Letrozole with IBS and lactose intolerance

I have just started this treatment and am experiencing cramps and loose stool four hours after taking.
Will this improve over time? I am just concerned that the tablets contain lactose and I am lactose intolerant but thought the amount would be too small to cause this.
How long do I give it to improve please? It has really set me back.
The sucrose in the biophosphate is not helping either.
Any advice much appreciated. Thank you.

I haven’t started letrozole yet, but I am also lactose intolerant and I didn’t know it contained lactose, so this will be a problem for me too. Have you considered taking a lactase (the enzyme we miss) tablet at the same time? https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/311444195

Hello luckay

Thanks for posting.

It’s understandable you’d like to know if the cramps and loose stools you’ve developed with letrozole will improve over time.

Lactose is one of the ingredients in a range of medications. According to this information there is not usually enough lactose to cause an issue, but it depends on the degree of intolerance.

Diarrhoea is a side effect of letrozole so it might not be related to the lactose. Side effects will often reduce as time goes on but do speak to your treatment about this to make sure you know the exact cause of the diarrhoea. They may suggest continuing with letrozole but prescribe something to help with the diarrhoea and cramps or they may suggest switching hormone therapy. We are not sure about the amylase supplement that @flower5 suggests but you could ask your treatment team about this as well.

It is not clear if the bisphosphonate is causing a similar side effect but let your treatment team know about all the symptoms and side affects you have so you can be thoroughly assessed.

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