EVISTA Reviews (RALOXIFENE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 1.9 (377 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare EVISTA 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.) |
More on EVISTA: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR EVISTA | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 2 | my doctor reccommeded it. | I retrain fluid and have gained 8 pounds over two years. I thought it was my thyroid, but have since learned after extensive testing my medication for hypothyroid is fine. I have taken Evista since 2003 and have wondered about the weight gain as well as fluid retention. As of 4 days ago, I stopped taking Evista. I still take Fosamax weekly with no problem. I also take 1500 mg of calcium and 1200 I.U. of Vitamin D. I may up the calcium to 2000mg and Vitamin D to 1600. | I feel so much better after 4 days of taking myself off this medication. I have also lost at least half of my hair which I blamed on my thyroid. I was always hot and my kids complained I keep my house like a refridgerator. I would like to read some other comments. What did you tell your doctor? I have not said anything so far. | F | 68 | 5 years | 11/2/2008 | 1 | anti-osteoporis/breast CA | Massive, bilateral pulmonary blood clots | Am lucky to be alive - now docs worry about my increased risk of uterine &/or ovarian cancer. Avoid this drug - the risk is too high for the potential benefit | F | 67 | 2 years | 10/22/2008 | 1 | please don't flush any of this stuff down the drain! It ends up in someone else's tap water. | F | 58 | | 10/14/2008 | 2 | osteopenia | I haven't had the varied side effects some have listed, but I have had some severe muscle issues the past few months and just this weekend I told my husband, "I wonder if Evista could be causing the problems"? He said I should google...and here I am. I first noticed severe tightness/pain in my middle finger, right hand, to the point I could sometimes not even stretch my fingers out w/o feeling it (much less gently pulling it back more than 10-15%). Compared to the left hand, it seemed like a stark contrast. Also have experienced muscle tenderness in both forearms, either at the wrist or just above elbow crease. Little different in both arms. The pain this weekend seems to have been the most severe I've had since this started. Have had a lot of sleeplessness, just associating it with going through menopause a couple of years ago, but now not so sure it's not the Evista. I will call my Dr. and tell her I probably will not continue, as I don't like the pain (and I have a | I figured this was the only drug for preventing osteoporosis that I could take (as did my Dr.) since I had breast cancer 6 yrs. ago. I don't know if it has had time to improve my score for the bone scan, or not...but I don't think it's going to matter. I don't want to continue experiencing this pain as it hurts almost constantly, being extreme when I exert arms/fingers for any little task! | F | 55 | 6 months | 9/29/2008 | 2 | osteoporosis | I have had increased hot flashes, and have also had leg cramps at night. Since I have been on this drug for quite some time it has taken me a while to put two and two together. Now I realize that the hoarse voice I have been treating is probably from Evista. I have gone to three different doctors for my voice, but no one said it might be Evista. In fact the doctors all dismissed my claim that I thought it was Evista causing my problem. I have fibromyalgia and the increased muscle pain was attributed to that. Now I believe part of my pain was Evista. The hot flashes have been awful. | As of five days ago I have stopped Evista. I still take Calcitonin for my osteoporosis. My voice is already getting better | F | 63 | 5 years | 9/11/2008 | 1 | beginning osteoporosis | Serious pain, restlessness in joints and muscles, sensitive teeth, hot flashes, depression | Thank you thank you for this site. Reading the "possible side effects" which come with the medicine did not affect my thinking, since I thought I was simply "getting old" (I'm 64) but reading personal experiences which were like my own made me stop this medication. I began to feel 20 years younger in a matter of days. I had been on Evista for three years. I would seriously rather have osteoporosis than the pain which this medicine caused. I will be much more careful about supporting the drug companies after this; I am so happy to be