Don't Want to take Femara

Can't say I really wanted to take chemo for 3 months either, but sometimes you just do what you need to do. I'm also not thrilled to be taking Arimidex for the next 5 years, I have osteopenia and am also concerned about my bones.

But my tumor was estrogen positive and I've seen the graph of my chances of reoccurrence with and without the Arimidex and I like the chances better with the Arimidex. Taking the Arimidex is what I can do to change those odds. What I can do to try and change the odds of my osteopenia changing to osteoporosis is to increase my calcium intake, take Vit D3, and wear my podometer and keep increasing my steps/day, get myself to the gym and walk 30" whether I feel like it or not. So far I haven't developed the joint pains, not everyone does. If I do develop severe joint pain I'll talk to my doctor about switching to one of the other generic drugs. And if that doesn't work I'll try the third drug. And after trying all 3 if I then decide to go off the meds, I'll at least know that I did everything I could.

SIROD said:

Prevention...

One just doesn't know how a drug will react until one tries it.  I had no joint pain or any other pain with Arimidex.  When I went on Femara I did but then I had already taken Tamoxifen, Arimidex, Faslodex (250 mg at the time) then Femara.  

You didn't say what stage you were in.  However, even stage 0 can become stage IV.  You might think about prevention.  There is also Aromasin in the Aromatase Inhibitors and perhaps you can try the old drug Tamoxifen instead, I did not have any joint pains with Tamo.

Best of luck with your decision.

Doris

I felt the same way.  I stared at my bottle of Arimidex for about 2 months before I said, "well, you don't know how you're going to feel if you don't take them and you can always stop".  So I took them.  Absolutely no noticeable side effects BUT I was osteopenic prior to starting and that worsened.  Because only about 30% of my hair returned after chemotherapy, I wanted to stop the AI  to see if it was contributing (it wasn't).  I had a long talk with my oncologist who said she would not be comfortable with me stopping hormone therapy but she would be ok with me switching to Tamoxifen    She also commented that my bone density might improve on Tamoxifen and explained why.  Really?  I'm due for a dexascan now and need to make that appointment.  I'm anxious to see if in fact the switch made a difference.  While I said I had no noticeable side effects, once off it, I noticed I had less joint pain, so probably I had some minimal joint pain that I had chalked up to ageing.

Your concerns are valid, but concerns of recurrence are also valid.  Breast cancer is a sneaky beast and one we don't want to show up somewhere else.  "They" know that in most cases being on hormone therapy is very effective in preventing recurrences, but even then there is no guarantees.  My money is on hormone therapy, tho.  I am anxious to be off it, it is not a without risk regimen, but I feel the benefits outweigh the risks.  Afterall, I let them pump poison into me for several months!  You will be followed while you are on hormone therapy, partially looking for things that can happen.  With Tamoxifen, the biggest risk is blood clots and I don't like that much, either. 

I know women who did not take the hormone therapy and 10 years later are fine.  I was Stage 1, Grade 2 and often think I have absolutely no need for Tamoxifen, but I have decided to continue, with the jury still out on how long.  I've been on Arimidex and now Tamoxifen for almost 4 years now.  I doubt that I'll agree to take it any longer than 5, but I'm pretty certain I will continue until I reach 5 years.  And I can always change my mind.

Good luck with making your decision.  You may want to discuss Tamoxifen vs. Femara with your doctor because of your concerns with osteoporosis.  Have you had a baseline dexascan?

Suzanne

I have been taking Femara for 5 months and have had no side effects to speak of. It has improved my bone mets so even if side effects develop I will continue taking it

GlowMore said:

Puffin?

What is "walk 30"  ??  Do you mean walk 3 miles?    I am so blessed that I am Triple Negative and don't have the option to have to take those meds...      Or maybe not...?? 

 

no, 30" = 30 minutes

Heretoserve said:

Femara was just now prescribed

I have been on Tamoxifen for 4 years, but due to my bloodwork, the doctor states I am menopasal now (i am turning 48), so menopause I think was brought on by chemo. I have had no problems with Tamoxifen, but my Dexa Scan did show osteopenia severe, so he wants me to take Fosamax as well.. Does anyone have any thoughts on all this?

I went through natural menopause at 44.  We are all different.

I was osteopenia years before IBC DX, have a large HX on both sides of family.  It has progressed to osteoporosis since.  Fosamax is doing a good job of controling it for the last 3+ yrs.  I've been on Femara/letrozole since Feb 2010 and I am 68 so with age 'things do happen'.

After the torture of chemo and radiation treatment for my breast cancer, I started femera my third cancer torture that gives me severe lower back pain and body aches and pain so severe that I have to check myself into the emergency room for relief which do not help much because the pain injection knocked me out and not the pain.  I am praying that I do not have to suffer these pains for the next five years taking femera I just started two months ago.  Could some one please tell me please why do they make these medication with so many bad side effects.  I really do not understand why they even make some of these bad medications  for human consumptions, it is all about making money and not about helping us get better, when will this torture of bad drugs end.