Hi All,
I am currently on Letrozole and Ribociclib. I have not put on weight due to medication. I did by having a complete melt down after being told i was stsge 4. I stopped going to the gym and started comfort eating.
I am in a better place now, back at the gym and seem to tolerate the drugs with just some aches. More importantly they are working.
We are all different and alternative drug may be more tolerable.
Wow, you are lucky to get so long out of Letrozole. I hope I get another year.
Hi
I lost enough weight and did enough physical activity in the past enough to stop my mestruation cycle. But unfortunately I don’t think that will be enough to stop letrozole, as body will produce some estrogens anyways… Also I don’t think it can be dosed, like other medicine. The dosage is the same, no matter how much you weight, and need to be taken daily.
I now stopped taking letrozole, but I noticed after 4/5 cycles of pain and sorrow things got better and I did not have that many sides effect for 6/7 more cycle I did.
Sorry about that and best wishes.
Hi
I was diagnosed 6 years ago with Metastatic Breast cancer
I was given Letrozole and Palbociclib and have remained stable all this time so I would be reluctant to change until I have to 
I’ve put weight on but keep active have 3-4 monthly scans
As others have said it’s not the same for everyone so keep in touch with your team xx
Yes,I’m very grateful and despite some of the aches and pains of Letrozole I love my little pills. I hope you get many years on it too x
Totally agree Janey May. I sometimes need a little reminder and a big push.
Have a wonderful 2024.xxxx
Wil do, trouble is my Oncologist (public health) is not open to very much discussion.
Have a wonderful 2024 xxxx
Hi,
After reading all the lovely responses to my post I believe part of the answer here is more exercise.
Sorry to hear about your meltdown. So much to take in and then deal with the fallout.
This is my 3rd year and now my cancer is just part of my life and the word no longer scares me. I am also stage 4, stable and have been told that I will die with the cancer but not because of it.
All the best of outcomes for you in 2024. xxxx
Thank you for your reply Amel.
Sorry to hear you have such a bad time off your meds.
After receiving so many heartfelt responses and seeing the far more difficult positions most of you are in, I feel very lucky, even though I am Stage 4, I am stable and just need to move my body a lot more.
Wishing you all the outcomes for 2024. xxxx
Hi Ladies,
Glad to hear so many of you have done so well on Letrozole and its lasted several years.
My oncologist (pessimist) said i’d be lucky to get 2 years max and the longest he has ever had a patient stay on Letrozole was 3 years.
I’m happy i’m stable and able to continue to do what i enjoy. Scuba diving, skiing, gym classes and now (as i adopted a dog in Oct) dog walkies in the Yorkshire Dales (weather permitting as its ghastly here at the moment).
…and…we may not dye with the cancer either. There is many new medicines discovered everytime, who know if in the fiture they will find an actual cure!
Hi, Thank you for your reply.
Your attitude and fitness are certainly working and so envious of walking in the Yorkshire Dales with your dog. Sounds wonderful.
Wishing you all the best for 2024.xxxx
I have been on letrozole for 15 months and have lost weight over a stone during this time so I don’t think letrozole does affect weight. The consumption of more calories than the body expends makes weight increase. So either you need to use up more calories or cut calories. I eat less than I did as I can’t eat between meals now that I take AdCal3. Mind you having metastatic cancer may well encourage over-eating. Seagulls
You have done well, yet it is clearly documented that Letrozole can lead to weight gain
thank you Teddy for your contribution. I did wonder if I was too hasty to contribute. I have other side effects from letrozole, the worst of which is constipation at the moment…
Hi Susie2cute, I too took Letrozole for 18 months, but the joint plans and hair loss and dry wrinkly skin were awful side effects, so much so ''Iat one point I had to drag and pull myself up stairs! I felt like a 95 r old not a 77 ry old. I said I wanted to come off it as quality of life was more important, and so Aromasin was suggested. I have been on that since may 23. Much better, fewer side effects, but I had a very early 2 foci DCIS with lumpectomy, no lymph node involvement so as I am now 78 I decided to take it every other day, not every day. They all stop your body making oestrogen, and even though we slow down the production in menopause, the brick wall effect of taking something like that is devastating as oestrogen underpins so much of what we really are! I am amazed you get all your travel expenses paid though! Here in the UK, if you can’t get yourself to the clinic for tests, there is ‘hospital transport’ but you could be sitting on a bus for half a day! Good luck with your treatment, and read as much as you can about every aspect of the disease, and know that today, far more women live with breast cancer than die from it.
Hi Tappin,
Thank you for your reply.
I don’t think I expressed myself very well with my original post.
The Letrazole is not putting weight on I just want to be able to reduce it to reduce some of the side effects. This is my 3rd year of taking it and I am 76 now.
Will mention the Aromasin to my Oncologist at my next telehealth appointment.
Have you had success with the alternate day protocol?
Might mention the to my Onco as well but I am pretty sure what she will say… “There is no proof that it will work”. This is her answer to all my questions, pretty frustrating.
Because I live in a remote part of Australia, Weipa, Queensland, all my appointments are by telehealth but I am flown down to Cairns for my scans. This is all covered by the Govt., including the cost of all the meds. I am very lucky.
I spend hours on cancer research and have narrowed it all down to 3 things (well in my mind ha ha) and they are:
Diet, Exercise (still working on that one) and attitude.
So happy to read there was no lymph node involvement, one less thing to worry about.
All the best for 2024 and thank you for your advice. xxxx
Morning! And Happy New Year! Let’s hope it’s a better one for all of us!
There is a very informative book-Oestrogen Matters by Avrum Bluming which has been quite an eye opener! I advocate reading it. I
am considering taking hrt again to improve my life quality- thinking about it all I was on hrt for over 30 years with no ill effect and the cancer I developed only showed up as little white dots on the mammo- not even as a lump. So if I took hrt and had a recurrance it would be my fault but I’m at the stage or experimenting!!
Morning Tappin,
Will chase up the book you recommend.
One thing that has been a great back up for me is a wonderful herbalist who is very experienced with Oncology patients. She is a cancer survivor herself and fully understands all the processes and fall out. (no pun intended there) I only mention this as herbal support might be an alternative to HRT.
Cheers xxxx