Forum Discussion
Early Days on Letrozole
So, I started taking Letrozole on the 1/6/18.
My oncologist says I have to be on it for 10 years as several ongoing studies are indicating cancer preventing benefits beyond the seven year mark. It's a watching brief though, so I'm prepared that the advice might change in this time.
Three days after starting it my ankles started to ache. A lot. It got worse and started to wake me up at night. Whether I exercised or not didn't make any difference. I took some osteo-panadol for when it was really painful but I didn't fancy living on that, so on the advice of many people here, and my oncologist, I started taking krill oil. Within a few days the pain was down to a manageable level. Hooray!
Three weeks later though the ache ramped up. At exactly the same time my hot flushes, which had subsided to a bearable level after chemo, suddenly got a lot worse. Longer, stronger and now with extra bonus sweat!
I persisted with the krill oil for another week but there was no change. So in my personal clinical trial, I came off the krill oil for a (painful) week, and then started magnesium. Again on the anecdotal evidence from the good folk here, many of whom say it helps.
I also had a foot, ankle and lower leg massage at one of those mall massage joints on the same day as I started magnesium. It was utter bliss having my aching ankles worked on!
Something changed, because again the ankle pain subsided to a bearable level. Now whether this was something to do with the massage, or the magnesium, a combination of both, or my body simply adjusting to the rapid withdrawal of oestrogen, I simply don't know.
My oncologist says no evidence that magnesium works on anything other than cramps. However I'll keep taking it for a couole more weeks and then stop. I'll observe what happens and then, if the pain returns, I'll move on to the next thing in my 'clinical trial', which is curcumin. The onc says her patients have reported success with that. There'll be a magnesium spray test at some point as well!
My ankles still ache but it's at a lower level at the moment. All our bodies are different, der, but I thought I'd share my experiments in managing Letrozole side effects. It might be useful to someone! K xox
My oncologist says I have to be on it for 10 years as several ongoing studies are indicating cancer preventing benefits beyond the seven year mark. It's a watching brief though, so I'm prepared that the advice might change in this time.
Three days after starting it my ankles started to ache. A lot. It got worse and started to wake me up at night. Whether I exercised or not didn't make any difference. I took some osteo-panadol for when it was really painful but I didn't fancy living on that, so on the advice of many people here, and my oncologist, I started taking krill oil. Within a few days the pain was down to a manageable level. Hooray!
Three weeks later though the ache ramped up. At exactly the same time my hot flushes, which had subsided to a bearable level after chemo, suddenly got a lot worse. Longer, stronger and now with extra bonus sweat!
I persisted with the krill oil for another week but there was no change. So in my personal clinical trial, I came off the krill oil for a (painful) week, and then started magnesium. Again on the anecdotal evidence from the good folk here, many of whom say it helps.
I also had a foot, ankle and lower leg massage at one of those mall massage joints on the same day as I started magnesium. It was utter bliss having my aching ankles worked on!
Something changed, because again the ankle pain subsided to a bearable level. Now whether this was something to do with the massage, or the magnesium, a combination of both, or my body simply adjusting to the rapid withdrawal of oestrogen, I simply don't know.
My oncologist says no evidence that magnesium works on anything other than cramps. However I'll keep taking it for a couole more weeks and then stop. I'll observe what happens and then, if the pain returns, I'll move on to the next thing in my 'clinical trial', which is curcumin. The onc says her patients have reported success with that. There'll be a magnesium spray test at some point as well!
My ankles still ache but it's at a lower level at the moment. All our bodies are different, der, but I thought I'd share my experiments in managing Letrozole side effects. It might be useful to someone! K xox
373 Replies
- I hope you get relief using the Tumeric caps, Kate I take them - I think they DO help, cos when I was going thru my rads, I had to stop taking it & everything went feral again (and took ages to 'settle down' later on too!)
I used to make my own with 'medicine grade' tumeric powder - but then I got lazy and started buying them! ..... I used to wear gloves to fill my own empty gel capsules as the tumeric can mark your fingers ..... I must give it a go again - I have enough tumeric for probably 1000 capsules! LOL This is the capsule filler that I use:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwQPYhtu5RI - @Romla Krill Oil didn't seem to make a difference, nor did Magnesium. I'm getting the Curcumin next week. I'll let you know.
- Wheat bags are great for pain relief. I even used to give my kids wheat bag teddies on cold winter nights instead of a hot water bottle.Will be keen to hear how your Curcumin trial goes .Any observations on the natural remedies you have tried ? Have any helped you think ?
- Picked up this little wheat & lavender bag at a market last weekend. A minute in the microwave and it's really nice to rest my thumb joints on. The pain has gone into overdrive now. It's pouring with rain here in Melbourne but two days ago it was quite hot, so I don't think the weather's got anything to do with it anymore. I'm interested to see if and how quickly it stops when I have my Letrozole holiday in December.
- I heard back from my oncologist. No drama at this stage but another blood test in three months. Our poor veins eh?
- Ah ha! Thanks @Deanne. K xox
- @arpie. My middle sister has osteoporosis but I don't think it has anything to do with computers. My other sister and I got the breast cancer.
I had to have a bone density test before my reconstruction. I had osteopenia in my spine, but everywhere else, at the time, was OK. - WOW! Interesting you say that, @"Patti J" - both my sister & I have slight dowager humps (my Dad's sister did too) so I was thinking it may be genetic (as my aunt wasn't on computers much, tho COULD see this as being a possible cause for ours!) From memory, my bone density tests were OK
- When I had my first lot of chemo. after a mastectomy at 47, my oncologist suggested that perhaps I should have an oophorectomy. I decided not to because of my very strong family history of osteoporosis. Both my mum and my grandmother had "dowager's humps". I now have injections of Xgeva, every month, because of my bone metastases.
- Thanks @deane for the explanation.
