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  BC, T2, one +lymphnode Aromasin was AWEFULL; was switch to Femara. After 2.5 years, fatigue, hair "mess", vaginal dryness, moderate joint pain with regular exercise (!!). Depression gradually increases after 2.5 years on Femara. Able to monitor "normal low" weight with healthy food (lots of fresh fruits, vegs; do NOT eat processed food and junk...lots of water), not a special diet, and exercise (!). Suggestions: EXCERCISE (join the gym: it disciplined!) even with a joint pain. This is the best for those of you who gained weight: more weight - more work for joints.... I was on the treadmill even while on 6 months of chemo and 3 months of radiation. KY works somewhat for vaginal dryness. Try Clonasepine+Trazadone for depression and GOOD sleep at night time. Bone loss? Fossamax works very well (checking on dexa scan): 1 pill weekly. Ladies, we all have to make a decision: To live. Or to live better. "There is no free lunch"... Still, with growing depression I am thinking to take a break with Femara for a month (?). My husband (the best in the world….) is trying to encourage me to take the break. F 55 2.5 years
9/13/2007
 2  Stage 2 Breast Cancer-no nodes I ache from my hips down. My joints are terrible. I thought that possibly it was due to my surgery/treatments and getting out of shape? I have gained weight quickly (I needed a little) but am mainly concered about the pain in my leggs, knees and back. It has been 1 year since my surgery. I am having trouble catching my breath. After taking the drug for 30-60 days I had blood work done. For the first time in my life my cholesterol was elevated.... considerably. I am tired, have a constant headache and can't get out of bed in the morning. It takes me 10 minutes to "warm up" enough to walk. I am going to stop taking the Femara. I don't know that the advantages out weight the disadvantages. Does anyone know if there is a potential for blood clots forming with this drug? I am not happy with it at this point. I will research further and see if something else could be causing the achy joints, depression and constant tiredness. F 49 9 months
9/12/2007
 3  Breast Cancer Intense aching of muscles, joint pain, pain in my feet and fingers, stiffness upon getting out of bed in the morning and getting up after sitting for an extended period I am taking a break from this (1 month) as advised by my oncologist. If the symptoms subside, I will be put on another drug similar in nature, but hopefully without the side effects. F 47 2 years
9/9/2007
 1  stage 2 breast cancer -estrogen pos after 2 months I went from jogging 3 miles a day to not being able to get out of bed or tie my shoes..back pain, stiffness and horrible bilateral thumb pain immediately I stopped Femara 1 month ago and took a week of cortisone tablets. Slowly I'm returning to my normal self..however the thumb pain continues..how did this drug get approved by the FDA with all these complaints. I consider the quality of my life more important than the quantity. F 56 2 days
9/4/2007
 4  breast cancer, stage 2b, no chemo I have been on this drug for 10 days now and I am perfectly fine. Not one side effect so far. I wonder if no chemo made a difference. I know 3 other people who after 3 yrs have no problem either. So there are some of us who are ok on this drug. All you can do is try it for yourself. One day at a time. Do not be afraid or anxious over the side effects. Do not fill your head with side effects. My hair has been baby fine and thin my whole life nothing to do with femara. At 55, I have mild hot flashes anyway and since taking femara they are the same, no worse, so it is a stage of life not the drug. My sympathy goes out to those who do have these terrible side effects and i wish i could help you. I also think people should know there are some of us without these side effects as well. So take the drug, keep an open mind, know that the side effects can happen but might not happen as well. Keep a daily logbook, track how you feel, every ache or pain may not be drug related, or it might be, onl I wish anyone who needs to take any drug would never have a side effect but in a perfect world we would not have cancer either. I am wondering if not doing chemo made a difference for me with the side effects. I know it has only been 10 days but some have a reaction right away. So far I am ok. If anyone wants to contact me they may by email. F 55 10 days
8/31/2007
Email
