Hi
I was diagnosed with breast cancer on 16th Jan… I have since had two surgeries and have taken an age to heal after the second. But finally been given my date for radiotherapy… My problem is the Letrozole… I thought menopausal hot flushes were bad, but these are ten times worse… I am sure I am going to self combust!! I am also putting on weight… My question to you lovely people is… What are the alternatives for post menopausal women ?? Thank you in advance …
I see nobody has responded, so I’ll toss what I know into the pool:
It’s Letrozole, Anastrozole, or Exemestane. They all do more or less the same thing, which is to block the uptake of Oestrogen. The first two are reversible, the third one isn’t. Here is an unbiased (I think) link: (removed because it wasn’t as pertinent as I thought it was)
(You might see in another post that I have decided to quite the Letrozole, starting now.)
Hi GillyT
I was peri menopausal when I started on Tamoxifen 2 years ago but have now been declared post menopausal. I am due to have an appointment to discuss whether I change to Letrozole or one of the other similar drugs or stay on Tamoxifen. I am ok with Tamoxifen and reluctant to change. Maybe you can ask your consultant if you can change to Tamoxifen or one of the other drugs? I do have hot flushes, but not too bad, and haven’t so far had an issue with weight gain. However, we are all individual and what works for one may not for another so I wouldn’t want to over sell Tamoxifen as I have read many other stories about tough side effects some people suffer from.
I wish you all the best for your recovery and radiotherapy, and happy to answer any more questions if I can help at all.
Evie xx
Hi GillyT
Meant to reply yesterday but ran out of time. I have been on Letrozole now for jut over 5 months and have found that the depth of the hot flushes seems to change depending on which manufacturer your tablets are made by. At the moment I am on one that I really do not like, really bad hot flushes but not very frequent which I suppose is a plus. It may be worth asking your doctor if you can try a different brand and see if the hot flushes improve. Hope that this helps, there are quite a few threads on hear about different brands and how they affect people differently. Good luck and at least you know that there is an end date to taking this drug.
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