After being discharged to my GP by my oncologist my GP’s opening statement today “why have they discharged you to me”. She also told me that there are no different side effects to the different brands of Letrozole and that pharmacies would dispense the cheapest brand they could get and you just had to put up with it. When I told her I also couldn’t take Alendronic acid because of other illnesses she tells me she knows nothing about it so would write to my rheumatologist to see what she should do, plus why was I seeing a rheumatologist, oh that would be because I have lupus, oh yes - she had already had an email from my oncologist suggesting I be changed to Ibandronate. I’ve also been informed that eating a better diet and exercising is a waste of time for osteoporosis. I was already having one of those horrible fatigue days, after that appointment I don’t know what to think. Have emailed my BCN but she’s on holiday for two weeks. Think I’ll adjourn to bed and stay there with the duvet over my head 
What a bloody disgrace! I honestly don’t know what to say. I’m thankful that when I was discharged to my GP but developed vaginal dryness my GP emailled the oncologist to see if she would allow Vagifemme to be prescribed (she would only if I changed to Tamoxifen, which I just wouldn’t do). On the odd occasions I see the GP she enquires about how I’m getting on which Letrozole and when I said I preferred a particular brand, put it on the repeat prescribed. She also reminds me about DEXA scans. Is this GP of yours a partner? Because if not, could you ask to see a partner? If all else fails a word in the practice manager’s ear might help. This is just not on after all you’ve through. Absolutely fuming on your behalf! 
Agree with Tigress, I would ask to see someone else.
I’ve just had a double mastectomy two weeks ago (GP has been fabulous throughout from seeing me immediately on finding lump, referral, calling me back when I was hysterical and needed diazepam, calling me again when I needed sleeping tablets)….
I went in the other day to see if they had filled in a form I needed and they were booking me in for a cancer care appointment- I had never heard of this, and said I was still waiting for the results of my surgery to find out the next plan, but they’ve pencilled it in for a few weeks’ time anyway.
Keep pushing for a different GP, good luck xx
Nannabee 
completely unacceptable, go to your pals office at your trust and don’t be fobbed off 
Shi xx
She is in the wrong profession. I hope she never gets diagnosed with cancer.
The brand DOES make a difference., slightly in my case but it makes it tolerable. My oncologist asked my GP to prescibe Amarox, for 3 months at a time. ( I got 2, practice policy). Luckily, my local pharamcy can get Amarox. Apart from the original branded medication , the generic ones are all similar prices but the fillers are slighty different and it’s these that impact us . I feel for you as I have an underacrive thyroid, so trying to get that balanced with Anastrazole.
Sorry to hear this. My experience is that different brands can make a huge difference, it did for me and made joint stiffness more tolerable.
I don’t think the GP’s have a clue how to approach things after we’ve been referred back to them from the breast clinic. I’d been on Letrozole for 6 months before I found out I should have had a Dexa scan and bloods as a baseline to check for bone density. After speaking to the breast nurse she told me that the GP should have arranged it as they prescribe the Letrozole. My GP didn’t have a clue but has since referred me for a scan. If I hadn’t asked for it I wouldn’t have got one! As ever, advocating for ourselves is so important. Some things just slip through the net.
Good luck with everything x
You are the loveliest person @nannabee and nobody deserves to be treated like this but especially not you.
I’m seeing a lot of laziness here - it’s standard for patients to be discharged back into the care of their GP but she obviously doesn’t want to deal with any queries or make any efforts on your behalf such as working with you to find the best brand of Letrozole. GPs are expected to and invested in getting us all to live a healthier lifestyle so I find it beyond belief that she would tell you that it’s not worth having a healthy diet and exercising .
As for the other issues well again she’s just trying to pass the buck again - disgraceful .
I don’t know if it’s the case at your surgery but at mine there is a Pharmacist / dispensing team and although they don’t dispense my medicines they have given me help advice before . If such a thing exists at your surgery they may be able to help you with the Letrozole. Also at my support group one of the BCN team said that small independent Pharmacies can sometimes order in for you specially if you ask for a certain brand and commit to going back there for your prescription.
