What about Femara

mgm42 said:

Started Femara 3 days ago...
I started on Femara three days ago after a year and half on Arimidex, and a brief bout with Aromasin. So far, so good. No side effects. I already have some joint stiffness and muscle spasms so I can't blame the Femara for those things. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I know how important it is to inhibit the estrogen in my system. Oh - I will be checking with my oncologist this Monday and will find out about Zometa for me. So far, my bone density has been good (normal). I'm 67. We'll see what she tells me about Boniva, Fosamax, and/or Zometa. GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF US. Hugs, Marilynn

Thinking of you and Femara
Hi marilynn, i have been wondering about your and the Femara. How is it going? I know it is probably too soon to tell, but December is getting closer. What about the Zometa? Hope you have no bad side effects from the Femara.

alessia said:

hi, can you tell me if you


hi, can you tell me if you did rads and femara concurrently? or did you start taking femara after the rads treatment.
i will be starting radiation treatment in a few weeks and was also prescribed femara at the same time. i wonder if i could start the meds after the rads to hopefully avoid double side effects! thanks.

aromatase inhibitors
I am on a slightly different aromatase inhibitor (arimidex)--very similar to femara. I did have rads while on the arimidex. I didn't notice any big side effects. A little queasiness from the radiation (didn't have that with radiation before but this time they had to zap part of my liver in order to treat my ribs). The arimidex made me tired if I took it in the am, so I switched to pm and have been good to go. Everyone is different though.

mgm42 said:

Started Femara 3 days ago...
I started on Femara three days ago after a year and half on Arimidex, and a brief bout with Aromasin. So far, so good. No side effects. I already have some joint stiffness and muscle spasms so I can't blame the Femara for those things. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I know how important it is to inhibit the estrogen in my system. Oh - I will be checking with my oncologist this Monday and will find out about Zometa for me. So far, my bone density has been good (normal). I'm 67. We'll see what she tells me about Boniva, Fosamax, and/or Zometa. GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF US. Hugs, Marilynn

Watch it if you take
Watch it if you take fosamax, I swear that I got GERD from it. I had been on it for almost 4 years though before I realized I was getting more and more frequent indigestion!

natly15 said:

Sunrae when you get out of
Sunrae when you get out of the donut hole, check what your copay would be with an RX for omeprozole (prilosec). I think I paid $20 for otc, and copay of $10 with RX.

Wishing you a good report on thursday. please let us know how it turns out. By the way, your backyard garden should be called the serenity garden. It is beautiful. Sending hugs and prayers your way.

Omeprozole
Natly, my primary gave me a prescription for Omeprozole and its cost was $40 for 30 pills. I bought it otc and got 42 for about $20. If you watch the drug stores put it on sale and if you can find it at a wholesale store its even cheaper. I try to pay otc as much as I can because it keeps me out of the donut hole somewhat. My primary gives me samples of Aciphex when I'm there, but its only for a month or so. Thanks for your comments on my garden. That's my passion; it keeps me busy but I love it.

contrail said:

Arimidex
I've been on Tamoxefin till today. I saw my oncologist who told me that the results of the blood test to determine if I was metabolizing the Tamoxefin showed an intermediate result. He told me that that result is very confusing because it doesn't really tell us how much effect I'm getting from the meds, so I'm starting Arimidex tomorrow. I'm supposed to check with my insurance to see how much the copay is going to be and if it's too much they'll put me on Femera or Aromasin, which ever is the most cost effective. I had a bone density test last fall which showed that I have had some bone loss, but I'm on Zometa as part of a trial study and I'm supposed to up the amount of calcium and vitamin D3 while I'm on this. Anyway, I hope I don't have any bad side-effects from this. Tamoxefin didn't cause me any problems, not even hot flashes (maybe that's because I wasn't metabolizing much). It's all such an adventure! Whoopee!!! We need to keep posting with how we're doing. Connie

Connie
Can you explain about your results with Tamoxifen test.I an going to ask my oncologist about this test on my next visit.

I also have question to everyone. Do do you or your oncologist choose between Femara Arimidex, and Aromasin.

mimivac said:

Zometa and Tamoxifen
I am on the Zometa infusion, too, and haven't had much trouble with it. I do take 2000 IU of Vitamin D a day along with a Calcium/Magnesium supplement. Have you had a Vitamin D test done? Mine was insufficient, so my doc. recommended the highest over-the-counter dose for me. The one serious potential side effect of Zometa are jaw problems, so you might want to get a good dental check up before you start.

