Have been on Letrozole for about 3 months now, have the standard SEs - hot flushes and aching joints but have been putting weight on as well has anyone else experienced this? THink the weight gain is getting me down more now that the other SEs which I am managing to cope with as taking clonidine and pain killers.
Have tried to watch what I eat and have not been ‘bad’ - don’t want to keep putting the weight on as it doesn’t help the aches if carrying too much weight. Have put just over a stone on since my mastectomy in May
Have been on tamoxifen and now anastrozole and both caused weight gains of about a stone despite exercise and careful eating.Then in desperation I decided to incorporate fasting which has the added bonus of being anti inflammatory so will help with joint pain and may prevent recurrence
After some experiment I settled on the eating window plan so I eat between 4pm and 8pm.It was hard at first but am now my prediagnosis weight and no joint pain.Suggest you Google fasting and cancer - there’s lots.You just have to be determined.
Laineybo how long does the Wright gain go on for? I have just started tamoxifen, but I’m worried by this side effect. I’m on it for 10-15 years & surely can’t keep just getting fatter & fatter despite exercise/careful eating? Thanks. x
Hi bibi44
The only thing I can say is that restricting my eating to a limited time during each day has really helped as described in my earlier post. Its hard but it works!
The average weight gain on tamoxifen over 5 years is between 1and 2 stones
There’s no upper limit so if we don’t act we keep getting fatter.The medical world does not seem to take this seriously so we have to.
Good luck and best wishes to you x
OMG so I could be 3-6 stone heavier in 15 years, kind of scary as that could be a near doubling of weight in the worst case scenario! I know it’s almost impossible to lose weight on tamox, so my plan was to try & avoid it going on in the first place. I will look up the fasting thing, although I generally find going without food pretty tough (headaches/irritability). Also read the China study diet has helped some people (I’m a vegetarian so not such a big leap for me). x
Hi Bibi, I started Tam at the beginning of Jan and started a diet around the same time to try to shift the 8-10 pounds I put on after diagnosis (lots of cake) and during chemo (monster carb cravings from steroids!).
I’ve lost 5 pounds in those 5 weeks…sticking to around 1200 calories a day, lots of fruit, veg, salads and protein (in my case chicken, beef, fish). No pasta, potatoes, and v little bread (ok, apart from a monster gastropub burger and chips at the weekend ?)
I’m trying to make sure I get enough nutrients and iron as I’ve also read about hair thinning as a Tam SE, so eggs, fish etc. My hair is growing back quite well so far, touch wood - 9 weeks post-chemo have a full covering of v short growth. And ditto pubes…hurrah! Never been so pleased to see them ?
So as with all SEs, I don’t think the weight gain or difficulty losing it, or hair thinning are universal. I have huge sympathy for everyone who experiences them, as I know it’s miserable on top of everything else we’ve been through, but just wanted to give hope to others that you may not be affected.
Of course putting on weight is always easy (for most of us) and losing it hard, but for me that’s the same pre and post-Tam. Anyway, hope that gives you hope! X
Hi Ele J Thanks for that & pleased to hear you have managed to lose weight. I remember you posting on our chemo thread when you were 2 weeks in. Are you still SE free? I’ve been on it a few weeks now & chemo hot flushes have largely gone & been replaced by feeling cold & shivery all the time. I’ve usually got a hot water bottle up my jumper when I’m at home … Very attractive! That said, I’d take the shivers over flushes any day. Eyes are a bit dry too, but other than that ok so far. Did you avoid sleep disturbance? I had my port out yesterday under local & had a long chat to the surgeon about tamoxifen SE whilst he was doing it. He said if you can get through the first couple of months unscathed, you’ll usually be ok on it. He said the stuff that makes you fat tends to make you really fat, so if you used to put on 3-4 lbs at Christmas, it might turn into a stone on tamoxifen, so the key is not to have too many blow outs. He said he hadn’t come across many people who were grossly obese because of tamoxifen, but a lot of people moaning about an extra half a stone here & there. xx
I have been on Letrzole for three months and yes - think Im going to need bigger knickers now !! Cant blame Xmas as that was ages ago and I didnt eat that much.
Im a lot more immobile now with the bone mets etc and so Im going to have to get shot of these extra pounds soon …says me tucking into a almond croissant !!
I have a fridge magnet that says " Fridge pickers wear bigger knickers " Think I will get a new one made to say " letrozole users need bigger knickers"
I started letrozole about 1 1/2 years ago and have gained 15 pounds and getting still higher. I have lots of pain especially in hands and feet. 2 classes of yoga per week helps me to keep moving but makes the pain èven worse. Not sure shere to go from here.
Also, anyone switch from 6 month followup checkups from oncologist to GP? I did to save travel but not sure it was a good idea.