness that Replens only partially alleviates; fatigue; general disinterest in life It may be that I need this drug to prevent cancer, but after 2 years it is becoming a struggle to cope with the effects. I work full time and have to THINK, but it is so hard. I'd love to exercise more but at the end of a day I'm exhausted! I bought a treadmill and haven't used it for 6 months due to increasing tiredness at the end of each day. NOTE: Bone density scans show a big slide in my bone health. F 56 2.3 years
2.5 MG 1X day
3/31/2011
 1  breast cancer Pain in joints and muscles, severe osteoporosis, loss of hair, extreme fatigue, brain fog, neuropathy, Raynaud's disease, weight gain Look at the chemistry Femara is made with!! I feel like a guinea pig for the pharmacuetical companies. There is no justification for the price of this drug. I have quit takeing it and looking forward to being pain free and have some energy to have some kind of a normal life. My radiation oncologist told me if you have breast cancer go to France or Italy as they have a success rate with drugs they have there that FDA will not approve here! F 68 4 years
2.5 MG 1X day
3/25/2011
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 1  stage 2 breast cancer I quite taking Femara about 2 weeks ago and when I go back to see my ocologist I am going to tell him that I have quit because I am tired of hurting and feeling bad. I am looking into estrogen blockers from health food stores and will contimplate taking these instead. I don't want to take one drug to conteract another drug. Still no guarantees even if I continuted to take Femara so why hurt? F 64
2.5 1X day
3/14/2011
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Patient History
 1  BC stage 2A- HR and PR+ HER- Everything you see here. Thinning hair, pain in legs, ankles and feet...pain in shoulder, hips. Can't walk when I get up in the morning. Tingling in legs and feet. It's horrible! Took Tamoxifen for 2 1/2 years without near the side effects of Femara. I quit taking it. 54 years old and feel 90!! Cholesterol elevated. CA 27/29 spiked when I went on the drug. I don't advise this drug. Hasn't been out long enough to know long term side effects. I'm not risking it. I had mystectomy and chemo. DON'T TAKE IT! F 54 13 months
10 1X day
3/11/2011
 1  stage ii breast cancer terrible joint pain, hair loss (my eyelashes and eyebrows literally fell out), frequent nausea, vaginal dryness and tearing (any kind of sexual activity is out of the question due to pain), no libido, difficulty concentrating, confusion, neuropathy in hands, feet, and legs which has caused loss of balance and falling, constipation, and complete unrelenting exhaustion. there has to be a better way. F 62 2 days
2 mg 1X day
3/11/2011
 1  breast cancer four times felt like I was dying! every joint ached, bone pain, hair thinning, carpel tunnel syndrome, nausea, rash, sleepless nights I had already had breast cancer 3 times with surgery, radiation and chemo followed by 5 years tamoxifen (horrid) then put on Arimadex,only lasted 6 weeks...terrible skin rash....so put on Femera. Nightmare drug!! Took for 3 years and my quality of life became dreadful....felt 100 years old and my body acted acordingly! Eventually taken off femera as Dr decided i was simply allergic to it. two weeks later i was diagnosed with grade 3 breast cancer...forth BC diagnosis. more surgery, Chemo.... I now have serious hip problems, bursitis and wearing away of the cartilage, osteoarthritis, probably accelerated/caused by the aromatise inhibitors over the years Need hip replacement! I would NEVER take Femera again...not worth these lasting side effects! Am now on antiinflamiteries and pain killers to function!! F 66 3 years
30mg 1X day
3/10/2011
 1  Breast cancer after 5 yrs Tamoxifen Peripheral neuropathy started after 6 weeks. I had this during chemo with taxatere. Then I could accept it was temporary and would go away and it did just about. I have stopped taking the Femara and am contacting my oncologist as I cannot cope with barely being able to walk and my hands starting to lose function.All sorts of other aches and pains, but I was putting these down to sudden weight loss from coming off the Tamoxifen and sciatica. F 51 6 weeks
2.5 1X day
3/9/2011
 3  breast cancer hip pain, constipation taking femara for past 7 years, when taking femara you need to take boniva for your bones as femara causes osteoporosis. thinking about quitting femara, any suggestions if i should quit after 7years or after 10? F 50 7 years
1X day
3/6/2011
 1  tamoxifen follow up Arthritic like sore joints, particularly in the shoulders, knees, hips and ankles. Frozen shoulder and burning soles of feet.Thinning hair, weight gain. I understand it is necessary, but has anyone found a way to manage the pain? I tried intensive acupuncture, massage, advilno really good results and movement helps but if I stop, I have stiffness all over again. F 53 7 months
1X day
3/5/2011
 2  Breast Cancer I looked for side effects because I thought maybe Femara might be the cause of my thinning hair. Imagine my surprise when I read about joint pain! My left hip hurt so badly that last summer I had x-rays & saw an orthopedic surgeon who said I must have bursitis. I also experienced increased arthritis in my right hand & finally had to have "trigger-finger release" surgery to be able to use the hand at all. I immediately quit taking the Femara (2-1/2 months ago) and my hip pain is mostly ALL GONE (!) & my hair is feeling thicker. F 62 3.5 years
2.5 MG 1X day
2/28/2011
 1  breast cancer stage 2 hormone recep joint pain hair loss of my eyelashes eyebrows head under my arms numbness loss of balance trouble sleeping fatigue brain fog stiff when getting up and just about every thin that any one else has expericened i am still taking it after 6 years doctor wants me on it for ten years but it is a night mare being on it F 62 6 years
1X day
2/28/2011
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 1  breast cancer Swelling hands and pain, liver enzimes very high,hot flashes rednessin face,headache, muscle and joint pain,night sweats,fatgue, feeling weak, nausea, etc. poor quality of life. F 60 1 years
2.5 mg 1X day
2/28/2011
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