drug free! | F | 64 | 3 years | 9/9/2008 | 1 | osteoporosis | Rheumatologist insists my dex scans are getting worse (after all, I'm getting older...duh). She called the RX into my pharmacy and I picked it up before researching the drug. After seeing this site, theres no way I will take it. Thank you all for telling the truth. Fact is, I should have known better. Our mothers never worried about bone density. My mom never had a broken bone, maybe because she ate and exercised sensibly. Anyway, thats my plan of action. The pills are going down the toilet!! Thanks again to y'all. | F | 68 | 0 days | 8/25/2008 | 1 | osteoporosis, cholesterol, serm | Very bad sciatica pain in the glute and throbbing pain down leg, inside of knee and numbness and tingling on top of foot and between toes. I am relieved to see others have had some similar symptoms and have posted them so I could learn from this! and I am done taking this drug. I am very active and have had to curtail my workouts and have wasted lots of money with MRI's and visiting the chiropractor and an orthopedic surgeon. I trust these side effects will all dissipate soon - I think I can figure out the bone density thing without this stupid drug. If my symptoms do go away I would like to contemplate how I can get reimbursed for all the money I have wasted. | F | 52 | 5 months | 8/18/2008 | 4 | Mom has had bc and bad osteoporosis | Sweating, weight gain I had attributed to menopause but after reading these comments, maybe it's the Evista | I don't know if the drug is working but then I haven't broken any bones or developed breast cancer either! | F | 54 | 2 years | 7/22/2008 | 2 | osteopenia | severe numbness at night (fingers on right hand/I am right-handed if that matters--carpal tummel perhaps?); calves numb at night which wake me several times | Began taking in July 2007. Symptoms appeared after 7 months. Hand numbness/extreme pain at night. Has subsided at night, but occasionally lose sense of touch. Migraines (never had them before). Weight gain of 12-15 pounds (started after4 months on E), may be attributed to inability to work out or exercise--feels like I'm wearing cement shoes, sluggishness in legs; takes a lot of effort to focus, trouble recalling names, facts; I am lucky if I sleep 5 hours in a row (restlessness, fitful, dreams, then the leg aches awaken me). | F | 52 | 12 months | 7/17/2008 | 2 | To prevent osteoporosis | occasional joint pain, especially in knuckles; subconjunctival hemorrhage (I am not sure if this is directly related to Evista, Actonel, or Fosamax D, but I have discontinued all) | My doctor prescribed Evista about 6 years ago because I went through early menopause and she was worried about Osteoporosis. A bone scan a couple of years later showed that I had osteopenia so she added Actonel to my prescribed meds. I took Actonel for about 4 yrs. and recently was swithched to Fosamax D because Actonel was moved to a Tier 3 drug. Since Jan. I have had broken blood vessels in my right eye along with swelling. Doctors don't find anything, but they are occurring at the rate of 1 time per week. I took myself off of Evista and Fosamax D to see if it will improve. | F | 53 | 6 years | 7/9/2008 | 2 | Osteopenia | Nausea & flu-like symptoms, depression, extreme anxiety (including "skin-on-fire" sensations), hot flashes, insomnia, some blurred vision. | I took 60mg of Evista for just 6 days and was beginning to notice some depression. On the 7th day, all the other symptoms hit in full force so I stopped taking it. For 3 days I experienced extreme anxiety & the other side effects. Then it decreased to "significant" anxiety, which lifted somewhat by late afternoon, plus the hot flashes & insomnia. It's my 6th day of no Evista (after taking it for only 6 days) & the symptoms still remain. I may try taking a half dose once or twice a week if & when these symptoms subside, or may decide to take only non-prescription measures. I've already tried Fosamax & Actonel but experienced jaw pain with them. I was glad to find this website and see I wasn't the only one who experienced the extreme anxiety but wish I'd known this was a possible side effect up front. | F | 54 | 6 days | 7/7/2008 | 2 | GynocoloIgist recommended it | I may be experiencing some vision problems...just starting to notice it and am not sure. I have been on it for one month. Was recommended because of possible cancer gene in my family and for osteopenia. I