Letrozole - is it possible not to have side effects?

Hi,

Depending on your age you may well get the classic hot flushes of menopause again, which I regarded as ensuring it was working. My s/es aren’t too bad, joint aches which can be helped with various meds (I take Loratidine, Glucosamine with Chondroitin)  and these improved over time. I started in April 2018 and the following summer was hot and humid, I found a hand held rechargeable fan incredibly helpful. 
BCN said most problems appear in a couple of months and ease after about 5-6 months, and either I totally got used to them or she was right!

if you find a specific brand helpful then try to sweet-talk your GP to putting it on your repeats, my best was Accord. Being a very tiny dose the generics have to bulk out to make the tablet and often the bulking agents are what causes folk the problem

Best wishes

Hugs xxx

Hi, I've brn raking letrozole since 2015 and I've had just about every brand there is and had no side effects.  I  69 now and have ùanither 5 years to take it. You hear al the negative comments but rarely the positive.  Good lyck

Hi

I did have side effects to start with (Feb this year) but have found a brand that suits and have noticed that over time the side effects have become a lot less, latterly I used to just notice painful knees (making me 'oof' as I got my fat ass off the sofa) but even that's gone of late.  It may be time or it may be exercising and eating well (that ass is deffo shrinking!) that's also helped.

Bear in mind everyone reacts differently to all cancer treatments and don't be put off by bad news stories, you'll only know how you fare when you crack on with it.

Good luck

Sam

Hello Sleepless21

I'm a "newbie" as I have only been taking Lerozole since June this year and due to take it for 10 years.However, like you,I was very worried about starting to take it, as I had read all  the lists of possible side effects on this website and  also on Cancer Research/Breast Cancer  Now and British National Formulary.

I was helped  greatly by my oncology consultant who , when I met him for the first time, patiently sat with me for an hour and a half (no wonder his clinics run late!) and gave me answers to my questions about  every one of the list of side effects I had listed from them all. .As he pointed out, many women in our situation  may already  be on a cocktail of other  medication, and it can sometimes be hard   to differentiate between  the effects of one drug or another when there are several in your system and the yellow card scheme for reporting side effects means it can also be hard to attribute side effects to one particular drug.

He said most side effects are  likely to be worse for the first few months and then get better or settle down.Joint pain-he said the most important thing was to stick to a healthy weight: as being overweight is what actually cause pressure on the joints  and  causes the pain.Hot flushes:these are more likely to be worse for the first few months as your oestrogen levels are lowered.Insomnia: probably caused by the vicious circle of hot flushes-and again, it should improve.Bone thinning is probably my biggest worry but I'm currently on bisphosphonates for 3 years as adjuvant treatment so that has a beneficial effect-and who knows, guidance may change by then.

I've just turned 53 and was lucky that I had already had no  menopausal symptoms ( like my mother) when I started  taking  Letrozole so he felt  pretty sure I would be ok. (When my treatment plan was first discussed after surgery,  Zoladex was mooted to give me an artificial menopause but  I asked for further  blood tests as there had been quite a delay since I was first diagnosed& I didn't think it was necessary-everyone agreed this was sensible and maybe it helped that my oestrogen levels turned out to be already low) 

I've not  had any problems so far (apart from fatigue, but that is most likely still radiotherapy side effects)and am very aware this could be beginner's luck but when I had a review last month, my oncologist was not surprised and said most problems do occur in the first few months so it would be unlikely for the worst ones to appear now.  I've been given a different brand each time with my prescription and can't say I have noticed any difference.I take them with my evening meal. 

As I think we all learn  through treatment, we are all different and as a wise friend said to me, people are  less likely to tell you the  positives!

Good luck!  

Thank you so much - great advice and so reassuring!

Just posted a similar then saw your post. I too am concerned. I have been on for two mo this and just have mild stiffness on waking. I asked my onco if I might expect more symptoms down the road she said most kick in quickly. Depends on your age and pre or post menopausal.  
I am 62 and post menopause if that helps. 

Hi - I too was reluctant to start letrozole . Now on third month and going ok . Some mild muscle stiffness but feeling so much better after finishing chemotherapy and radiotherapy that I am doing loads more exercise so not surprising muscles rebelling! 
Please don’t be scared about taking it . Forums  like this have positive stories when questions like yours are posted because otherwise people are looking for answers to problems and if you don’t have a problem with letrozole you aren’t going to be posting ! Good that you posted your question . 

As usual I feel so much better for coming to this wonderful forum. Thank you all so much for your help and advice. Of course it's different for everyone, but at least I now feel there's some chance the side effects won't be so limiting and that healthy lifestyle choices might help, so it's not as scary as it was. Take care lovelies. 

It is very daunting,I know. I was horrified at the idea of having to take it for 10 years.Before I was diagnosed, I  only had  a few packets of paracetamol in my medicine cabinet & now I'm being medicated.And dare I say it, some of these things may happen anyway , whether we are taking it or not, because we are slightly older than we were before. .However, I think the main thing to remember is  your team wouldn't be recommending it if they didn't think it gave you the best chance.Before I was diagnosed, I had only really heard of Tamoxifan and had no idea of all these other drugs we could be offered.We are  in many ways very lucky to have the benefit of all the advances in treatment over the last decade.I was really reassured at the  difference it potentially makes to your long term survival rates.I think when my stats were run through Predict, it was something like 4.5%-I really couldn't argue against taking it& now feel obliged to prove the algorithms! 

Best of luck!  

I too was scared to start this drug. I am on the third month and  haven’t noticed anything different. The suggestion is that after a few months you will get over any side effects, so I’m feeling well chuffed. 

Hope you are coping well.