Ive only been on letrozole for 3 weeks but I’m already taking carbimazole for overactive thyroid. This has the same side effects so now I’m getting double se. I’m hoping it will settle down like the carb did (been on these 10months)
I try to go for a short walk each day and drink plenty of water. I’m also using muscle rub on knees, calfs and ankles and toes this helps. I take 2 naproxen before bed too, it’s manageable but when I get new prescription from docs I’m asking for Accord brand as the hospital have me Crescent.
I’ve already asked the pharmacy if they can supply it and theve made a note on my record.
I’m almost 61 and thought I’d got past all the hot flushes etc but theve kicked in again. Got a mini fan to use again. Also if my joints get cold that makes them worse or if I’m not very active. I sit and craft a lot but the walks help .
Just hoping things settle down eventually. Going for my planning session on the 2nd Oct for radiotherapy. All done for xmas and feeling better,
Fingers crossed.
Thanks for replies. I am on the accord brand and dont want to change! I will ploigh on and try to get through! I will ask my onc about predict though. I have signed up for couch to 5k starting tonight so will see how that goes too and i will remind myself to drink more as that is something i do forget. Goid luck ladies xc
Hi I have been prescribed Letrozole today but not started them yet. But reading on here it sounds like this drug is going to give me a or of pain, fatigue and possibly nausea. For me the nausea would be the worse. Is there anybody o here that actually can say that they are managing ok with the side effects or the side effects got a lot better after some time? Bit worried now really…
Hi Pippi, it is all individual i think. I have never had nausea with letrozole. I take it every evening with my tea. The bone pain is my weakness i think as i had it through chemo too. I dont have hot flushes either. Dint be put off just give it a good go xc
Hi Loolarch yes never thought that. The people who do alright won’t post on here as they feel ok and it is usually when people have problems that they post here for support.
Will start mine tomorrow ?
Hi, I’ve been taking Leyrozole for over 6 weeks and am fine. I take it just before I go to bed. Still wake up with hot flushes a couple of times but no other side effects so far. I also take VitD after breakfast and Calcium after evening meal, as they can make you feel nauseous. Good luck xx
Hi pippi1969
No I take VitD & Calcium to counter the effects of Letrozole. So for bone strength etc. Feeling fine on Letrozole though, just took time to decide which time of the day was best to take the different tablets.
Take care xx
I am starting on letrozole this week after stopping anastrozole (Arimidex) after six months because of evil side effects. I am going to take it every other day for two weeks, then I will take it two days then miss a day for two weeks and so on.
I did this with anastrozole but I could not manage 1mg a day of it. All the side effects kicked in big time after two months of slight s/e’s. Really awful time.
Letrozole has a “half-life” of two days, meaning I can safely miss a dose because there is enough in my system from the day before. According to the little booklet the breast nurse gave me, letrozole can diminish or even shrink existing tumours.
I am worried about the dose being 2.5 mg whereas anastrozole was only 1 mg. Can anyone help me on this please? Is it a more powerful drug which can turn out to be worse than the anastrozole (anasty tablet).
After reading the information booklet given to me by the BCN, I did hours of research both on anastrozole before taking it, and also on letrozole.
Below is the thread I posted re. anastrozole side effects.
"After having two lumpectomy ops. I have been taking anastrozole for five months.
Hours of research revealed it is a very powerful drug and very effective at blocking estrogen production. Also that if a dose is missed, there is sufficient in your system from the day before. This is also stated in a booklet the hospital breast care nurse gave me.
The website said that estrogen should be controlled not squashed and that 1mg on Mon/Wed/Fri would be sufficient.
I started with 3 to 4 tabs. a week for one month, then tried 2 days with and 1 day without. Now the side effects have stepped up, but surely this is confirmation that the drug is working properly.
The doctors will simply prescribe 1 mg. a day to one and all, as it would be time consuming to say start slowly and build up the dose gradually. but I thought it was worth a try"
Here in the UK. we do not have oncologists to informally chat to. We only have the BCN. We cannot informally chat to the GP either.They have not got the time or the know-how. I always research on-line any new drugs given by the hospital or GP before taking it.
Firstly, many thanks for the info regarding the size of the tablet. It did not occur to me about the extra packaging. That’s a relief and very helpful.
Your comments re. website information contradiction makes sense also. Yes,I could make an appointment to see the oncologist but the clinic at my local hospital has been moved to another hospital across the other side of the city. This hospital is huge and I hate to “take a seat” for an hour waiting time. It is at least a two week wait to get a GP appointment just for advice when dozens of patients want appointments more urgently than me
Another thing, a lot of the cancer forum threads are from ladies whose oncologists have told them to take a month or more holiday from taking it. Or they go away on holiday and do not take it until they return after three weeks or so (and dread starting it again)
Tinkabell
I understand the difficulties you have in getting answers to your queries.
When I was first registered at my local Breast Cancer clinic I was assigned to a MacMillan nurse and given her contact details. I called her once or twice by phone with “minor” queries. She couldn’t necessarily answer straight away but she was very useful in talking me through what was puzzling me. Do you have a similar service? It is SO useful being able to talk to a sympathetic and understanding person who is willing to go through answers with you.
I should say that the services offered by MacMillan nurses and this Cancer Care Forum are complementary. They are BOTH useful but in different ways.
Your proposed method of taking the tablets is quite unusual and perhaps requires an answer from someone closer to your particular circumstances.
Your comments have been taken on board, but again unfortunately a Macmillan service was not offered so I am really on my own with this.
My surgeon offered a bone scan to see if the cancer had spread to my hips as I had pain (from osteo-arthritis). I agreed to it, but when the appointment arrived, it was a 3 to 4 hour wait between the injection and the scan which could take up to an hour lying still without moving.
No contact to be made with another lady to pass the time to talk to in case she was pregnant or had a small child in tow, as I could be giving out radioactive something or others. I didn’t like the sound of all that, so after discussing it with my BCN, I asked her to cancel it, and she agreed immediately as she had that scan herself and knew what it entailed.
I will try it later as the surgeon can reinstate it.