Letrozole/Femara

hello peterawake

Thank you so much for your post re. Femera. As you may have seen on the Letrozole site many of us are concerned about this. My G.P also refused point blank to prescribe Femera to me despite the oncologist requesting it. I have had accord for seven months, but there was a hitch when it went out of supply for 12 days and I had to have Cipla..the cheapest which has tatrazine in the coating.

I, too, am considering paying for Femera as i cannot now turn the car ignition key unless I use both hands, and groan if I accidentally bang my hands on anything. Yet i still wonder if Femera would be better, as I have a friend who had the same pain in his hands when his brother died, and he thinks it is an immune response to stress. I developed trigger finger pain before I started on Letrozole and the mind does have a strong effect on the body. 

So if you do take this course, please,please  keep us posted if there is any improvement., as I hate the feeling of weakness and how hard it is to get up for work in the morning. I have my first annual meeting on March 10th following surgery and radiotherapy and now Letrozole, so am hoping my son will come with me to ask the oncologist some important questions ( my mind goes blank when I go into a waiting room) and I will discuss it with him, and post his comments to everyone. We are completely with you and good luck if you go ahead.

my thanks again.

Hi Calador,

Thank you for your response. I will indeed keep everyone updated. I really hope I have a reduction in the pain as my hands are terribly painful. A friend who is a Pharmacologist said it's the fillers they use that cause the problems, we shall see!

I spoke to my Chemist yesterday and Interestingly, the Letrozole range start at £1.67 and the Femara are £118.00!! How can there be such a difference, and I do wonder how they can make such a drug and retail them for £1.67.

Hope your appointment goes ok, it is a benefit to have someone with you, I always feel stronger and more in control if hubby comes with me, on the one occasion he couldn't I felt undermined. So good luck.

Best Wishes,

Sharon.

Hi Sharon,

Femara is the original brand and if it is written on your prescription the chemist cannot legally issue anything else. It costs the NHS £90 per pack.  If the prescription is written for letrozole the chemist is legally entitled to issue any generic letrozole from any licensed manufacturer eg RelonChem, Dr Reddy’s etc. These cost the NHS 86 pence per pack.  Where women are being dispensed their preferred generic letrozole it is because the chemist is providing additional customer service and can source that product at 86p or less per pack.  

Most women tolerate the generic versions just as well as Femara and it does not make any sense for the NHS to spend £90 per month instead of 86p when there are many other pressing needs for that money.

However if you find a generic letrozole that suits you it does make sense to find a chemist who understands your needs and will agree to source that version for you.

The prices being quoted to you are different from those above because you are buying it privately.  For this you will need a private prescription.  The chemist can charge more or less what they like in this context.  The NHS prices are fixed.

To answer your other question, the generic prices are low because these drugs have been around for a long time, the patent has expired and they are cheap to make - think paracetamol etc.

Good luck!

Hi everyone, I’ve only just started on Letrozole. The first month I was given Crescent brand and now just collected Dr Reddys from chemist. No problems up to now, touch wood, but I know it’s early days. Found this link about pricing which might be useful. 

https://bnf.nice.org.uk/medicinal-forms/letrozole.html 

Lots of love xx

I switched from a generic to Femara and it did make a difference. Although I still have bone and muscle pain, it is nowhere near as bad. The hospital  switched from Herceptin to a biosimilar drug and I started getting more pain as well as headaches and insomnia. Now the hospital has switched me back to the proper Herceptin the pain has improved. I guess we all respond differently and even if your gp won’t prescribe Femara it’s worth switching to another to see what works best for you. We have to be taking them for long enough! 

Hi Peterwake.  I also take Letrozol the Teva brand haven’t had many side effects my legs ache first thing in the morning and I get very tired, I take my tablet at night at about 7PM, can you not get the Teva brand I think it’s £49 for 28 tablets. Good luck.

Hi Boobylou,

Thank you for your reply. I've tried Cipla and Accord so I'm going to try the Femara as a trial for 3 months.  It's going to be expensive on going but will be worth it if fewer or no side effects.  When I took mine in the evening I was awake until early hours, it used to switch my brain on! Now take at lunch time.

Best Wishes,

Sharon.

Hi Karen,

Thank you for your reply and link, which I have now looked at. I can't believe the price difference between manufacturers ie Dr Reddy 28 tablets £73.13 vs Accord 28 tabs £1.78!  Why, I wonder?

Best Wishes,

Sharon.

hi peterawake,

The request  for me from the oncologist to the GP asked for Letrozole . Femera,. but the GP refused point blank He said they were all the same and sent Cipla, the cheapest because he runs his own pharmacy. I managed to get Accord by going to a nearby chemist ,(he wasn't prepared to source Femera, )but I have to get a monthly prescription for Accord  from the GP's surgery and it doesn't always come through to the chemist so I have a wasted journey.

I would be really grateful if anyone can explain if you can ask for your own prescription so that you can try other chemists if necessary.I have given up on the GP.   I have a yearly review meeting with the oncologist due on March 8th, but find all my questions seem to get muddled because I am so nervous.

Can anyone au fait with the system help me about prescriptions.. and just a bit of input from me..If you are on Accord keep checking that it's ingredients don't include Tetrazine. They haven't up to now, Cipla did when I was prescribed it,but these companies keep moving around with take overs and I want to stay with Accord as long as it is still based in the U.K. Don't get me wrong I have terrible painful hands, but Accord hasn't given me side effects I can't cope with. However it isn't getting less in its side effects as I had hoped after seven months, so I am trying to stay on top of the Letrozole debate,    Lots of Love to  you and everyone .

Hi Calador,

You can ask your GP Practice not to send it to the Chemist, that way you have your prescription in your hand and can try different Chemist's. My husband does this with his Parkinson meds and GP Practice has obliged.

Best Wishes,

Sharon.