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 | Stage 2 breast cancer in 2001 | Aching all over, back pain, severe headaches, hot flashes(severe), vaginal dryness, inability to think, hair thinning, extreme depression and feeling like I want to die. | Was on Tamoxifen for 2 years then oncologist switched me to Aromasin or Taxol. Can't remember which one was first, but I was pretty much crippled with bone pain after 6 months and almost had to quit my job. On Femara for the last 4 years and it has been increasing hell. I really feel like I am losing my mind and the pain is increasing daily. Oncologist says she is "comfortable" with me discontinuing. Would like to make it to five years on, but this is not a life. | F | 56 | 4 years | 9/14/2008 | 3 | Breast Cancer | Low libido, foot pain, hot flashes, lost my eyebrows and my hair has thinned. Now I may be having uterine problems. I was not aware that this drug had so many side effects. | Started on Tamoxifen, then I was switched to Femara. The hot flashes were really bad for a while but have subsided. I had no idea that foot pain was a side effect. The thinning hair is not nice. I have completely lost my eyebrows. I look really old without make-up. So far the cancer has not returned. I'm 6 years post diagnosis. | F | 48 | 3 years | 9/12/2008 | 2 | BC stage 3, 8 nodes +, hormone + | pain in every joint, cramps in muscles, knees hardly work now, foggy brain, dry skin, dry eyes, vaginal dryness, thin hair, some anxiety, some depression, exercise is difficult when it is so hard to move | very worried about side-effects easing once drug is stopped, hope I can stand this for one more year? | F | 60 | 4 years | 9/11/2008 | 2 | ductal carcinoma (mucinous, slow-gr | Body aches others have mentioned, but not as bad as with the Arimidex. But stomach burning, bloat after several months and not immediately. Vaginal thinning of tissues, causing discharge and itch (gynocologist diag), itchy scalp recently, urinary frequency. Wonder if any other people developed the stomach burning, bloat and gain later on ? Also, skin on forehead and chin has become rough. | F | 66 | 1 years | 9/9/2008 | 1 | stage 2 breast cancer | i have read about brain fog on this site - mine was more like sudden alzheimers. woke up the 6th day of taking femera and was lost in my life. stopped pills and was back to normal in four days. can't live a life i don't remember. | F | 52 | 6 days | 9/3/2008 | 4 | Breast cancer | Bone thinning, hot flashes, joint pain, blurred vision, moodiness, stiffness | F | 48 | 2.5 years | 9/2/2008 | 2 | metastatic breast cancer | extreme joint and bone pain horrible but necessary drug | F | 56 | 2 years | 8/29/2008 | 2 | Breast Cancer stage 1 | Fine for the first few months; Insomnia - can't seem to fall asleep like I used to, up to 10 acute hot flushes during the day (very trying and emotionally draining),aching joints - hands, wrists, elbows,knees, ankles, sore feet, any old injuries even the breast scar ache intermittently. Given exefor for the hot flushes but gave me the "shivers". when I came off it I had the dt's; Its the hot flushes I find difficult to deal with so I am having acupuncture and chinese herbs at the moment and it seems to have reduced the fierceness and number of them. | The foil packs they come in are very hard to press when ones wrists and fingers are stiff in the morning! | F | 62 | 248 days | 8/29/2008 | 1 | estrogen receptive breast cancer | muscle aches in calf and hips,stiffness,numbness in fingers, weight gain, crying frequently | Thought I was going nuts!Felt like I was 90 years old. Difficult to get from a sitting position to a standing, going up stairs very difficult and slow, forget picking anything off floor. My calfs became so hard and sore I thought I had a clot.I did not! Vicodin was just somewhat effective for pain. After inability to work and not sleeping because of the pain I saw my oncologist who took me off it. It has been 3 weeks and I feel human,minimal pain. Now I will be trying Aromasin-will see what happens with this one. | F | 54 | 22 days | 8/26/2008 | 1 | Stage IV Endo & Cysts | Crippling bone and joint pain, vertigo, and fatigue. | I took this w/ an add back therapy. Pain was so severa I stopped immediately before permanent damage could be done. I now have arthritis in my right hip joint. Please research before taking Femara. | F | 23 | 2 weeks | 8/21/2008 | 4 | BC stage 2 | Muscle pains; joint pains; mild ostopenia; fatigue; very dry skin; Hot flashes are the worst! | I started Femara after my doctors suggested that it had proven better than Tamoxifin. I even had a hysterectomy to be able to get on Femara. I had a lot of symptoms on Tamoxifin as well. However, after reading some of the comments I decided to write this for all the young women who may be considering the pros and cons of taking this medication. I was diagnosed at 37 and did a lot of research on side effects, treatment etc. and what I found is that there isn't much information out there on how medications effect pre menopausal women as most of the reserach and testing was done on post menopausal patients. So, be careful about the side effects and even if they aren't listed make a big deal out of it and get your doctors to pay attention. There are also many herbal and dietary options that can also help with the side effects - although not approved by the FDA they are approved by many survivors! and that's who I really trust becuase the experiences of other's is what helped me on many occ | F | 44 | 8 months | 8/20/2008 | 4 | Breast Cancer | Hi, Im so sorry for all the people