 3  Stage III Breast Cancer 1 pos node I just started taking Femara a month ago. Two weeks after starting I started to have joint and muscle pain in my feet, knees, hips. It is difficult to get up in the morning. I feel like I am 100 years old and I'm only 43! I find that if I sit for any length of time I have difficulty getting up and same joint and muscle pain. I was hoping that the side effects would diminish after time but it appears from what others are reporting that it gets worse. It feels like I have arthritis. I am taking Femara for Stage 3 Estrogen pos Breast Cancer. Oncologist says better outcome with Femara than Tamaxifin. My mother died of Breast Cancer and it scares me to think about the same outcome. I have two young children and want to be alive to experience their significant life events. Chemo was so bad that I feel like I would do almost anything to stop any metastasis, but these side effects are challenging. I hope I can combat some of it by forcing myself to walk and exercise more. Have been extremely moody and hard to live with!! F 43 30 days
8/30/2007
 1  Breast Cancer Reoccurence I had extreme pain in joints...pain in wrists (carpal tunnel-like symptoms), hips, legs and feet...weight gain, sleeplessness and overall inflammation..62 years old and felt like I was 90! After sitting for a short period of time, incredible weakness in legs upon standing..felt lethargic and weak. Paid for expensive testing for R/A and arthritis..all came back negative. THEY ARE STILL PRESCRIBING THIS DRUG?! After reading this site in April, 2006, I went off Femara. I am absolutely shocked to see now how physicians are continuing to prescribe Femara in a wide range of cases-and with such debilitating side effects! I read these stories and the difficulties patients are having with this drug and they are all too familiar. When I went off Femara, my oncologist was sympathetic, almost apologetic, but had no remedies or answers for me. About a year ago, I came across a natural nutritional cleansing (at a cellular level)and after many months, have actually found substantial relief with this regime. I would be more than happy to share my experience with anyone who might be interested! It's a shame that nothing has been done to really inform patients of these very possible side effects before prescribing Femara--I am so very grateful for this site!! F 63 8 months
8/30/2007
Email
 4  Breast cancer. Stage 2. Hip pain, complete loss of libido. Stiffness on waking - walk like a cripple for first 5 minutes - similar to Quasi-modo. General depression. Weight gain of 10 pounds. On Femara after 4.5 years on tamoxifen.Much worse side effects but cannot take tamoxifen any longer. Will take anything to prevent recurrence! Joint pain makes me worry about recurrence but this site has made me feel better! F 46 6 months
8/29/2007
Email
 2  Breast Cancer 15 pound weight gain. Cannot lose weight no matter what I do. Lack of sex drive. Tingling in fingers. Sharp pains in lower right abdomen in the intestine/kidney area. Pains have continued to get worse and more frequent over the 1 1/2 years I've been taking it. I started taking Arimidex March of 2005. Severe right side lower abdominal (intestine/kidney area)pains began but I continued to take it for 9 months. Scans revealed I had gallstones (Probably from the Tomoxifan I took for 3 years) and some tiny kidney stones. Stopped Arimidex for two weeks and was fine. Started Femara. Within a few weeks horrible side pains started again. I have been scanned, had my gal bladder removed and scanned some more. I plan to stop taking the Femara for two weeks to see if the right side lower abdominal pain stops. I felt great prior to taking these "preventive" drugs, despite chemos, radiation, etc. I'm sure they are great for most people. F 49 1 years
8/29/2007
 4  Stage 4 Breast Cancer Stffness in joints, really badsweating bouts followed by the chills, claw like hands every morning and stiff sore joints everytime I sit or lay for any period. I do have cancer in my breast lung, lymph, liver, spine and brain - I have to place pain patches on my back due to the spine cancer involvement and many fractured vertebrae - I am wondering after reading your other responses if the femara is making the pain worse. I thought my hair thinning was from my brain radiation - maybe the femara is contributing to that attractive side effect. Femara has however, reduced the cancer tumors in my lymph, liver, breast, and lung area. I quess this gives drug gives new meaning to "no pain - no gain in achieving your goal" mine is to be cancer free - I have a little 12 year old daughter and I am not ready to go yet! F 55 7 months
8/27/2007
Email
 2  endometriosis I have been taking this for endo for about a month, I had a hystertomy that left my ovaries even though I begged the Dr. to take them and the endo ran wild, recently went to have the ovaries removed and couldn't get to the left ovary since it is embedded and strangulating my colon against my abdomen wall. Was put on Femera to stop the progression of the endo. However have had severe reaction, vomiting and sick felling all the time. Severe joint pain with headaches every day. I just noticed that my belly is getting bigger even though I hardly eat cause I am always sick to my stomach. My hair is very dry, as well as my skin. I also have noticed that I can not eat or drink certain things with out getting violently ill. Coffee, eggs, sodas, anything deep fryed. Overall I am not happy however I am hoping it stops the endo from growing so that the next surgery will not be as complicated. F 34 1 months
