Letrozole side effects

Hi , 

you may find different brands better than others for you, everyone is different. The search at the top of the group might help you here, as differing brands of Letrozole have been discussed a lot. The actual med is only 2.5mg which is so tiny that they have to make it handleable with some form of ‘filler’ and depending on the brand this varies. It may be that you’re having a reaction with the type of ‘filler’ in the brand you’re taking. 

I’ve had Accord brand which is one of the closer to the original, and it was one my pharmacy could get. I managed to get my GP to put ‘please supply Accord brand’ on my repeat slips. 

I’m about to swap to Tamoxifen as even before bc I had mild osteoporosis, and having done 2 years on Letrozole and being told I’m low risk anyway, my team felt it would be good to swap. 

Hope you find an improvement, my BCN said the effects do ease after the 3-4 month period, maybe your body gets used to less oestrogen anyway. 

Hugs xxx

Hi

My better half was on Letrozole for 5 years and had exactly the same issues - Her GP put her on Meloxicam 7.5mg (NSAID) non-steroidal anti inflammatory) and Amitriptyline 10mg daily to help ease the aches. You can look both these (and any other meds) up on the EMC uk meds site (link)

She found the Amitriptyline helped get a good nights sleep as well if she took it late evening.

If you have been on the same brand of tablets for all 3 months maybe a different 'brand' will suit you better ? but mostly this is down to the lack of oestrogen (Human WD40)

Hope you find a helpful way of easing this, G n' J

Hi Sue

I know how you feel, I have been on letrozole for 3.5 months and have endured the very common side effects, flushes, sweating and am now feeling joint pain. I returned to work today and after sitting for 2.5 hours I struggled to get up due to pain in my hips! The BC nurse advised many do well on letrozole but I will be discussing other options after my bone scan this week and when I have a review with my g.p. I'd rather not swap and change but I would suggest ask questions and take advice so that you can achieve the best quality of daily life. I feel like I have aged 10 years + in just over 3 months!!

Good luck x

I started on Cipla brand and stopped after a few days as my fingers cracked when I moved them! I switched to Accord, which I thought was OKish, tried Sandoz bought in Spain but it made me dizzy (joint pain not as bad) though after 2 moths I was grunting and walking like my 99-year old uncle and then I had a retinal detachment. Six weeks off for the eye to heal, then Dr gave me Femara (yay!), but my hands ached on that one and I also felt dizzy, with lots of hot flushes. I developed an ulcer in my left eye which the Dr thought was due to a bit of grit and my eyes being dry from the Letrozole. Tried alternating Accord and Femara taking 1/2 a tablet (considered an effective dose) so my eye could heal, but 6 weeks later and it was still red and swollen. I'm off a week now and the eye is getting better and the flashing lights in my retinal detatchment eye are diminishing too. My hands and feet are still stiff, and I still have the hot flushes, but my blood pressure is getting back to normal and the swelling in my legs diminishing (forgot to mention those side effects lol). I'll go back onto it again when my eye is properly healed in a week or so. My gain is 4.5% based on Tamoxifen, and Letrozole is more effective so perhaps more gain if I can stick with it. My stats give a 6% risk of the BC killing me in 10 years with Tamoxifen, so it should be less than 6% with the Letrozole.....but someone has to be in the 6%:I would rather not switch to a steroid based one, and I'd worry about the clotting and cancer risk with Tamoxifen.......so.....maybe I'll try Dr Reddy next!

Thank you xx

Thank you. I'll speak to my GP if it doesn't ease off. Xxx

I know exactly how you feel, it's horrible but needs must. Thank you for the advice xxx

Wow!! You are suffering bad with the side effects. Sounds like I have been lucky with just the aching joints. Hope your eye heals soon. Thank you for the advice.

Sending hugs xxx

I've been trying to reply to this thread for hours.... I'll keep trying (I bet this posts.... because its not what I'd like to post).

I've given up with the reply.  In 'brief' I wonder, are the aches and pains - really a side effect from the tablet or are they a side effect of our bodies not having the oestrogen ... as Dreamthieft says... our WD40 lubricating oil.  (I will try later to reply in full)