I’ve been on sun brand letrozole since Aug 24. I have low mood, hot flushes, back pain, stiff joints. My pharmacy have said their supplier cannot get sun brand anymore so I’ve been offered cipla or crescent. Previously I picked my prescription up and was given a box of amarox and accord which I refused and they were able to get sun. Should I be worried about getting different brands every 2 months. I appreciate different brands may suit one but not others. Many thanks.
Hi @daveday it would seem that a percentage of us who take Letrozole are impacted by the brand and seek to get the actual favoured brand on their repeat prescription. The active ingredients of Letrozole are going to be the same in all brands as is the dosage 2.5mg. It would appear that the coatings of the pills differ and it is that which can cause an increase in SE. Some users are very sensitive to the brand and some can take whatever is given them without an issue. I was given Sun when I started in October 2022 and was fine on it but I used a small local pharmacy and was given all sorts of different brands in the first year. Turns out that pharmacies are at the mercy of drug wholesalers and it is these wholesalers that the drug companies target with incentives for taking baskets of their drugs for all sorts of conditions. The wholesalers then push out to pharmacies whatever brands of myriad drugs that they have got the best deal on that month. I settled on Accord as, back in 2022, I read a huge thread on this forum about Letrozole brands and the majority of users favoured Accord, and I distinctly remember someone saying that the composition is as close to Femara (the original, and very expensive, Letrozole brand) as you can get so I asked my GP to name Accord (which doesn’t suit everyone) on my repeat prescription and changed my pharmacy to Boots which, through the sheer scale of the number of pharmacies it operates, has more leverage over the wholesalers. There has been the odd month that Boots couldn’t get Accord but mainly I get what I am expecting and do as well as can be expected on it. If you find that one brand is more beneficial to you definitely ask for that to be nominated on your repeat prescription and maybe have a chat with your pharmacist to see what the likelihood of getting what is ordered every month and, if there is no certainty maybe consider changing to Lloyds or Boots?
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Hi there
I also had some different brands given to me at the start (I seem to cope better with accord). After the first 6 months of searching different chemist’s I now use an online chemist and for the last 2.5 years have been sent accord every time without fail x Something to definitely consider as we are on them for 5 uears. No more stress as i am prompted online when they need ordering, it gets approved by my doctor and then just arrives on my doormat! Xx
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That sounds like a good solution @Jksw
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Thank you for your replies. Good options going forward.
Hi daveday I have been on various brands of Letrozole for 4 years, mainly accord depending on what’s available, and the side effects have seemed the same, no better no worse. Good luck finding one that suits you.
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Thank you, I’ve been back to the chemist and got accord brand as the support group I go to also spoke well of accord.
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