Femara/Letrozole

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Rague
Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Have I figured it out right? Femara is the brand name and Letrozole is the generic?

Saw Dr. T. on Thurs and he gave me a script for Femara which I turned in that afternoon to VA. I picked up the first 10 days of the script yesterday at Ft. Meade (rest will be mailed) and it doesn't say 'Femara' on it but rather says 'Letrozole'. From what I found online they are the same but thought I would ask what anyone here knows if there are any differences? I know that with some brand names and generic names there came be difference in how they work so - anybody got any thoughts?

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  • sgamtd
    sgamtd Member Posts: 124
    #2
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    Femara/Letrozole
    Hi Rauge, You are right that letrozole is the generic for the brand Femara. I have not been able to find letrozole except in Canada and my onc. does not want me to fill it there because it's not manufactured in Canada. It is made in India. I have never had any problem with using a generic as compared to a brand name, but usually the generics I get are made here in the US. Since you are getting the letrozole thru the VA I would assume it's made here in the US, and that is encouraging news to me as currently my cost is close to 400. for 30 day supply.
    Of course you ten tablets would not be in a MFG bottle, but do let us/me know when you get your regular prescrition if it skows where it is made, please.
    Thanks
    sgamtd
  • Sunrae
    Sunrae Member Posts: 808
    #3
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    sgamtd said:

    Femara/Letrozole
    Hi Rauge, You are right that letrozole is the generic for the brand Femara. I have not been able to find letrozole except in Canada and my onc. does not want me to fill it there because it's not manufactured in Canada. It is made in India. I have never had any problem with using a generic as compared to a brand name, but usually the generics I get are made here in the US. Since you are getting the letrozole thru the VA I would assume it's made here in the US, and that is encouraging news to me as currently my cost is close to 400. for 30 day supply.
    Of course you ten tablets would not be in a MFG bottle, but do let us/me know when you get your regular prescrition if it skows where it is made, please.
    Thanks
    sgamtd

    Rague and sgamtd, My onc
    Rague and sgamtd, My onc prescribed Femara for me 5 months ago. She said letrozole is the generic but its not available here. Arimidex is another hormone treatment and will have a generic available very soon. She may give me a trial run for a month if I choose to because Femara is very costly. She prefers Femara because her patients have reported more side effects with Arimidex. Right now she is giving me enough samples to keep me going but I know that can't last. Everyone reacts differently but so far I'm doing ok on Femara.
  • Rague
    Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member
    #4
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    Sunrae said:

    Rague and sgamtd, My onc
    Rague and sgamtd, My onc prescribed Femara for me 5 months ago. She said letrozole is the generic but its not available here. Arimidex is another hormone treatment and will have a generic available very soon. She may give me a trial run for a month if I choose to because Femara is very costly. She prefers Femara because her patients have reported more side effects with Arimidex. Right now she is giving me enough samples to keep me going but I know that can't last. Everyone reacts differently but so far I'm doing ok on Femara.

    HMM I got my first 10 pills
    HMM I got my first 10 pills from the Veterans Administration Hospital (Ft. Meade, SD) on Friday and the next 20 will be sent from their script processing center (think it's in Tenn.) where my refills will come from. So they were filled in the USA by a government agency. Seems that if generic is not approved in the USA that VA would be dispensing it to veterans.

    I'll ask my PA tomorrow when I call her. Have to call her anyway as I want to get a regimen from PT for getting back into shape and I need her approval before they will see me. (Have access to a great gym at Ellsworth AFB which is less than 3 miles away. In the past when out of shape, I would have just done my own thing and pushed as hard as I could stand but now it makes sense, to me, to get a planned program to work on.) Just needs the paperwork put in.

    My oncologist did not mention Arimidex.
  • Rague
    Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member
    #5
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    I talked with a VA
    I talked with a VA pharmacist and she said that the 10 pills I picked up on Friday were Femara - not a generic. She said that they do not put the brand name on the their labels. Then today I got the rest of the script in the mail and it is definately Femara - they sent 3 bottles of it in the sealed original bottles (Novartis). Haven't figured out why they sent 3 months (the whole script) worth at one time - usually have to call in each time a refill is needed.
  • sgamtd
    sgamtd Member Posts: 124
    #6
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    Rague said:

    I talked with a VA
    I talked with a VA pharmacist and she said that the 10 pills I picked up on Friday were Femara - not a generic. She said that they do not put the brand name on the their labels. Then today I got the rest of the script in the mail and it is definately Femara - they sent 3 bottles of it in the sealed original bottles (Novartis). Haven't figured out why they sent 3 months (the whole script) worth at one time - usually have to call in each time a refill is needed.

    Femara/Letrozole
    Aaw, rague, I was hoping the generic was available in the US now. However, thanks for posting and letting us know. Take care
    sgamtd
  • aztec45
    aztec45 Member Posts: 757
    #7
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    Rague
    You are right. Femera and Letrozole are the same thing from what I have read. So far, I do read where they will perform differently but ask your doc to be sure. I got my Femera just today. I wish us all well on this. It does have some side effects. Like who needs that. Muscle pain seems to be the most prevalent side effect. Arimedex (SP) is harder to tolerate for most women. The muscle aches and cramps are worse. It also is harder on the bones (osteoperosis).

    Take care,

    P
  • Cairmaid
    Cairmaid Member Posts: 64
    #8
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    aztec45 said:

    Rague
    You are right. Femera and Letrozole are the same thing from what I have read. So far, I do read where they will perform differently but ask your doc to be sure. I got my Femera just today. I wish us all well on this. It does have some side effects. Like who needs that. Muscle pain seems to be the most prevalent side effect. Arimedex (SP) is harder to tolerate for most women. The muscle aches and cramps are worse. It also is harder on the bones (osteoperosis).

    Take care,

    P

    Brand Name vs Generic
    I read on a drug site that the FDA assigns a "generic" name to every drug that's approved. I believe the drug companies are allowed exclusivity to sell their brand for a while so they can recoup their R&D costs before other companies are allowed to sell the generic formula. My doctor said Femara will be generic in June this year. I'm lucky...I have a prescription plan at work that covers all but my co-pay. If Femara goes generic and doesn't work as well, I'll have a problem getting "the good stuff" and my doctor will have to say it's medically necessary to stay on the brand name. Even then, I'd have to pay the difference in cost between the generic and the brand name drugs PLUS my co-pay.

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