Femara

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judy22
judy22 Member Posts: 117 Member
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Hi I'm now on Femara. Does anyone know anything about it. I was wonding about the bones and heart. If this drug is hard on them Thanks Judy

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  • katabo
    katabo Member Posts: 61
    #2
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    hi i was on it and i had many questions i went to the top of this page where it says contact asc click on it and you can e-mail this question they will get back to you soon and also i've gone to medicine cites i'm sorry i dont have the exact addresses for you..i experienced hot flashes and lite cramps when i took femara....god bless...kathy
  • zahava26
    zahava26 Member Posts: 1
    #3
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    femara side effects ver generic
    was on femara for 4 years before insurance co. switched me to the generic. I complained bitterly until that time of the aches and pains. After the switch to generic told the dr. that the new drug was way too strong. Joint pain got worse and worse. Dr checked for blocked arteries. Ready to get into a wheel chair. When I felt so depressed, and like jumping off bridge I said whoooo not taking this again. After a week off called dr who said stop taking everything for a month and then I will give you the real femara. We did that and it was wonderful. So found out that insurance would not cover femara ($800)month.Went to a canadian firm that my dr. approves of and only pay 175 month. I still ache but only have 3 months left of the five years Got FDA involved and been questioned by them Was it worth it? got osteopena arthritis and high blood pressure. but when I die of anything but cancer, I will know it was worth it.........
  • mollyz
    mollyz Member Posts: 756 Member
    #4
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    zahava26 said:

    femara side effects ver generic
    was on femara for 4 years before insurance co. switched me to the generic. I complained bitterly until that time of the aches and pains. After the switch to generic told the dr. that the new drug was way too strong. Joint pain got worse and worse. Dr checked for blocked arteries. Ready to get into a wheel chair. When I felt so depressed, and like jumping off bridge I said whoooo not taking this again. After a week off called dr who said stop taking everything for a month and then I will give you the real femara. We did that and it was wonderful. So found out that insurance would not cover femara ($800)month.Went to a canadian firm that my dr. approves of and only pay 175 month. I still ache but only have 3 months left of the five years Got FDA involved and been questioned by them Was it worth it? got osteopena arthritis and high blood pressure. but when I die of anything but cancer, I will know it was worth it.........

    femara
    Hi Zahava26, welcome to the boards I'm MollyZ. look at the date of the post you responded to it's really old,i use to scroll back to old ones but sometimes you never know if that person is still alive and i hope and pray this one is,but your not going to probably get a response because of it being so old again welcome,by the way I'm on femara i have the joint pain and i'm still going to take it cause the Dr. said it's the only one with out all the bad sideffects ex..thickening of the uterus lining,heart problems ext.... MollyZ~~
  • SIROD
    SIROD Member Posts: 2,194 Member
    #5
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    Femara
    Hi Judy,

    I was on Femara (2 yrs, 4 months) and this is a good drug. Am still around due to Aromatase Inhibitors, so I think very highly of them.

    My own experience, hot flashes (hardly notice them) vaginal dryness and bone & joint pain.

    Due to having other bone issue problems, the pain with femara was considerable. I did use Arimidex and did not experience that problem.

    One should with all AI's if at all possible, use a bisphosphonate (Fosamax, Boniva, Aredia, Zometa) to protect the bones from fractures. This is a drug that deprives estrogen to bones. I did fall while on Arimidex and fractured 3 vertebrae which led me to use Fosamax and Boniva. I unfortunately had a problem using bisphosphonate and ended up with uveitis (auto immune disease of the uvea. That me, doesn't mean it will happen to you. I did end up with high cholesterol and needed medication to lower my numbers.

    All drugs have side effects. If you can prevent a recurrence of breast cancer or if you are stage IV, continue using a hormonal therapy then it is certain worth using.

    Here is a link to information on Femara:

    http://www.femara.com/index.jsp?lightbox=us-resident

    Wishing you the best,

    Doris

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