FEMARA Reviews (LETROZOLE)Average Rating: 2.5 (1087 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare FEMARA with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Date added. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 |
More on FEMARA: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR FEMARA | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 3 | Stage II breast cancer, 2 nodes | The most noticeable symptom at first was depression. That was followed by fatigue, bone loss, sore joints, vaginal dryness and lack of libido. The depression has abated somewhat but bone loss remains a major problem for me. | I hate this stuff. It makes me feel old. But my oncologist assures me that it cuts my risk of recurrence in half, so I soldier on. Have been taking Reclast infusions to help w/ my bones, but if they don't show improvement w/ the next density test, I'm ditching the Femara. | F | 61 | 3 years | 5/30/2009 | 1 | Diagnosed with Breast Cancer | Horrible neck, shoulder, wrist, elbow, hip and finger pain. It felt like someone was stabbing me. Also suffered from fatigue and foggy brain. I took Tamoxifin for five years with no difficulty. This drug is a nightmare. I've stopped taking it and am going to my oncologist next week to discuss other options. I don't want to live my life in a state of misery. | F | 52 | 2 months | 5/21/2009 | 5 | Breast Cancer Lung Mets | I had a backache about the second week, but not since then. Possibly a warm flash, but I'm not sure. Leg pain. Generally I feel great. | After 6 weeks on Femara my tumors averaged 20% regression. I am taking Vitamin D and a B-Complex and have not noticed the "brain fog" I had with CAF and CMF 10 years ago. This is so much easier than that. | F | 54 | 75 days | 5/19/2009 | 2 | Breast Cancer, Stage2, 1 node | I started on Tamoxifen after I had 2 lumpectomies, chemo, and radiation. I had to get off T. after a year because of crippling arthritis and asked to try Femara. Three and a half years later in Dec. 08 I was depressed, crying at work, struggling with memory loss, confusion, LOSING THINGS right under my nose, inability to focus and concentrate on any assignment, and felt scattered, out of control. I thought I had Adult ADD! But I knew that I was also dealing with other things like constipation, weight gain, bloating, breast pain, foot & ankle pain, tingling in toes and hands, sleep interruption from night sweats and hot flashes during the day. I began to dread the medication as I associated it with feeling awful. | I began to "forget"to take Femara - avoidance, really! And gradually I began to feel better, like a veil had lifted and I could do my job without a struggle. (I teach). I felt guilty but the feeling of well-being was hard to beat. I would take an occasional pill but not regularly. When I saw my oncologist May12 - he was frustrated with me. He said my symptoms could have been something else entirely! Why did I go off it? So we made a pact: 2 more months of Femara every night to see if I return to the way I was in December. I'm keeping a journal to document my progress. I dread the mental fog but maybe the summer break will start before I feel worse. However, after 5 years, I am still cancer free. | F | 56 | 44 months | 5/16/2009 | 1 | Breast Cancer, stage 1, no lympnode | Itchy, stiff joints, achy bones & musseles. Sleepless nights,head aches, sore throat, stiff neck & shoulders. | Aromedix was the first med. I was put on,and with in two weeks I was in the ER. | F | 47 | 2 weeks | 5/11/2009 | 5 | BC w/Mets to lungs | Increasingly severe pain in joints. Leg and foot cramps. Trouble getting up from sitting, worse in the evenings. Side effects are cumulative as the day goes on and cumulative as time goes on. By evening pain and stiffness is very pronounced. Can't tell if the brain fog is post menopausal or the Femera. Weight gain is a big problem. | For the person who asked how long the side effects take to wear off, I was on this drug before my mets to my lungs and went off of it because of the inability to walk upright after 6-8 months. I was afraid the damage was permanent. It took just about 2-3 months before I felt like my old self again, but I did return to normal. That being said, this time, after the mets to my lungs, I had one surgically removed and we have been watching the others. I have one in each lob of each lung and one in the middle. The one in the middle was 3 cm! That's huge. It is now gone. My PET scan on Monday showed no evidence of malignancy anywhere in my body. YES! So, I have to find ways to stay on this drug. My oncologist advised me to take Glucosamine and Condrointin 3x daily from the beginning and it has helped so much it is hard to describe. I also take fish oil. I am glad to read that exercise helps. Need to do that. Also, I switched my diet to all organic animal products, especially dairy. Why take a pill to remove the estrogens and eat someone