8/27/2007
 2  Stage 1 breast cancer General achiness, hot flashes and night sweats causing sleep disturbances, some short term memory problems, numbness and tingling in fingers, weight gain at waist and tummy. How much of this might be menopausal and 'normal', I don't know, but I switched from Tamoxifen which caused hot flashes, to this which piled on so many more side effects. All of them are "relatively" mild but very annoying. My numb fingers are becoming an obstacle at work though. F 51 6 months
8/25/2007
 1  endometriosis night sweats, no labedo,huge belly gain, joint pains, malaise, extreme fatigue! i don't even know if it's helping for what i have. had a total/radical hysterectomy when i was 30. evidentally, part of ovary was left in and endomitriosis has run wild. tissues already killed/strangulated one ureter killing one kydney. We'll see if this works. Not sure yet! F 46 6 months
8/20/2007
 1  left breast mastectomy terrible knee issues. Bakers cysts in both knees, X-rays show arthritis in both knees now, severe swelling of knees...trouble walking, could not exercise,I used to walk two miles at a fast pace every day until I started Femara. I am now starting to do pool exercises to regain knee strength. My quality of life has suffered greatly since taking Femara. I felt better after my surgeries(mastectomy and reconstruction) than I do now. I stayed on Femara for one year and quit to hopefully regain use of my legs. Just started Tamoxifin. F 51 1 years
8/11/2007
Email
 2  BC stage 2 (1 node) About a year after starting Femara, I experienced stiffness in my fingers upon waking. It has gradually gotten worse, so that the stiffness remains all day...but the drug is effective against recurrence, so what are the alternatives? F 49 1.5 years
8/10/2007
 1  Infertility/premenstrual spotting So nauseous I thought I might be pg despite negative tests, headaches which I typically never suffer from. Postmenstrual bleeding that is still going on cycle day 11 - never have I had this, never! I took Femara for spotting before my period and it is causing me to bleed long after my period should be over! I've charted my cycle for 6 years now and never have I had this happen. I'm very unhappy w/how this med is affecting me. I can only imagine what else it is doing to my body/cycle...as if I wasn't already messed up, this seems to be making things worse. F 34 5 days
8/7/2007
Email
 4  stage II breast cancer 4lymph nodes extreme foot and hip pain and vaginal and skin dryness occasional headaches After 6 months on femara began taking MSM and "Move Free" has helped tremendously can now walk 1 hour at amoderate pace still have dryness and feel cannot use an estrogen product as breast cancer was 100% estrogen positive this has interfered with intercourse Was on tamoxifen for 5 yrs after 5 rounds of chemo and mastecomy will continue femara feel that I am doing something positive F 65 3 days
7/31/2007
Email
 1  Breast cancer I am experiencing sudden weight increase, cholestrol fluctuations, vision loss and palpitations I was discovered with breast cancer 6 years ago, have had chemotherapy and was on temoxofin for 5 years. My Oncologist has put me on this medication. I would like to know that if I stop taking this medication for fear of health, would that be advisable. Also, what if I continue taking temoxofin? F 63 10 days
7/31/2007
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 2  Multifocal DCIS & LCIS Was on Tamoxifen for 2 years with no side effects. Started taking Femara 6 months ago. Now have severe foot pain and an MRI of my foot showed a torn ligament and numbness of my right hand with an MRI showing cervical radiculopathy. I may need both neck and foot surgery. My oncologist felt the side effects were unrelated but is having me go back on Tamoxifen instead. Like others, feel like I have aged 10 years in 6 months. Have difficulty walking because of foot pain and doing weights because of arm numbness. Hard to exercise when everything hurts! F 50 6 months
7/28/2007
Email
 2  stage 2 a estrogen pos breast ca joint pain, stiffness, difficulty walking at times, hands sore, fatigue, heart palpitations, and higher cholesterol been on this for 2 years following 2 years of tamoxifen and 1 year of another aromatase inhibitor. My onc wants me on this for 2 more years. Feel arthritic, can be hard to walk in the morning, feel clumsy because I keep dropping things. Does this get better after stopping? 51 2 years
7/16/2007

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