I think you should contact the Practice Manager and complain . If there is a number for your BCN service I would contact them as well for advice don’t wait for your own BCN to come back from leave .
However if you’re now having one of those days and can’t face it I’m sure it could wait til Monday . Do something nice today and over the weekend to replenish your spirits .
Sending love and hugs 
xx
Oh my what a palaver!
Plrase make a formal complaint
Please take a breath and then push for another consultation at the practice with a GP who reads your notes , listens and looks after your mental health as well as your physical
Duvet day absolutely but tomorrow or Monday get your 'don’t mess with me ’ head on and your fighting spirit back
You’ve come so far so don’t let this numpty keep you down for too long
Hugs 
Rest up lovely
Bless you hugs and love back. Hope you are ok, xx
Thank you so much, having a better day today. Sending hugs and love xxx
Thank you all for the support and kindness. Yesterday was one of those heavy fatigue days which didn’t make the GPs response any easier. But yippee a good day today. Been doing some research and on Monday I am going to three local pharmacies that are privately owned and speak to the pharmacist and see if any of them would be more helpful on brands of Letrozole. At the moment my prescriptions all go to our local Day Lewis and even the pharmacist in there tried to tell me there’s no difference in brands. They must all think we are stupid and I’d like to see them trying it. I will get the pharmacy bit sorted.
As for the GP I’m going to wait for her to phone me with the results from my rheumatologist and then I will make an appointment with the senior partner and talk to him about yesterday. Right now I need to calm down and I will (eventually). Trust me I won’t let her get away with this.
Right now I’ve had a really good day and I am always so grateful for all the support I get on here. I know without Breast Cancer Now most of us would be struggling. It’s a beautiful place.
Have a good weekend everyone, love to you all my very special friends xxx
Hi Frances55,
I was not aware of the bone density scan until my first 12 month check up after my surgery, when the doctor asked me if I’d had the scan. When I contacted the hospital regarding the scan I was told there was a 14 month waiting list for it. Appallingly there is only one scan to cover the whole of North Wales, and I like you, should have had this scan when starting letrozole 12 month earlier, I was not happy to say the least at the prospect of having to wait another 14 months. The hospital agreed I should have had the scan but they would not agree to me having an immediate appointment without having an email with the ‘proper wording’ from my GP surgery to expediate the scan. After several phone calls and a very stressful time I was given an appointment for the scan 2 weeks after. I later found out that the email the GP had received from the Consultant only said ‘please look after her bones for the next 12 months’. That to me was not clear enough, and they apparently had changed the system afterwards where the Consutant now requests the scan directly without writing to the GP to ask him/her to arrange it. I was then referred to a bone clinic 4 month later as I have severe osteoporosis and now have annual infusion for the next 3 years instead of taking aledronic acid tablets. I had been complaining of a bad back to my GP for quite some time and my friend had told me to ask for a dexa scan, but my GP refused and told me I was not at risk of osteoporosis so could not be referred for a scan. How wrong she was!
Total agree with Joanne, this is not acceptable please advise your practice manager of your out coming Nannabee we all love you and reading your posts.
Wishing you all a lovely, peaceful weekend
Love and hugs Tili 
Hello (again!) @nannabee
I have to agree with everyone else that the reaction of your GP really isn’t acceptable
I would also advocate going to an independently owned pharmacist, I deal with quite a few in a professional capacity and would always recommend engaging with them. Thankfully I’ve not had an issue with different brands of medication but my husband has and it is absolutely OK to ask them to help you with getting the brand that works for you
AM xxx
Oh goodness Ceinwen that all sounds really stressful. Sorry you’ve had such a long wait and that you have osteoporosis. Did the Letrozole cause that or do you have a family history? I’ve been referred for the Dexa
but have heard nothing. I can’t have the scan at my local hospital but have to go to an orthopaedic hospital in Shropshire but it’s not too far away thankfully. They haven’t told me wait times but I now suspect they will be long. All good wishes to you x
Hi Frances
I asked the Consultant at the Metabolic Bone Clinic at Llandudno what could have caused my osteoporosis and she did not know. My mother broke her wrist in her 80’s and they put her on calcium and aledronic acid without checking to see if she had osteoporosis, they I suppose just assumed that she did. I didn’t know about the dexa scan then or I would have asked is she could have had the scan, but I can see now the reason why not and it was because of the long waiting list in this area. I asked about Letrozole and she said that I probably had osteoporosis before I started taking this medication but the Letrozole would have made the condition worse. Not everyone on this medication will get osteoporosis she said.
