femara side effects

[Carol Smith]

Hi Andrea,
I would try switching. I was on Arimidex and could hardly move but Femara is ok. Still have pain in feet and joints but am such much better. Maybe the reverse switch would help you.

[Linda]

Thank you so much for your response Carol. I did find out the end of last week that I have tendonitis in the rotator cuff of my left shoulder. Guess I got that doing Yoga too strenuously while trying to keep the weight down. I do thank you for the suggestion though. I will definitely give it consideration.
:)

Linda

[Carol Smith]

I have been doing yoga too and find it is a huge help. If I miss it one day, I can tell the next morning as the stiffness is more pronounced. Yoga and an Aleve every morning.

[Anne]

I have been taking Femara for a year. I am 68 years old. I have had joint pain (my knee) but am most concerned about fatigue, thinning hair, and lack of focus, mentally and physically. Despite my age, I am quite fit (regular Pilates and cardio). I would especially like to know if others have suffered from mental lapses (where I can't think of a common word, for example). Maybe this is just old age, but it is new to me.

[Susan]

Anne, I am 55 and have similar memory problems as you are experiencing. I have difficulties at times
focusing on tasks and have recently resigned from my permanent job because of this.
My hair has thinned also. But I intend staying on
Femara.

[Linda]

Hi Anne! I can't think of "common words" all the time. The family is used to it and we all giggle about it. It is quite frusterating. Also my hair is so thin, that I have to keep it really short. I have now been on Femara 6 months, after 3 years Tamoxifen, and 1 year Aromasin. Joint pain is pretty nasty, and very fatigued. I know a lot of it is trying to get ready for Christmas and not enough rest.

Have a wonderful Christmas! Linda

[Cindy]

I am 51 and have been on Femara for 11 months now. I started it about half way through my radiation therapy. My hair has thinned terribly and I also have terrible joint pain in my feet and now weakness in my hands. Lately I have been getting short bouts of extreme dizziness 3 or 4 times a day which lasts just a few seconds. Has anyone else had a problem with the dizziness?

[Carol Lane]

Hi Cindy,

I have been on Femara for about six months and the dizziness just started. It runs through the top of my head like waves for about 20-30 seconds. I just freeze until it passes. I have had the joint pain, numb, hurting feet and less nimble hads--all of which I manage with Aleve, yoga and plain stubborness. The dizziness was new and I was afraid that it was something else. It is not unmanageable just a new symptom.

[Cindy]

Carol Lane wrote:

Hi Cindy,
I have been on Femara for about six months and the dizziness just started. It runs through the top of my head like waves for about 20-30 seconds. I just freeze until it passes. I have had the joint pain, numb, hurting feet and less nimble hads--all of which I manage with Aleve, yoga and plain stubborness. The dizziness was new and I was afraid that it was something else. It is not unmanageable just a new symptom.

Thank you Carol. I was also starting to get worried that this dizziness was a symptom of another problem.

[Karen]

I am wondering how you are doing on the drug or were doing. My doctor prescribed Femara for infertility for me and I am nervous about it. I am suppose to start it in about a week and a half. My doctor told me to trust him on it. I am going in for a blood test on day three of my period to make sure I'm not pregnant at the time. I just wondering if the medicine stays in your system for long.

[Peggy B]

maryb wrote:

I have been on Femara since January of 2005 and am experiencing some oddities that I am pretty sure are related to Femara....my vision has blurred and my mouth constantly feels sore...also, I am having alot of pelvic pain, but I am not sure it is related to Femara...is anyone else experiencing these symptoms??

After taking Tamoxifen for 5 years,I have been taking Femara for 2 1/2 yrs and am sure many of my systems are from this drug. My doctor says that I have to take the Femara for 5 yrs also.The worst side effect is the pelvic pain especially at night and bone pain involving various parts of my body. The pain awakens me in the night and I have to get up to get relief. I took prescribed pain medication which did not help, so I rely on ibuprofen. My skin is very dry with patches of white bumps incuding my scalp. The dermatologist said nothing could be done about this. When they get large, he burns them off with the acid type solution. I had invasive early stage breast cancer in 6/99 which did not require radiation or chemo after a mastectomy.

