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  Breast Cancer Stage 2 Terrible joint pain especially in feet, toes, hands and fingers. Depression Stage 2. I have the BRACA gene and a strong family history of breast cancer so I opted for a bilateral mastectomy and removal of my ovaries. I have been on Femara for 3 1/2 years. The pain was becoming unbearable so my doc put me on Zoloft to help deal with the pain and depression caused by it. I also take darvaset, 2 in the morning help me get through the day and 2 at night help me sleep and it also helps me get moving a little easier in the morning. I went to a pain clinic because I didn't want to take a narcotic on a regular basis. They assured me that if I am in pain I will not become addicted as long as I adhere to the dosage. I never take more than I am prescribed and if I am going to go out that evening and maybe "sip" some wine I just don't take it at night. I am never even close to being pain free but I can deal with it. I went off of the femara last June because it was just really getting to me. I felt so old and I was tired of not being able to do anything physica F 50 3.5 years
1/6/2009
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 2  breast cancer, Her-2+, ER+ Been taking Femara for 2 months. Have bad joint pain in knees, feet (particularly toes), elbows, and hands. Knees really hurt. My body aches all over; My emotions are all over the place too. Cry more. More feelings of sadness. I'm also on Herceptin (since October), so have wondered which med is doing this. These side effects have come on gradually, but if they get worse, I may go off it. Will talk to my oncologist. My rate for recurrence was off the charts (Her-2 3+) so had bilateral mastectomy, chemo, and now Herceptin and Femara. F 60 2 months
1/5/2009
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 1  Breast CA stage 1 Joint and muscle pain, severe foot and back pain, stiffness, trigger finger (didn't even think about this being related til I read other postings), fatigue, insomnia, difficulty staying asleep, dark thoughts and dreams, inability to lose weight, intermittent vertigo. Brain fog, short-term and long-term memory loss, erratic depression. Like others, I often feel more like I'm 80 or 90. I was diagnosed with osteopenia and severe Vitamin D deficiency last year and now take 2000 mg D-3 daily after 3-month treatment with 50,000 mg Vit D every 2 weeks. I'm too young for all this! 8 1/2 years post-dx of stage 1 hormone-reactive Breast CA. Treatment: R mastectomy w/abdominal TRAM-flap reconstruction + 4x chemo, then Tamoxifen for 5 years, which caused hot flashes that subsided over time. Developed lymphedema in R arm 10 mo. post-surgery. On Femara for 2 yrs; discontinued last week due to finances. Oncologist provided samples for 2 yrs; recently notified me his supply "dried up" & recommended I apply for Novartis Patient Assistance Program. Ineligible because I have prescription insurance but even through mail-order program cost is prohibitive. I came to this site seeking information about risk of stopping Femara early; Novartis Femara site has no information about this. Already notice decrease in pain & fatigue. Reading others' comments is very enlightening. Thank you all for sharing your experiences! Of course I will notify my oncologist re discontinuing Femara; hope he is not upset with me. Perhaps inability to afford it will prove to be for F 58 2 years
1/5/2009
 4  early stage breast cancer fatige,extreme back pain,forgetfulness,crying,unable to remember and joints aching i have been on it for 6 months,had lumpectomy with radiaion,feb.208.go back for mamagram in 2 months.am hopeing for clean bill of health. F 64 8 months
1/3/2009
 4  prevent breast cancer reoccurance Hot flashes, NO libdo, that switch has been turned off. Sore feet and some joint aches that I thought were just aging but maybe connected to this, including inablitity to loose 10-15lbs. I was started on it after 5 years of tamoxifen. I've been on it for a little over 2 years. Other than the side effects mentioned I haven't had any reoccurance F 52 2.3 years
1/2/2009