elses. Hugs to you all. | F | 55 | 18 months | 5/9/2009 | 5 | for breast cancer | I have slight headaches but now have gone away. My eye sites changed a lot - deteriorating. My bones around my neck and shoulders feel stiff and despite weekly massage and acupunture and exercises it has not gone away. I am living with it. Weight gain is more like ballooning of the body. Someone who has not seen me in a few months said now I have nice round cheeks. Sleepless nights but acupunture is helping, but some nights I still can not sleep. The latest is heel pain on the left side, my oncologist said it is not from the drug, but it is: a new one for me Plantar fasciitis. Apparantly there are others who had heel pain in other discussion groups. | Diagnoised with breast cancer July 2007, surgery and chemo early on. On Tamoxifin for two years now five months on Femara. | F | 57 | 5 months | 5/8/2009 | 3 | breast cancer with positive lymph | I have been on it for 4 years, and was wondering why I feel 80! I have had increaseing ankle, feet, hands and back arthritis like symptoms. Just has gotten worse lately. I think it is the femara. I have some arthritis so I overlooked my symptoms for a long time, thinking I'm getting older this is normal for me, but now I think maybe not. I have a call into my oncologist. I took tamoxifen for 5 years and I am just starting year 4 of femara. Arimidex made my hands go numb. I think I have had enough! | F | 55 | | 5/6/2009 | 2 | BC stage 1 HR+ Oncotype 1% | All of the mentioned side effects including completely numb, wrinkled fingers. Have lost fine motor skills. A friend told me symptoms are the same as her polymyalgia rhuematica that was treated with steroids then disappeared. It has been a year and I don't think I can take it any more. Seeing oncoligist next week, will ask with an onco score of only 1% chance of recurrence is it worth it? I am taking Lyrica for numbness in hands and arms that makes you gain weight, too. Supposed to start new job in two weeks - this should be fun - hard to move, climb stairs, think or type, and not one piece of clothing fits. | Best friend developed BC 3 months before me - her oncologist told her losing all of your estrogen is like aging 10 years in one. At 59 I am in much worse shape than my 80 year old mother. She has early dementia and we have the same brain fog....and by the way cancer sucks, just lost sister to melanoma, mother-in-law to pancreatic and now good friend diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Best to all --- Fight the Beast! | F | 59 | 1 years | 5/6/2009 | 5 | breast cancer | Joint pain, especially hip/knee's | I don't know if it has an effect on my lymphedema. No research, that I know of, is being done. I've had 4 quarterly check-up's which have been fine so far. I was stage 4 with 19 lymph nodes removed in addition to bi-lateral mastectomy | F | 62 | 2.5 years | 5/4/2009 | 4 | breast cancer | I have joint pain and muscle pain but with exercise (treadmill and swimming) found the pain to be manageable. I continue to walk and swim and do any form of exercise which helps me. | I have used OsteoBiflex for joint paint which works great for me. However, I have now discovered that my insurance will not cover any of this drug so I am in what is called "the gap" where I have to pay l00% of this drug and insurance pays zero. I found it cheaper in Canada but wonder if it's as good. One site says that their Femara is made in Barbados. How safe is that? I am also taking aroniaberries and phytoplankton. Check out www.superberries.com and see what you think. | F | 65 | 2 years | 5/4/2009 | 5 | Invasive lobular breast cancer | Hot flashes, slight fatigue,dry skin, slight bone stiffness. | At my recent oncologist visit, my very large tumor (llcm.x 6cm) had shrunk to half its size. I have great hopes for this drug.My oncologist says they use this FIRST in Europe. I will still eventually have surgery, but hopefully with a much smaller tumor-and there is a chance that I may possibly avoid chemo. Right now- I believe it is a wonder-drug. It has given me hope and time to think , pray and prepare. I thank God and Novartis for this drug. I think it helps that I take 2 to 4 tablets of Citrical or Caltrate per day (they both contain vitamin D). I hope everyone will have the positive results that I have had. | F | 60 | 23 days | 5/3/2009 | 3 | Breast Cancer Stage 1 Her2++ | Now that I have read others I realize these new issues may be caused by femara. Knee pain, lower back and right hip pain, foot pain (surgery is next), fatigue, fogginess. I don't have the depression though I believe meditation, family and friends help a lot. The hot flashes have really subsided and I seem to be sleeping better than I have since I started perimenopause in 1999. The sleeping is making a big difference in quality of life. I heard an interesting NPR program about menopausal women and sex a week ago. Libido definitely