[Karen]

Am 57 and have been on femara for a year. The joint "aches" are miserable, esp, in my feet, wrists, knees and hips. I look like an old lady when I walk after sitting just a short time!
Has anyone tried orthodics in their shoes? The balls of my feet are esp. sore.
I'll continue taking femara-sure don't like the thought of a recurrence.
Karen Durham,NC

[Carol Lane]

Hi Karen,

I use the gel pads in my shoes and it helps. I know, I move like I am 90 when I first stand up or get out of the car after driving!

[Linda]

Hi! Has anyone had pain in the liver area since on Femara? I had my gall bladder taken out October 2005, so I know it isn't that. It is pain and a burning sensation.

[Tina-VA]

I was on Tamaxifen on 2.5 years. After I started Tamaxifen, I had high blood pressure. I am on Vasotec 10mg/day and my blood pressure was under the control. I started to take Femara two days ago and have some symtoms. The quarlity of sleep was changed for worse and the blood pressure is moving higher. It seems not as stable as before. I wondered that if my body needs time to get use to this new drug. My doctor told me that I will be on this for 10 years and I am very scared.

[Linda]

Tina, I truly think that we are all scared. A person never really knows how their body is going to react to a new medicine. Since cancer, I have developed many new allergies. I have no idea of your physical condition, but I have been fighting the weight gain issue of this drug and have finally dropped 14 pounds. The only problem is that now they say my blood pressure is too low. Every time I try to get off of one of the three heart pills I am on, the palpitations are unreal.

I just pray. My blood pressure was always high too. Don't know if this helps. Hope so.

Linda

[kris]

[Do you still feel the same way about Femara? I have taken it for infertility reasons too. Just being concerned because of the reviews I have read online.

[Brenda Moss]

Cindy wrote:

I am 51 and have been on Femara for 11 months now. I started it about half way through my radiation therapy. My hair has thinned terribly and I also have terrible joint pain in my feet and now weakness in my hands. Lately I have been getting short bouts of extreme dizziness 3 or 4 times a day which lasts just a few seconds. Has anyone else had a problem with the dizziness?

Cindy I am 53 and take Femara. Since starting this drug my dizziness is getting w-
orse. My joints hurt and I've noticed more hair
than usual in my hairbrush. My mouth is sore.

[guest]

Julie wrote:

I just picked up my prescription for Femara from the pharmacy today. My doctor has perscribed if for infertility. Once I got over the price shock (holy cow!!), I decided to sit down and find out what I could on this drug. I have to admit I'm a little nervous about taking this drug right now. There are just as many bad things on line as there are good...the scariest to me is the birth defects people are writting about. I trust my doctor so...I guess we need to go on that. Anyone else out there have any updates or using this drug for the same purpose?

Don't let the stuff on the internet scare you, I did the same thing and it terrified me, yes it does cause birth defects, but only if you take it when your pregnant. People are posting things without explaining them. From what I have read besides that is that femara has gotten rave reviews. I took my first dose today, so we'll see here what happens. But don't be concerned I think you will be ok (by the way the price had the same affect on me)

[guest]

I was prescribed femara for infertility (let me just mention so sorry to those taking it for cancer), the price was shockingly high and the information that repeatedly popped up on the internet was horrible. So I kept pestering my doctor's nurse about whether or not I should be taking this drug. They said it was fine, Further investigating by yours truly suggests that the hype about femara being so toxic to babies is only true if you continue to take it after you have conceived (what drug does not cause birth defects at this stage), so for those of you who have worried and read all the other web sites, I took my first dose tonight and I would not do anything to jepordize my chances. My only son is 9 and have been trying to give him a sibling for 5 years. Best of luck to all you ladies on femara for whatever reason.