 3  stage II breast cancer w/chemo I have been taking Femara for 2/12 years now. I was tatally disgusted with myself. I have always been an avid excerise person. During chem I continued to lift weightsd, and run 3 miles everydau. I was size 4. I am so bloated all the time and weigh so much-even thought I watch my diet and eaxcerise. I hwas becoming very disgrunteled with the proces. My life is not what it was vefore. After reading allther commnents I have dedided I'm not that bad off. Yes-I have gained a lot of weight, have vaginal dryness, foggy memory, tired and am bloated all the time. I am depressed most of the time.However, I have no stiffness or joint pain. I am a correction deputy and have not missed any time due to the meds. It upsets me tremendously to be in this shape. I find it harder and harder to motivate myself to excerise. I do however wwant to live as long as I can and will put up with this until the doctors tell me I'm done. I've gone this far with my fight against cancer. No one ever said being a surv 2 1/2 years F 56
12/29/2008
 3  Breast Cancer Yes extreme joint pain. And yes I feel like I am 82 as opposed to 42. Had lumpectomy, chemo and radiation. On tamoxifen for 5 mths and then on femara as I opted to have my ovaries removed. It is the weight gain that upsets me the most. Every time I get on the scales i have put on more, even though there is less and less going in my mouth. I have 4 young children and a husband, so I keep on taking it. But I have started getting up early and power walking, slowly building it up to 30-40 mins a day. Hope this will help. I am annoyed that this disease has done this to me, but I know that I am lucky to be alive. Never mind I am sure the right food and exercise has to help in the long run. I don't want to stop taking femara, as I never want this disease back again. F 42 3 months
12/29/2008
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 2  stage IV met. breast cancer I started this drug a month ago I am currently exp. insomnia, irritability, crying alot. My hands also seem stiff and am unable to open anything. Joints ache, tired, skin eruptions over entire body. I have taken tamoxifen without apparent side effects. I am currently taking Lupron with Femara. Due to side effects of Femara I will probably stop taking. Quality of life is important to me. F 50 30 days
12/27/2008
 4  for endometrial stromal sarcoma I am taking it for uterine cancer with positive hormone receptors. The pain after 5 years is unbearably brutal. It is in neck/shoulder blades/upper back,hips/buttocks/knees. I didn't gain any weight on it which was good. I had to stop taking it the last 6 weeks because of the pain. I think it is working so well, I have no estrogen left in my body, thus all the pain. I have no choice because I have lung nodules and they kept them stable and I had no new growth in any other part of my body. Femara is a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing because it works so well but a curse to have to live with unrelenting pain that doesn't go away. It has been 6 weeks off. I emailed Novartis about this and they sent me a form letter. Nothing accomplished. Is there another answer to reduce the pain? F 73 6 years
12/24/2008
 1  breast cancer, Stage 2 I felt like I had been poisoned. Within 6 days I was experiencing the worst pain I have ever had. I ached so badly that all I could do is lay on the couch and hope it would quit. I am a trained medical professional and have also worked for a pharmaceutical company. I was shocked that I experienced this level of pain and discontinued it after 6 days. I am supposed to start on Arimidex after Christmas but now I am scared of that also. I don't feel like I have many options. Would Tamoxifen better any easier to take? F 54 6 days
12/23/2008
 2  breast cancer Extreme stiffness, especially in morning - fingers immobile for about an hour each morning; knuckles crack and 'lock'. Moderate but tolerable pain. Loss of muscle strength. Increased hot flashes. Fatigue. Insomnia less severe though while I was on this drug. Stopped taking it 2 months ago and symptoms have only improved slightly since then. ER was only weakly positive so decided not worth it. But otherwise I would have tried to continue longer. Had lots of chemo just prior, which also put me into menopause. Not sure I can blame everything on the Femara. F 51 3 months
12/21/2008
 2  breast cancer I was fine for about 4 months and then, wham, it's like my body doesn't belong to me. Night sweats, horrible joint aches as described by others. I can barely move after being in non-standing position, up at all hours of the night. The one thing I have not read about here, is that I am having horribly vivid which I remember in complete detail after I am awake. Some are disturbing to the point that I carry it with me throughout the day. Even if the dreams don't effect me negatively, it is very odd for me to have such elaborate dreams. I haven't talked to my doctor about this yet, but I will. Just very curious if anyone else is having protracted, detailed, vivid dreams. F 54 5 months
