New here. I did join approx 2 yrs ago. Letrozole. The side effects were unbearable. I had to stop it. ️ I'm also a COPD sufferer.

Hi Tikky

Welcome to the forum and I am sorry to hear that you were diagnosed with breast cancer on top of having COPD.  While I'm not a COPD suffer I noticed that you haven't had any replies yet so I thought I'd reply to you to welcome you back to the community.  Hopefully someone will be along shortly with an answer for you.

Best of luck with whatever new drug you've decided to try.

Best wishes

Daisy53

Thank you Daisy 53 very kind of you  

Hi Tikky

Glad you reached out, it is good to have the support of the group.  Although I do not have COPD I am also a sleep apnea patient with a CPAP machine.  I find the Letrazole tablet is ok if I take it with painkillers just before bed, I can get alternately cold then hot then cold then hot during the night and my hands/fingers can stiffen and ache (never had that before) but on the whole it is tolerable.  I am rebuilding my strength after surgery last Feb followed by chemo and radiotherapy and am still on targeted drugs therapy for another 4 months.  The Letrazole for 5 years minimum.  I try to go for a swim around 4 times a week and have started Pilates.  Breathing can be hard as I am a tubby person with huge (and now painful) boobs but I am going to start doing some gentle walking to improve my cardiac function.

I hope the new drug is more tolerable for you, it must be a worry having had your previous experience, research is moving forward though and better drug regimes are being discovered, you will need to be assertive and detailed to your team about your needs so they can best understand and accommodate your situation.

Keep rested and try not to worry, distraction in a healthy pursuit is key to stop overthinking!  I do jigsaws, play games on my tablet, listen to audiobooks/podcasts, read when my concentration allows, binge watch a good box set, faff with seeds for the garden .... Anything to stop me spiralling as I have depression with compulsive tendencies and I have to manage my mental health condition carefully.

Best of luck with the new medication, hopefully it will be better for you, let us know!

Regards

BexF

Hi Elaine.

I'm really sorry to hear of your struggle.  I've had a lumpectomy and a second op because the margins weren't clear and now I'm due to start two weeks of radiotherapy next Thursday.  I've been prescribed Letrozole and am on day 7 of taking it and am feeling quite low because already I'm getting pain in my joints and muscles, particularly in my thighs.  I've phoned my breast care nurse about it but she says to persevere as the symptoms may subside.  I wonder whether they do?  If not, I'm keen to switch to something else so if anyone on here has had those same problems too and switched it would be great to know.

Take care

Karen

Hi Karen

I find that taking my Letrazole tablet at bedtime with paracetamol allows me to get to sleep and "miss" a lot of the pains, rather than struggle with them throughout the day.  Sometimes I don't seem to get a lot of pain, other times it can be worse but I haven't figured out any pattern.  Also there are a few threads/discussions on here about the brand name prescribed making a difference but I have always had the same brand throughout so it may be checking yours and discussing it with your pharmacist?

Hope that helps a little, hugs

BexF

Thanks Bex, that's really helpful. I might switch to night time too.  I'll give it another week and see how I go.  x