As for metabolizing Tamoxifen, it's an important test to ask your doc. about, New Flower. You can be a poor, intermediate, or high metabolizer depending on your genetic makeup. It would be a shame to keep taking the drug if you are a poor metabolizer. Your doc. would probably switch you to an AI in that case.

Mimi

Question for Contrail


Connie, are you taking Zometa in the daily pill form, or getting the monthly infusion? The reason I asked is because my onc told me that the pills are not nearly as effective...but he didn't elaborate on the degree of difference. I get the infusion, and except for the first one, I have little to no side effects. As someone else mentioned, Zometa can cause a condition called "osteonecrosis of the jaw"...the bone dies. So you would definately want to have a complete dental exam with x-rays, and a cleaning. And then if you need dental work done, get it all finished and be healed before beginning the zometa treatments. My dr was very careful about that, and was relieved to know that I'd just been to the dentist and was okay. I hope all goes well for you. Hugs, Gracie

New Flower said:

Connie
Can you explain about your results with Tamoxifen test.I an going to ask my oncologist about this test on my next visit.

I also have question to everyone. Do do you or your oncologist choose between Femara Arimidex, and Aromasin.

CYP2D6 Test
The CYP2D6 blood test will let you know if you'r metabolizing the Tamoxifen or not. The results will comeback as positive, intermediate, or negative. My results came back intermediate, which basically means that they don't know how much benefit I'm getting from the meds, so that's why they changed me to Arimidex. They gave me Arimidex to begin with, but they want me to check with my insurance to see which one of the three meds would be the cheapest for me. I suppose I'll be on the onet hat is the most economical for me. They all the same class of medicine and work the same way. As far as the CYP2D^ blood test, I'm glad I had the test, because I wouldn't want to be taking Tamoxifen for two years and not having it do much. Hope this helps. Connie

m_azingrace said:

Question for Contrail


Connie, are you taking Zometa in the daily pill form, or getting the monthly infusion? The reason I asked is because my onc told me that the pills are not nearly as effective...but he didn't elaborate on the degree of difference. I get the infusion, and except for the first one, I have little to no side effects. As someone else mentioned, Zometa can cause a condition called "osteonecrosis of the jaw"...the bone dies. So you would definately want to have a complete dental exam with x-rays, and a cleaning. And then if you need dental work done, get it all finished and be healed before beginning the zometa treatments. My dr was very careful about that, and was relieved to know that I'd just been to the dentist and was okay. I hope all goes well for you. Hugs, Gracie

Zometa
I'm on the monthly infusion. I just completed the first six months of the study and know will have the infusion on a quarterly basis. I had to have a dental exam before I was able to begin the study and I have one every six months anyway. Yes, they were very careful about the dental thing before I began the Zometa, also. I haven't had any problems with it other than a few bone aches and pains. I'm glad I'm on the study. I figure anything like this can only be good. Connie

New Flower said:

I am upset that my oncologist have not done the Tamoxifen test
prior to the start of Tamoxifen. I am still surprised why he did not check before prescribed it.
My next visit is scheduled for NOV 30, I am going to ask.
We have been doing D and Calcium., and yes my levels were low and I am taking 2000 IU of D3 and daily Ca/Mg supplement as well.

Femara Working
See my thread called "Good News from my Onc" posted today.. The Femara is working well but I don't know how the cost stacks up with other aromatase inhibitors. Hope the rest of you are having good results.

Femara
I've been on Femara 19 months and my biggest side effect is bone and joint pain. I have other medical conditions that make this side effect a living hell for me. It is doing the job of keeping my stage IV cancer stable. I still have tumors that like to hang out in my lungs and pleura but they are hibernating. So, I take the pill daily and give them eviction notices that are ignore. That's ok with me, "Stable" is a great word.

One of my medical conditions doesn't allow me to take bisphosphonates (Zometa, Aredia and etc.). I risk bone fractures. While using Arimidex, I fell, didn't hurt myself but did manage to have 3 compression fractures in the vertebrae. If on Femara, your doctor should give you something to make your bones stronger. Estrogen depletion is a serious issue with aromatase inhibitors. Vaginal dryness is another problem. I used a product called "Estring" while on Arimidex. My oncologist doesn't want me to use it this time. I do have minor hot flashes, but with everything else wrong with me, it is a non-issue in my case.

To avoid being tired, I take my pill at bed time. When I took the pill in the morning, a few hours later, I felt like falling asleep.

Good luck to you, Carol.

SIROD