Hi puddleduck
At last some good news !
Just 2 months to go then I hope 
Magda
Thanks, Puddleduck for the glucosamine tip. Will give it a try.
Wendy
Have the usual side effects - but in the last few weeks a new one! My hair is thinning and shedding every day. Anyone else had this happen? Anyone know of any good remedies? Seems odd after 18 months on femara to start happening now. Not sure what to do.
X
hi ,ive had all these side effects too ,im coming up to 5 yrs since i was prescribed this and onc is talking about taking me off them ,as apparently i will get a reacurrance anyway because of the spread and type of cancer i had ! not the words you want to hear really ! feel like a ticking time bomb at the moment ,but feel really glad that ive got to 5 yrs despite a dreadful diognosis at the beginning .so i feel by taking them and putting up with all the side effects has worked for me even though im to be taken off them .
I am on the 3rd different generic Letrozole and have kept the leaflets on all the ones I have been on so far and it seems that the side effects can vary, not by a lot but Ranbaxy does state that an uncommon side effect is stomatitis (redness and swelling of the mucous lining of the mouth) which is basically what I have. The others all state that a dry mouth is a side effect.
I am now on Teva and it seems to be better so have spoken to my pharmacy and they will make sure I get the Teva tabs. I know that some ladies do not do so well on Teva so it is worthwhile trying different brands.
I am just so relieved that my mouth problem has been recognised as a side effect,I was beginning to think that it must be in my head!
Hi I have been on letrozole for a year now and the side effects of aches and joint pains are still really troubling. I was on taxotere so blame that too!! It seems worse when on the teva brand but didn’t realise this was a link til now so thank you all for this info. I went away to a spa for a few days and did aqua aerobics each day (I am usually rubbish at exercise!) boy did it help, my stiffness and pain all but disappeared and came back when I stopped the swimming. My hands and toes feel really swollen altho they look ok and my muscles have shortened a lot, I think that was where the swimming helped. My hair is also very thin - sometimes I feel 90 mostly only 80!!! But i wouldn’t stop taking it I know it does good - just all this suffering is bad news, still theres plenty give all they have to only have aches and pains to moan about, when its really bad I take tramadol it helps me sleep and relieves pain, good luck to us all! xxxx
Hazelmary, are you sure that’s the right BBC link - I can’t find anything there relating to what you mention.
Hi Jeniffer
Yes it is the right link but it was on 09 Dec 2011 but it looks like it is no longer there.The title was “Breast Cancer patients stop drugs due to side effects”
Hazel
Update on previous post. Good news I have been taking a different brand Ranbaxy and maybe it’s coincidental and my body as got used to the drug but the pains in joints have definitely decreased. Hot flushes still as bad but thankfully I’m much more mobile.
Ps I’m also taking glucosamine daily.
Magda, good to hear things are getting better.
My onc switched me from Tamoxifen to Letrazole mid december and sofar (touch wood) I have had no side effects apart from the mild flushes which I used to have on Tamoxifen.
However when I originally started tamoxifen, hot flushes were so bad that I had to change my beddings daily.
It eased off after a few months.
Glucosamine certainly help after the initioal 6 weeks.
I don’t quite understand why most onc are pretty dismissive of this supplement. It really go me moving again.
Magda,
I am really glad to hear that you have found a brand of Letrozole that you can tolerate.
It looks as though each different company has different side effects on their leaflets. Ranbaxy leaflet clearly states that one of the side effects is pain,redness and swelling of the mucous membrame of the mouth (stomatitis) and dryness of the mouth which is exactly what I am suffering from. I tried Rambaxy and it didn’t suit me but Teva is not as bad but I have heard other ladies have problems with it. This sympton does not go away so I suspect each company does not list fully the side effects and I go back to the Oral clinic later this month and I am going to take the leaflets with me.
I think that if we were given honest and open information with these drugs we would learn to cope with or accept this is what we might have to suffer with these side effects but we have to battle all the time to get answers. Sometimes I think that the hospital consultants that I am under must think I am mad. And trying to get the Oral Clinic to understand the treatment I am having for BC and why is so difficult.
Hazel