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 |
| 1 | breast cancer | extreme joint pain, finger joints snap, can't stay asleep. | I can't hold anything - everything slips from my hands, can't grab tightly, knee joints and finger joints snap back and forth, can't stay asleep. I am seeing my onco today for some recommendations. If none, I am going off the medication. Each day that goes by, something else hurts and stiffens up. I can't imagine what will happen in five years. This is no quality of life - even being alive. I can't even get myself dressed. | F | 56 | 4 months | 12/4/2008 | 3 | Breast Cancer | Extreme Joint pain, Back ache and sore feet. Difficulty to walk after sitting down. | I'll keep taking it as prescribed. If it is keeping me from cancer, I'll do my best to combat pain. Aleve seems to work really good for me. | F | 57 | 1 years | 12/3/2008 | 3 | breast cancer | Stiffness and pain in legs, hips, back, hands; trouble moving after sitting or laying down for any length of time. Solution: Running my hands under warm/hot water, taking hot showers, yoga, stretches; as soon as I get moving, a lot of the stiffness and pain goes away. Weight gain. Solution: Try to control it as much as possible. Severe vaginal dryness to the point where there is no way I can have intercourse. Solution: After trying everything out there, there is none. Brain fogginess. Solution: I have starting doing crosswords, sudoku, even DS Brain Age, and it seems to make a difference. Various other side effects that others have mentioned such as hot flashes, insomnia, etc., but nothing I can't handle. | As another woman said, I'm not complaining. I'm alive. I'm supposed to take this for 10 years, and if it gives me 10 years of life and the possibility of a cure being found or a new drug to extend my life even further in that 10 years, I'll put up with the side effects. I am a seven-year survivor, and I managed to see my two sons off to college. My goal now is to be around to see them get married someday, and when I reach that goal, my next goal will be to see my future grandchildren. One step at a time; one day at a time. I miss the physical intimacy with my husband, but we are getting by. | F | 51 | 18 months | 12/2/2008 | 2 | breast cancer | Had lots of side effects, including joint/muscle pain, depression, anxiety, and lots of hot flashes | Trying to get on another drug, probably another AI, and am not so confident I will ahve a different result. | F | 64 | 90 days | 11/30/2008 | 3 | Infertility | Was fine for the first three days of taking Femara. On the fourth night, I woke up with terrible joint and muscle pain. Did not know what in the world was going on. My oldest son had a fever and I thought for sure I was coming down with the flu. Come to find out, it is a side effect. I wouldn't be able to deal with this for months on end. My heart goes out to Cancer patients that are on this medication for years. | F | 34 | 5 days | 11/25/2008 | 4 | Recurrent breast cancer | Fatique, weight gain (17 pounds), extreme vaginal dryness, some hip pain, increased blood pressure/cholesterol; morning headaches. | While I had no side affects when taking Tamoxifen for five years fourteen years ago, and while these side affects are annoying, I am willing to cheerfully deal with them. I will do whatever it takes to prevent or even just delay any more cancer cell growth. Can't and won't complain - I'm alive. | F | 56 | 11 months | 11/23/2008 | 4 | Stage 2A Breast Cancer | Initially a lot of pain and numbness in feet when getting up in morning but this has gone away, stiffness in joints after sitting for a period of time, insomnia, weight gain, vaginal dryness. Had hysterectomy just prior to starting femara so not sure which if some of the symtoms are caused by femara and which are caused by being in menopause. | Have been building a lot of plaque under my gum line. My dental hygenist wonders if femara may be the cause. I wonder if anyone else has experienced this. | F | 50 | 2 years | 11/22/2008 | 2 | Breast cancer/chemo/radiation/Femar | The side effects are muscle/joint pain, tiredness, depression,female organ problems (overies, vaginal discharge, sore breasts). | I am concerned about having to be on this drug for five years....just have completed 3 months and the side effects are taking their toll. | F | 64 | 90 days | 11/22/2008 | 2 | stage 1 breast cancer | I am experiencing joint pain,but the thing that's driving me crazy is my hair is falling out. Nobody told me about this and it's very discouraging to have gone through surgery,and radiation with no ill effects,only to be confronted with the thought of 5 years of baldness. I don't think that is a reasonable request! The object is to stay positive about yourself so you can recover. Looking in the mirror and seeing "you" would be a big help. I feel like a guinea pig. | F | 54 | 4 months | 11/21/2008 | 3 | Stage II a breast cancer | insomnia, weight gain, joint pain/stiffness | Taking this drug is a mixed bag - happy to have it but worry about the side effects. No fun gaining weight even though I exercise 1 hour a day, 6 days a week. The insomnia is the worst - can't fall asleep and can't stay asleep. I go off it occasionally just to see what it's like. Haven't decided yet if the insomnia improves. I have fluid retention near my ankles on both feet - has anyone experienced that? No one can figure out what it is. I was wondering if it could be some weird side effect of Femara. | F | 52 | 4.5 years | 11/19/2008 | 1 | fertility | monster headaches | no effect on egg development | F | 32 | 90 days | 11/17/2008 | 3 | Breast Cancer, Stage 1 | Some joint pain, but not severe. Insomnia is however, making life difficult for me. Seems also to have slowed my thought processes, but I'm not sure if that's the drug or if it is a result of the insomnia. I do take an OTC sleeping pill, but I do not sleep through the night. Do have some feeling of depression, but I'm been trying to counteract that with taking Kava when needed. Also, just before I was diagnosed I starting taking Graviola, Selenium and Vitamin E. That was the end of November last year (2007). At