changes (femara or no femara), but once sex is initiated the response is just as good -- sometimes even better. That has been my experience exactly! | I became CEO of a fairly complex organization about one year after my diagnosis and surgery. There are many days when I wonder whether my mind is working well enough to manage the job... I have always had weight issues and have recently lost 20 pounds, but at 1100 calories per day and 30 minutes of exercise, I can only lose about a half pound (one pound if I'm very lucky) each week. I am committed to losing 30 more by early 2010. | F | 57 | 23 months | 5/2/2009 | 2 | Breast cancer | Very tired. Could sleep any time. Very bad back aches, knee pain, weight gain and unable to get up from a chair after sitting for a while. Don't want to exercise cause I hurt so much. | I know I have to take it so I don't get breast cancer back, but it sure is unpleasant. | F | 66 | 8 months | 5/1/2009 | 5 | Had breast cancer | I had breast cancer stage 1 in 2003 and was put on Femara 2 years later. I did alright until this year and have been experiencing bone pain all over my body. I didn't realize it was from the Femara. Some days I can barely walk. In June I'm having a double mastecomy and I pray that I can get off these pills. I'm doing the surgery because I had the BRACanalysis test and tested positive for breast and ovarian cancers. I didn't realize about the weight gain until I saw other ladies who are experiencing the same situation. My stomach looks like I'm pregnant and I've been really embarassed about it and pray that I can lose this weight. I have until Dec. 2010 before I can get off the pill. I'm checking with the doctor to see if I can discontinue it after my surgery. Please pray for me and I'll pray for you | F | 61 | 4 years | 4/30/2009 | 3 | breast cancer stage 1 | Joint aches, so bad in knees and ankles it hurts to walk. I seem to have trouble concentrating and working. I type a lot and cannot get my work done for the day. Leg swelling and weight gain. Extremely tired most of the time. I feel more snappy with the people around me. | I just hate feeling so old, but not sure how it is helping with the recurrence. I wonder if anyone else feels like they cannot focus on their work or typing. | F | 55 | 75 days | 4/29/2009 | 1 | BC | sever anxiety, hospitalized twice for it. insomnia, depression, joint pain, numbing sensation in fingers and toes | have always been an outgoing fun loving, caring and nurturing person who loves the out of doors, my dogs and my children. femara has taken away part of me and my life and i stopped taking it. it is only supposed to be taken for two years and anyone who tells you differently is full of it.....read up on it and on any med you take. i would rather go through chemo and radiation again then take femara ever again. i am cancer free, loving life, and cherishing my children and my dogs. SAY NO TO FEMARA! The effects are long lasting if not forever! | F | 48 | 1 years | 4/25/2009 | 5 | Metastatic stage 4 BC | I've had most of the same problems with Femara that the rest of you brave breast cancer survivors have had, including the eye difficulties. However, except for the bone pain, my side effects don't seem to have been as severe as some of yours. Due to other health problems, it's difficult for me to nail down what symptoms go with what. My biggest complaints are with weight gain and bone pain. | My breast cancer diagnosis was 7 and a half years ago. Femara has helped to keep me here for over 6 years, when I was originally told I only had 6 months! I've been on it longer than most folks because it continues to help me. I also have an IM injection of Faslodex once a month, which was started about one year ago. They are the only chemo therapies I continue to take. Just had a dexascan, bone scan and a CT scan last week and was told the results were "better than normal"! No signs of cancer or any other abnormalities anywhere! I've learned to deal with the side effects--either I'm so used to them by now or they have lessened, as I don't feel like I need to give it up. I do know the hot flashes have lessened a lot. The bone pain can be difficult to handle at times, but I can't help but think that it's still better than having cancer in my bones, which is where I had mets. I don't like the weight gain, but I do beleive it's still better to be fat than dead! Love and Hugs to all!! | F | 54 | 6 years | 4/24/2009 | 1 | Fertility | Swelling of hands, ankles.. got very fat on swelling! Got ovarian cysts. Bleeding with intercourse, excessive thirst. These side effects stayed with me long after I stopped the medication and I'm still not pregnant. | Will never take again (unless it's life or death but not for fertility).. | F | 43 | 5 days | 4/24/2009 | 4 | Stage II Breast Cancer | Bloating, weight gain, occasional muscle and joint pain. | Beats the alternative! | F | 48 | 2 years | 4/23/2009 |