Advice needed please

Hi Maggs -  Have not had any trigger finger issues and was on Femara for 11 months.  The onc also gave me Bondronat to help with the bone issues but still have aches and pains for which I use Panadol Osteo.

Have just finished Femara as it was no longer effective in fighting the cancer and blood work was showing no improvement.  As to hot flushes, perhaps I have been post menopausal long enough that it was not an issue with the Femara, but had non.  Now on Aromasin and have notice the occasional hot flush but nothing that is too hard to handle.  My problem is usually being too cool and having to rug up - even on warmer days.  There are many drugs out there and it is a bit of a trial to find the right combination and ones that are doing the job for you.

Best wishes and keep persevering - sorry about the surgeries and visits to hospital. 

Cheers

Jaci

Hi Maggs, I thought the trigger finger was a side effect of femara, until I met a lady the other day with trigger fingers who wasn't taking this drug. She has had chemo and now radiotherapy and was blaming the radiotherapy as it started during her treatment. Who knows. I had chemo due to the high grade of my tumour (3). It wasn't in my nodes, but was aggressive. Hope the hot flushes settle. Love Chris xx

Hi Chris, thanks for the advice, my brother also swears by the Fish Oil, so I will be giving it a go, as I already have Osteoarthritis and bone degeneration in my back and hips it can only help, sorry to hear that you are so stiff and sore and the trigger fingers worry me a bit is that a side effect of the Femara? I was on Tamoxifen for 8 months but was suffering terrible hot flushes, like you I was already having them prior to the Meds but with the Zolidex and Tamoxifen they just went into overdrive!. I have been on Femara only for 2 weeks and I think that they seem to be a little bit better the last couple of days. I had to make the decision to have or not have the Chemo which I found very hard to do and even now I wonder if I made the right decision, the Oncologist said that the side effects could outweigh the benefits and as long as I stay on the Hormones it will be okay!!! My cancer was Grade 1 Stage 2a 1 out of 14 lymph nodes infected , it seems that this thing takes over our lives for a while , but I keep telling myself I should be grateful as there are a lot of ladies fighting a harder battle than mine, we all do what we have to do to fight this horrible disease and we will come out the other side but it's not easy is it ? Stay strong, love Maggs xx

Hi Maggs, so sorry to hear about your latest issues, and I hope that you get some satisfactory answers after your ultrasound and biopsy today. I have also had several surgeries over the last year, 5 in total, but things have improved alot now, so I will keep my fingers crossed that you too are now on the mend. Ater my chemo I spent 4 months on Tamoxifen, until the oncologist was sure that I had gone through menopause, ( I was 53 ). I have since been swapped to femara and have been on that for 8 months. I would prefer to be on the tamoxifen, as I didn't seem to have any side effects to that. Yes, I had hot flushes, but I have been having these for many years now. Initally the femara caused me no side effects, but then they started to develop after about 3 months. I still get the hot flushes, but they seemed to change their pattern. What I hate is the joint pain and stiffness, and the funny fingers. In the morning they are very stiff and I can't make a fist. Gradually this improves over the morning, but I have trigger fingers on both hands and it is weird. Earlier on, I found that my legs just ached, and every joint hurt, and rolling over in bed, or getting out of the car was painful and difficult. Things have improved alot since then, so don't dispair. I have started to take fish oil, as well as Blackmores Lyprinol ( green lipped mussel ). These have really helped, and I realised this when I had to cease the fish oil for a month around Christmas when I had my final stage of reconstruction done. My aches and pains came back with vengeance. Now back on the fish oil, and 3 weeks into lyprinol, my side effects are not so bad. Still have the hot flushes, but not as intense as before, leg aches and pains have gone, but I still hobble like an old lady for the first few steps after getting out of the car or bed, and I can't crouch down, ( knees too stiff ), but I can still kneel. Good luck today, and try to persevere with the femara, as it is supposed to be the best drug for us if we are menopausal. I want to give this my best shot. Love Chris xx

Hi Maggs, so sorry to hear about your latest issues, and I hope that you get some satisfactory answers after your ultrasound and biopsy today. I have also had several surgeries over the last year, 5 in total, but things have improved alot now, so I will keep my fingers crossed that you too are now on the mend. Ater my chemo I spent 4 months on Tamoxifen, until the oncologist was sure that I had gone through menopause, ( I was 53 ). I have since been swapped to femara and have been on that for 8 months. I would prefer to be on the tamoxifen, as I didn't seem to have any side effects to that. Yes, I had hot flushes, but I have been having these for many years now. Initally the femara caused me no side effects, but then they started to develop after about 3 months. I still get the hot flushes, but they seemed to change their pattern. What I hate is the joint pain and stiffness, and the funny fingers. In the morning they are very stiff and I can't make a fist. Gradually this improves over the morning, but I have trigger fingers on both hands and it is weird. Earlier on, I found that my legs just ached, and every joint hurt, and rolling over in bed, or getting out of the car was painful and difficult. Things have improved alot since then, so don't dispair. I have started to take fish oil, as well as Blackmores Lyprinol ( green lipped mussel ). These have really helped, and I realised this when I had to cease the fish oil for a month around Christmas when I had my final stage of reconstruction done. My aches and pains came back with vengeance. Now back on the fish oil, and 3 weeks into lyprinol, my side effects are not so bad. Still have the hot flushes, but not as intense as before, leg aches and pains have gone, but I still hobble like an old lady for the first few steps after getting out of the car or bed, and I can't crouch down, ( knees too stiff ), but I can still kneel. Good luck today, and try to persevere with the femara, as it is supposed to be the best drug for us if we are menopausal. I want to give this my best shot. Love Chris xx

Hi Maggs, so sorry to hear about your latest issues, and I hope that you get some satisfactory answers after your ultrasound and biopsy today. I have also had several surgeries over the last year, 5 in total, but things have improved alot now, so I will keep my fingers crossed that you too are now on the mend. Ater my chemo I spent 4 months on Tamoxifen, until the oncologist was sure that I had gone through menopause, ( I was 53 ). I have since been swapped to femara and have been on that for 8 months. I would prefer to be on the tamoxifen, as I didn't seem to have any side effects to that. Yes, I had hot flushes, but I have been having these for many years now. Initally the femara caused me no side effects, but then they started to develop after about 3 months. I still get the hot flushes, but they seemed to change their pattern. What I hate is the joint pain and stiffness, and the funny fingers. In the morning they are very stiff and I can't make a fist. Gradually this improves over the morning, but I have trigger fingers on both hands and it is weird. Earlier on, I found that my legs just ached, and every joint hurt, and rolling over in bed, or getting out of the car was painful and difficult. Things have improved alot since then, so don't dispair. I have started to take fish oil, as well as Blackmores Lyprinol ( green lipped mussel ). These have really helped, and I realised this when I had to cease the fish oil for a month around Christmas when I had my final stage of reconstruction done. My aches and pains came back with vengeance. Now back on the fish oil, and 3 weeks into lyprinol, my side effects are not so bad. Still have the hot flushes, but not as intense as before, leg aches and pains have gone, but I still hobble like an old lady for the first few steps after getting out of the car or bed, and I can't crouch down, ( knees too stiff ), but I can still kneel. Good luck today, and try to persevere with the femara, as it is supposed to be the best drug for us if we are menopausal. I want to give this my best shot. Love Chris xx