Arimidex v. Femara
Arimidex v. Femara Been on Armidex for 2 years and have dreadful joint problems. My consultant is now suggesting that I might want tto switch to Femara (letrazole).
Have any of you ladies beeen on this? Are the side effects bad?
Love to hear from you before switching, as I have a feeling ‘better the devil you know etc.’ rather than yet again starting on a different drug.
Birgit
Hi Birgit I was on Arimidex for 18 months, I got such bad side effects from joint, knee and hip pain that I had to come off it. My oncologist put me on Aromasin over 18 months ago, and apart from a slight acheing in my ankles (which goes away when I start walking) I get no side effects from it.
Oh, I did get brain cancer last year but apparently this is absolutely nothing to do with the breast cancer thing at all and the AIs did not cause it either. I have got just about 20 months left to take the AIs, so hopefully I will cope with Aromasin.
My oncologist wouldn’t put me on Femara, I think it was because I am old!
Not sure if this has been any help to you, I just want to say how I also suffered on Arimidex. I was preparing to come off it without taking anything at all if they wouldn’t give me something else. I was in that much pain. Love Roz x
Femara I have been on Femara for 7 months. Just a bit of stiffness - that’s all. I’m 52.
Margaret
Femara Been on Femara for 4 months and developed very very painful hands.
Try checking other sites e.g askapatient femara. Just goggle.
Lots of Love
Peach
I have terrible problems with the Arimidex - joint pain and bone pain is bad. Now on arthrotec and its was great for a couple of weeks but I think the arimidex has figured out how to get around it. GP says I cant stay on it long term anyway.
I’ve been on Femara for 2 months, my onc delayed me starting it for a month as I had some leg pains while having chemo and then I think I did far too much walking up and down to rads for five weeks, I thought I had to have some exercise and make the daily trip more interesting. So by the time I started Femara I was still a bit achey anyway. Now I can’t tell if the aches I get in my calves, knees and feet are the Femara or actually physical. Chemo pushed me into menopause so are the aches from that? I’m 51. I agree that moving around staves the feelings off to some degree but have had a gentle swim this morning and then went shopping for a couple of hours this afternoon. My legs are really achey at the moment and I couldn’t have walked around shops anymore than I did. I haven’t discussed this with my GP at the moment and due to see onc in October.
Lyn
Hi
I have been on femara for 18 months, most of the aches have eased up, had both hands operated on for numbness and pins and needles to relieve carpal tunnel. Feet were very bad at first, it felt like I was walking on blocks of wood first thing in the morning. That is gone now, sometimes my hands are stiff 1st thing in the morning but wears off in the day, I do use homeopathic medicine for joint stiffness called “Toxicodendron”. It may help, I have the most obvious syptoms as well. if you are interested you can find a topic I started in “living with breast cancer” under ‘my life with Femara if you want to read it’.
It wasn’t a very happy period of time in my life when I wrote that!
Bunty