haven't notice any other side effects. | I went to get vaccines for travel and asked the nurse if Evista was safe when flying. She said not to use it when flying as potential for blood clots. | F | 58 | 30 days | 7/6/2008 | 3 | bone loss | At times I have foot and front of leg cramps. Noticed they came if I had coffee(caffeine) or an alcoholic drink in the evening. I have been taking the drug over a year now and had stopped taking it two years ago when I was prescribed Diamox to lower the pressure on my eye (had silicone in eye for 10 years to keep my retina in place.) At that time, I discontinued the Evista as I was having bad side effects (I believe from the combination of drugs). Loss of appetite, flatulence, diarrhea. I am doing OK with the Evista now that I no longer need to take Diamox.(had the silicone removed from my eye.) And I don't have caffeine or an alcoholic drink later in the day/evening. | F | 69 | 18 months | 7/3/2008 | 1 | osteopenia | My side effects, which I didn't attribute to Evista at first, were trouble sleeping, weight gain, and difficulty writing without my hand shaking and moving almost involuntarily. I didn't connect any of these things to Evista. Then,I needed some dental surgery, and when the dentist asked if I was taking any of these kinds of drugs, he told me I'd have to stop taking the Evista for at least 3 weeks prior to the dental surgery. Well, lo and behold, once I stopped the Evista, these little problems all began to disappear. I finally realized that it was the Evista causing them and I never took it again. Unfortunately, did you know that it remains in your system at half life for about 10 years!!! I've been having a problem with toe cramps lately, and I'll bet it's the Evista!! Don't take it if you can take something else instead!! | F | 63 | 2 years | 6/28/2008 | 2 | Hyperplasia and osteoporosis | frequent urinary tract infections, bacterial vaginitis, heartburn, ankle, wrist, knee pain, loss of libido | When I started this drug, I experienced severe leg cramps. Doctor told me to drink small quantities of quinine water the first few weeks and the pain went away. However, this drug has created havic with my urintary tract because of loss of estrogen. I have had probably 6-8 UTI's since I started the meds 1 1/2 years ago. I have my yearly physical with my gynocologist and this will be a major topic of discussion. I'm 99% sure I'll be stopping this drug; the quality of my life has gone down hill ever since I started Evista. | F | 61 | 18 months | 6/25/2008 | 1 | Osteopenia. | Severe calf cramps but wasn't aware of connection to Evista. Also exacerbated migraines, I suspect. Could have contributed to hot flashes and sleep problems, but cannot be certain. | Prescribed Evista by OBGYN, at 55 when DexaScan showed mild Osteopenia (family history). 2 years later, New Dr., (Internist), new DexaScan, shows dramatic deterioration! New Dr. doesn't understand old one's choice of Evista with no breast cancer health issues. Now on Actonel 35mg.(weekly) with no side effects, and it's been 6 months. I'm doing all the other right things and have been for years so Evista did NOT do me any good - a waste of precious time! | F | 58 | 2 years | 6/21/2008 | 1 | Reduce Breast Cancer Risk | I was only on it for 3 days....It brought me to my knees in pain. I felt as if every bone in my arms and legs had been broken. I could hardly move at all and my wrist and legs swelled up. When it didn't go away after a few days of not taking Evista, I had to go to the dr. It was either that, or die in pain. He gave me a steroid pack to help. It has been 2 weeks since I quit taking it and just now I am getting back to normal. For me....Evista is some pretty nasty stuff. | FDA needs to re-evaluate and pull drug. | F | 48 | 3 days | 6/18/2008 | 2 | Osteopenia | other then some initial diarrhea I felt ok but lately have developed terrible pains in my feet and cramping in my toes. | I have only been on Evista for 2-1/2 months so I do not know yet if it has helped my bone density. If the foot pain continues I will not be able to continue taking even if it does improve my bone density. | F | 59 | 3 months | 6/10/2008 | 1 | Breast Cancer | I had repeated kidney infections that they are not able to find out why they are happening. Also I had really sore hip joints and hand joints. I have been on it for four months for the prevention of breast cancer. | F | 52 | 4 months | 6/4/2008 |