Hi Girls, I am now five weeks post chemo and about to start radiation. I have had a review with my oncologist and he has changed his plan to put me on Tamoxifen due to the fact that I am a warfarin patient. He now says I am to go on Femara. Of course I Googled it and now I'm scared ! Not only does it read like a checklist of chemo side effects but it can even cause more tumours! What's with THAT!? Has anyone else been on this medication and if so - what were your side effects? I have had a bone density test but won't know the results till my next review in 5 weeks time but he's also talking about possible monthly needles to keep my bones healthy..... I don't want another 5 years of crappy side effects!

Hi Lisa Had my # 5 chemo today and when i saw my oncologist (same oncologist as you) he said he was going to start me on Femara,I took a deep breath and then he said no Tamoxifen. I have been reading a bit on the internet this afternoon about the Femara, sounds bloody scarey to me. Will research more over the weekend. Hope all goes well with your rads next week. Take care Linda

Hey Lisa I originally started off on Tamoxifin for a good month or so and suffered shocking side effects such as pouring sweating, aching etc. etc. When I went back to my onco he changed me to Femara. I have been on that for six weeks with virtually no hot sweats and no major aches and pains to speak of except the usual ones of course. Touch wood and fingers crossed and everything else as well that this continues on this same track pleeeeeeease. I purposelly have not gone in to great effort in looking up the side effects as my attitude is we have to do everything we can to fight this mongrel disease and if Femara will help with that then at this stage I will continue to take it. Whatever we are going to take will have side effects just like the chemo did but we endured the chemo because as they say " they are not doing this "to you" they are doing it "for you". That is what I believe Femara is doing and until I find out different I will continue to try and keep this cancer at bay. I am wishing you well with your decision making. I know it isn't easy and I know if I had to continue to endure Tamoxifen that I would have thought long and hard about it but I am happy to stay on Femara at this stage. LOL, Mich xoxoxo

Hi Lisa I also started off on Tamoxofin and had such severe side effects the Oncologist changed me to Femara, i have been on them for 8 months now and the side effects are not to bad , mainly painful joints especially in my hands, headaches, hot flashes of course, and tiredness , i still find it better than the Tamoxofin i am also hoping things will get better when i finish my monthly Zoladex injections, it is still not a nice thought that we have to put up with these symptons for years though . Take care Maggs

Lisa I've been on Femara for 10 months. I was on Tamoxifen for a few mths before but decided I wanted to reduce my recurrence as much as possible! So l made the decision to remove my ovaries to stop any hormone production (thank god l have my 2 boys) and force menopause as I was 40 at the time in Dec 2011. Femara is for post menopause & Tamoxifen is for pre menopause, both with their own side effects. Simply, Femara stops hormones producing & Tamoxifen acts like a blocker of hormones altogether. The only very noticeable side effect l have with Femara is the joint pain. Whether l sit for 1 minute or 1 hour the stiffness is the same, but it gets better once I'm going. I go to the gym 2-3 times week which helps & going through my first winter this year on it hasn't been too bad. The mornings are a little stiff to start but hey, I compare everything to chemo now & nothing compares to that anymore! I also read somewhere that after about 12-18 mths side effects can disappear! Wouldn't that be fantastic! l can live with the 5 year "insurance policy" if it means l have better survival rate! I reckon the side effects of the forced menopause are worse to be honest! Do what you feel is best for you. You'll know what is right! Good luck. :)

Femara | BCNA Online Network

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Mich_x
Member
13 years ago
Hey Lisa

Reading your post about the Femara is sounding exactly how I feel.

I also found that around the 4 month mark of being on Femara the "real" pain and stiffness set in. Getting up from sitting or out of bed in the mornings I look and feel like I am 90.

I thought in the beginning I had got off lightly with the Femara but between the pain, stiffness, chills and then sweats straight after each other all day and night I now know I am taking the dreaded Femara.

My onco wants me to change to another AI (3rd one) but I am thinking I don't know whether that is a good thing to do because I am a good few months down the track on this one and starting a new one who knows it will be any different. When I go back to see him next month he will probably be annoyed at me but I guess I am scared to change now.

I agree with you that exercise definitely helps but doesn't quite take the pain away. I am on natural anti-inflams every day plus Panadol Osteo every 4 hours to get through the days at present along with Krill oil, Vit E, Vit D, glucosamine, B12, COQ10, orobiotic, multi, caltrate plus. Needless to say I rattle when I walk. I sometimes ask myself should I bother with taking all this as I still get all the symptoms. I have seen GP and Naturopath and shown my list to onco and they all agree I should stay on them..........The hormone clinic has now also added Clonodine to my tablet regime......

Sorry to say it but I do feel better knowing I am not the only poor bugger suffering from the Femara and I also remind myself there are sooooooo many people out there a lot worse off than me so I do count my blessings every day.

Lots of luv, Mich xoxo
LisaG
Member
13 years ago
18 months!? O no! I know my onc said it could take anything up 2yrs to settle reactions but I have been praying for a shorter time. Thanks for the hints. Maybe I'll increase my dose of fish oil and see how that goes. I gave in and took an Endone last night but though it did ease the leg pain, it made my tummy feel yuck and I didn't get to sleep till 2am. I'm having a lie in today. Its nice to listen to the rain on the roof now the wet season is finally here. I think I'll make today a "gather my strength" day. Thank goodness for smart phones! I can chat online from here ;-)

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Femara

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