Hopefully you will not have to wait too long for the scan but I would certaintly chase them to see where you are on the list as you should have had the scan when you started taking Letrozole. I do not think it is entirely fair to blame the GP for this as they do not know all the possible side effecs, they are only told by the Consulant to prescribe the medication. My friend’s son who is a Consultant said that the Doctor who advises you to take the medication should be the one who refers you to have any required scans as the GP will not be aware of this. The Consulant is the specialist in this field and he should take responsibility. This is apparently what happens now in my area, but the change in procedure was too late happening in my case and there were no clear instructions given to the GP either. Unfortunately Health has been devolved to the Welsh Labour Gov here and waiting lists are the highest they have ever been and Wales has some of the worst cancer outcomes in Europe. I understand waiting lists are shorter in England so hopefully you will get that scan soon,but please make sure that you do.
hi …doesn’t sound right you being discharged in the first place …can you ‘appeal’ being discharged …not sure if you can (apologies if i am totally incorrect)…i am not sure what i would do if i was discharged from my oncology department …hard enough as it is to cope with diagnosis …take care and good luck
It is quite usual to be discharged back to your GP once active treatment has finished. For those with Stage 4 and some with TNBC, active treatment goes on much longer than for those with endocrine + cancers. I was discharged back after six months as I’m only on Letrozole now but I did request a telephone conversation with the oncologist a month later. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have access to the BC nurse if you have concerns but first port of call is with the GP. Repeat prescriptions, annual blood tests and DEXA scans all come via the GP and annual mammograms from oncology. The trick is to have a GP who knows what they’re blinking doing, which doesn’t seem to apply to Nannabee 
Hi Nannabee, I was discharged by Oncologist too and I think that is fine after radiotherapy as there would be no reason to see him again. I am having annual mammograms and checkups with Cancer Consultant for 5 years and I expect that I will be discharged from him at the end of this term, all being well. However, the level of service you have received from your GP is not great, are there any other GPs in the practice that you can see instead? I was given wrong information by my GP who said I was not at risk of Osteoporosis, she obviously was not aware of the risks with Letrozole. After being diagnosed with severe Osteoporosis in my spine and hips I asked to see someone to discuss this further as it had come as quite a shock. I saw the pharmacist at my surgery and she gave me a leaflet written by the Royal Osteoporosis Society. This explains the level of calcium in different foods, it isn’t just dairy products as I had previously thought, but veg lke broccoli as well. I was told how much calcium I should have in my diet on top of the Ad-Cal daily calcium tablet, so this leaflet is a good guide of what I should be consuming every day. She also told me that I should do weight bearing exercises which are good to strenthen the bones.
Who told you that eating a better diet and exercising is a waste of time with osteoporosis? If you go on the Royal Osteoporosis Soc website you will get more accurate information.
Sometimes I think that GPs don’t like being given instructions to do things by Consultants as some of them have huge chips on their shoulder . Also if it sounds like you are telling them something and especially if it’s something they don’t know ( as opposed to asking ) they get defensive and angry and start this sort of blocking behaviour . I made the mistake of telling a GP what I wanted her to do when my Dad was poorly and she was very rude and flatly refused to do it ( or anything actually ) or to believe that his symptoms were new , yet another GP from the same surgery was polite and much more helpful as was the ACP .
Hopefully you will have better luck with a different one. Xx