who suffered side effects. Ive been lucky to date and have minimal effects . Hot flushes and sore feet but otherwise okay and 7 yeras free of cancer (fingers crossed) . Persevere if you can ...or seek another drug to prevent and keep you clear of Breast Cancer. Good Luck to all on this site | F | 45 | | 8/19/2008 | 3 | Inflammatory Breast Cancer | Bone and muscle pain especially in the right knee. When first getting up from a sitting position, I limp for several minutes. After I get going it is a lot better. My legs do tire easily when walking any distance. | My nurse practitioner told me to stop taking it for 2 weeks and then start again. Sometimes this helps to reset your system. I have not tried this yet as I don't think it would help. | F | 59 | 13 months | 8/19/2008 | 2 | Breast Cancer | Significant joint pain in feet and other joints including elbows and hands. The worst of all is the joint pain in my jaw, making it hard to chew food. Insane scalp rashes/itching, rashes on arms as well. I hate Femara but my Oncologist insists that if I can tolerate it at all that the benefits outweigh the pain. | 59 | 3 years | 8/19/2008 | 3 | Survived breast cancer stage 2 | bone pain: neuropathy - my bones especially my wrists hurt so much. i also have nueropathy and walking is painful. lately i have migraines, and hot burning eyes. i feel uncomfotable all the time. plus some nausea. i have been taking this for almost two years. also some cloudy thinking, i think it is affecting my memory or i am getting old - I am not sure which. | M | 58 | 2 days | 8/16/2008 | 2 | agressive ductal carcinoma, stage 1 | EXTREME joint pain from my neck to my ankles. Worse when resuming a standing position from sitting or lying down, ie getting up in the morning or standing up after sitting at the computer. Sometimes can't sleep the pain is so bad. I've gained weight in my stomach, feel generally tired and slightly depressed/emotional. Little things like drier skin, increased age spots and a rash on the tops of my hands. Big things like my head hair is thinning, facial hair is increased and sex, well, a distant memory. One positive thing I have heard repeatedly from women friends is that strenuous exercise along w/increased calcium/vitamin D can help to reduce joint pain... | I have talked to many women taking this drug and others (arimidex, tomoxifin). Some women have no side effects, others quit it b/c symptoms were so bad they ruined the quality of life, so what's the point. Personally, I plan to go as long as I can w/it. However I must say this in regard to breast cancer medicine: STOP approaching this problem with the "sledge hammer" mentality. Blocking ALL the estrogen in a woman's body is liken to a full masectomy for removal of a tumor! Can you think outside the box? And further, how about defining what is causing 1 out of 7 women to get breast cancer in the first place! I am really angry b/c I think scientific comm KNOWS what causes breast cancer but not coming out w/it for some economic reason. If it were, say, plastic, imagine the impact on the economy. | F | 58 | 8 months | 8/16/2008 | 1 | Ovarian Cysts | Cysts shrank, but I now have permanent crippling arthritis in both hips and my spine! Not worth it AT ALL! | I feel like a lab rat. If I'd had breast cancer and this drug might potentially save my life, it would be different. But over an operable simple cyst (they thought was endo, but wasn't)?? I can barely walk--and I used to hike 10 miles. Makes me want to cry! | F | 45 | 6 months | 8/14/2008 | 5 | Breast Cancer Stage 2 - + lymph nod | At this point, I can't really rate the drug according to satisfaction - I am hoping the medicine is helping me but the side effects that hit straight on was not fun. I have been having great test results from my catscans, bonescan, etc. to this point so I don't have any comparisons to rate against. But do know that all of a sudden - literally overnight- at the 3 week point I felt like I had been run over by a train and/or flattened by a piece of heavy construction roller equipment. Began in the night with chills then the next day every bone and muscle ached, extreme headache and extreme fatigue. I could barely lift my self out of bed which was very scary. Everything hurt - even my knuckles to bend my fingers - I felt that something was very wrong. Until that point I could not tell any difference from taking Tamoxifen for the 2 years that I did. I have a Breast Cancer Drugs book written for Oncology nurses that I had not yet read up on Femara yet... when I did I was actually comf | Has anyone tried the Isagenix program with taking Femara or during any of your treatments? I have friends without breast cancer that is very pleased with the results of the program. | F | 47 | 21 days | 8/9/2008 | 1 | breast cancer | I have already described them:see F age 57 14th April 2008 | It is now almost 4 months since I stopped taking Femara. All the symptoms described have disappeared (although I have not checked the cholesterol levels yet). I feel and LOOK like a new person. I just saw a photo taken of me last December and was horrified-I looked 10 years older | F | 57 | 13 months | 8/4/2008 | 1 | breast cancer | joint pain rigth knee,osteopenia on right hip,memory loss,tiredness,high cholesterol,weigth gain,flushes.etc.but the worst is my joint pain in only my rigth knee and muscle pain on my right arm. | I took tamoxifen first for 2.5 yrs and then femara for 2.5 yrs.I`m now cancer free,but with side effects of the drugs and chemo, who elevates my AST and ALT very high levels. 120-190 | F | 53 | 2.5 years | 8/2/2008 |