that time, my tumor was measured as 7mm in diameter. When I was operated on early February this year and had a lumpectomy, the Graviola had shrunk the tumor to just 3mm in diameter. Once the tumor was examined, half of it was dead cancer cells and only the other half contained active cancer cells. My surgeon was surprised with the results of the Graviola. | I'll continue to take the Femara as a precautionary measure only, but the Graviola seemed to kill the cancer cells and did not harm healthy cells and I had NO side effects from the Graviola. I can't say that about the Femara. | F | 59 | 5 months | 11/16/2008 | 2 | Breast Cancer | A horror list a mile long - all the side effects you girls are experiencing. It was a nightmare and worse than the Chemo as it did not stop to give me a break... | Everyone has to decide for herself whether she can accept to feel sick and constantly be reminded of the possibility to get cancer again. I would not have this - so I stopped after 2 months and all that is left now is Polyneuropathie a common problem after Chemo: numb feet and finger tips and pain when walking. Doctors say it gets better after 2 years... I am surprised to read for how long some of you are taking this medicine inspite of the agony! I bet the Pharma Industry loves you. Incidentally, I was here some months ago. I told you that I am getting ISCADOR injections (that is a Mistletoe-Serum) unfortunately is has not yet been made available in the US. | F | 73 | 2 months | 11/16/2008 | 1 | Breast Cancer stage I | Severe joint pain in knees, ankles, hips and back, long bone pain, unbelievable fatigue, insomnia, headaches, weight gain, no appetite. Not able to do routine daily activites. | Doctor recommended Femara after lumpectomy, mastectomy, and chemotherapy. Tried to endure the side effects. Tried acupuncture, pain medicine, sleeping pills, therapist, exercise with a trainer, walking, and prayer. Prayer has kept me going. Stopped Femara after 14 months. Took Arimidex for 5 months, stopped due to side effects. Took Aromasin for only 3 weeks. Now on Tamoxifen. I continue to have joint pain, fatigue,and insomnia. Has anyone returned to "normal" after 14 months of Femara? I really debated whether to even take the Tamoxifen or just take my chances with future cancer. | F | 61 | 14 months | 11/15/2008 | 1 | reoccurance b/c mets to lung | mentally foggy, achy joints, headache, no libido, elevated blood pressure, fluid retention, no energy, weight gain, hot flahes every half hour, sweating, can't sleep, scalp erruptions & dry scalp, some hair loss | My oncologist did not tell me any negatives about this drug and what I read prior to the website was not informative - I have stopped taking this drug 5 days ago after being on it for 2 months and I am (almost) back to my old self! My husband and I cannot believe what a change it made in my personality - I had DCIS w/no spread to my lymph nodes 8 years ago, lumpectomy & node removal, 6 wks radiation only. I have been diagnosed with reoccurance of b/c with mets to right lung and given 3-5 years IF I take the medication, I will figure something else out | F | 45 | 2 months | 11/10/2008 | 5 | Stage One Breast Non Invasive | Numbness in toes | Please e-mail me. could not e-mail person with symptoms of numbness | F | 57 | 4 months | 11/9/2008 | 2 | stage 1 breast cancer | No side effects until several months after starting. At first the symptoms were subtle but at about 7 months I started noticing that my legs were so stiff after sitting that I could hardly walk when I stood up. This got progressively worse. Also my endurance decreased during exercise at the gym. Finally I started experiencing the strangest sensations of a skin sensitivity on the right side of my body. The way your skin hurts to the touch when you have a fever with the flu, my upper thigh and groin area and lower right side of my abdomen felt so weird, it got worse everyday.I went to the oncologist and he told me to go off for 1 month. | I started feeling better within days of going off the Femara. Within one week I was almost back to myself. In 10 days I was absolutely fine, no more symptoms and I feel great!!I tolerated tomoxifin perfectly for 5 years and I was so pleased that this was going well too, until the symptoms started. I'm at low risk for reoccurance , but I must admit that I'm nervous about stopping what can be a benefical treatment.I looked at the Femara as insurance that would keep me a little safer. Still not certain if I will give it one more try. | F | 52 | 9 months | 11/7/2008 | 1 | Stage 1 invasive breast cancer | Numbness in toes! HOT flashes, NIGHT sweats, fatigue, swollen fingers, irritibility, feeling down, no energy. | I have stopped taking femara because of numbness-scary. Doctor doesn't think it has anything to do with femara,but numbness started second month on drug. Please email me if you have numbness in toes. Going to oncologist 11/10. I have to take something. | F | 52 | 90 days | 11/6/2008 | 2 | Stage 1 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma | Insomnia, joint stiffness and lower extremity aching, depression, loss of interest | This is my 2nd entry. For the first, I had only been taking Femara for 41 days and compared to most comments, my side effects did not seem as bad. However, in the last month i've become a terrible insomniac and feel like I'm down in the dumps all the time. Not sure if it's because i only get a few hours of sleep each night or due to the Femara or a combination of both. I can only fall asleep with the aid of prescription sleeping pills but cannot stay asleep. I'm just miserable with lack of sleep. I stopped taking the Femara 2 days ago to see if my insomnia and depression improves. Does anyone have any suggestions?? I hate being dependent on the sleeping pills but if i've got to take them, i at least need one that will work for me. | F | 53 | 2 months | 11/4/2008 | 3 | Stage one Breast cancer, | Numbness in toes and fingers. Extreme tiredness. Very forgetful. | My MD stated that she has not heard of numbness being a side effect. Must take a sleeping tablet every night | F | 57 | 180 days | 11/2/2008 |