12/19/2008
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 2  Grade 1 small tumor, no lymph nodes Joint pain hip and knee, memory problems, hair thinning. Had five day internal radiation, no chemo. 6% chance of recurrence. On Femara for five months. Considering stopping. Radiologist says he wouldn't recommend taking Femara-- already had high blood pressure and high cholesterol, osteopoenia. Take Actonel, lisinopril, Arthrotec, Crestor. No family history of BC but mother passed away with heart attack. Anybody in the same situation? Would like to hear comments. F 66 5 months
12/18/2008
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 2  Breast Cancer/lumpectomy w/lympth n Just about all over pain, when walking, sitting and getting up. Just about all the time. 2 Days ago started to take pill at nite. Seems to be less time awake to deal with pain, seems better.Hot flashes, tired, also my mind seems to want to do, but body does not. More forgetful, was pretty bad before. Trying to stick it out til mid January. Next oncologist appt. Without the pain I could probably deal with the rest. F 53 2 weeks
12/18/2008
 4  stage 2 breast cancer Joint pain,trouble standing up after sitting for a while (pain in knees) vaginal dryness,pain in hands, elevated cholesterol I didn't realize some of the side effects were from the femara until I read comments on this site from other people. Dr. told me my weight gain is due to my age..hmmm...maybe not? Started on tamoxifin,switched to arimadex then went to femara. I originally checked this site to what people have experienced after going off femara since I am taking my last pills this week after 5 years on these drugs. For anyone suffering side effects all I can say is the pain did subside after the first year. I feel it was worth it for me to stay on the drugs, didn't want to ever have to say what if... M 49 3 years
12/17/2008
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 2  DCIS Joint pain, back pain, hip pain, sleeplessness, more emotional, weight gain, memory loss or fogginess, fatigue, unable to exercise. I attributed all the above symptoms to aging rather than side effects. I am hoping some of these symptoms subside after 5 yrs. of taking this drug. Have been off Femara one month. F 70 5 years
12/12/2008
 1  Breasgt Cancer Hot flashes, joint pain - knees and hands especially, foot pain, weight gain, vaginal dryness I was on Arimdex and was miserable. This is a little better but not much. Very uncomfortable. It is hard to get up after sitting and if I stand my feet hurt. I am going off this medication and just take my chances. I was on tamoxifin for 3 years and still got cancer. I don't have much faith in this either. F 49 6 weeks
12/10/2008
 1  breast cancer stage 1 I had my ovaries removed because I was pre-menopausal, then started Femara 2 months later. I soon started to experience more hot flashes, joint pain, insomnia. After 5 months, I couldn't get off the couch, extreme pain and aches like I had the flu, and my hair was falling out by the handful. After my knee swelled up like a balloon, I went off the meds, and still (6 months later) have pain in my knee, elbows and hands. My doctor told me to rest when my joints hurt, which caused me to lose muscle tone in my entire body, and weight gain. Although I no longer feel like a 95 year old woman, I have physical therapy twice a week to regain my strength. I also worry every day... what if the cancer comes back because I'm no longer on Femara? We need another option. The good news is, my hair is growing back, and I have interesting 1" stubble all over my head, growing through my longer hair! F 49 5 months
12/10/2008
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 2  Breast Cancer Stage II Pain and numbness in hands and feet. Hard to concentrate, feeling confused at times. Difficulting getting up after sitting down. Feeling tired and old. Cry easily. Don't know about hair loss as I have no hair due to chemo. M 59 15 days
12/8/2008
 2  Breast cancer Pain in joints, insomnia, blurred vision, feeling exhausted, numbness in hands, with extreme hand pain. Not able to sleep due to pain in hands, and not able to fully use my hands. Stopped taking Femara and started Tamoxifen several days ago. I am already feeling better. My hand pain and numbness have decreased a little each day, and my vision is less blurred. I tried but was not able to tolerate Femara. F 48 2 months
12/6/2008

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