Tell me about Femara

goodgollie · December 2010

My RE wants to do FSH to help get my dominant ovary to cooperate and produce a follicle. He was going to consider clomid in the beginning but after seeing my lining he decided not to. I've heard that Femara does not affect your lining but acts similar to clomid to help you O. Why would my RE not consider this drug for me? Is the risk of multiples very high? Are there different doses like on Clomid? Thanks!

kkdavie15 · December 2010

This is my third cycle on Femara. From what I know it works the same as clomid but there are less s/e. I actually don't think I have experienced any s/e. It isn't suppose to affect your lining as much as clomid does, however my 1st cycle my lining was 6.4 which they said was fine but my second was only 4.1 and they put me on oral estradiol right away. This is my 3rd cycle and I started the estradiol right after finishing the femara (CD8) and my lining was great at 8.1 but no follies so they upped my dose for the next few days to see how I respond.

So it still can cause a thin lining so if you already have an issue then that is probably why he doesn't recommend it. If I don't respond to the higher dose they are moving me onto into injectables. This risk of multiples is the same as clomid and is actually a little lower I believe. I hope that whatever you decide on works well for you!

OCW2010 · December 2010

When I questioned my RE about giving me Clomid vs Femara, the nurse said that Clomid is pretty much the default drug they give to beginners bc they've had great success with it. However, if it affected my lining negatively, which it DID, we would move to Femara or injectibles. I have read the same thing, that Femara doesn't have the mood s/e or lining s/e that Clomid does. I have read all different things, some people have said they produced just as many follies on Femara than Clomid, others have said less, others more. Like most things, responses are different.

Femara is a touch more expensive, apparently. For instance, Clomid for 100mg was $36. For Femara, I don't know what dose it was but it was about $260. Apparently though, before 12/31/10, you can get a free trial of Femara, the coupon is out there.

GL to you!

kkdavie15 · December 2010

OCW2010:

Apparently though, before 12/31/10, you can get a free trial of Femara, the coupon is out there.

I found this and tried this with my RE but like Papps said this is a Breast Cancer drug and your Dr is using it "off label" and thus it doesn't apply for the free trial bc you are using it for IF and not cancer. I'm not saying don't try it because they might let you get away with it but my RE wouldn't so i figured I'd warn you. GL... I hope you can swing the free trial

jessican08 · December 2010

My RE put me on Femara right off the bat. He said the s/e are much less and the risk of HOM is lower. I think my cost for each cycle of Femara is only $25 (that's my copay). Like the pp said, Femara is not approved for fertility, only breast cancer so maybe that's why some REs don't use it??? Good luck to you!

MrsLoos · December 2010

As pp's have said Femara doesn't have as many s/e's a clomid. My RE also told me that Femara does a better job at producing one good quality follicle rather than several ok quality follicles. I only did one cycle on Femara and didn't have any s/e's and got one good sized follie and 2 that my RE thought were mature.

There is a coupon to get 1 months supply of Femara for free. My RE was happy to sign the form. There is also a $10 coupon I think it's good for 3 months. Femara is more expensive than clomid, but my insurance would have actually covered it (and I have zero IF coverage) since it's a breast cancer drug, my co-pay would have been $20 where as the clomid oop would have been $30-$40.

OCW2010 · December 2010

kkdavie15:
OCW2010:

Apparently though, before 12/31/10, you can get a free trial of Femara, the coupon is out there.

I found this and tried this with my RE but like Papps said this is a Breast Cancer drug and your Dr is using it "off label" and thus it doesn't apply for the free trial bc you are using it for IF and not cancer. I'm not saying don't try it because they might let you get away with it but my RE wouldn't so i figured I'd warn you. GL... I hope you can swing the free trial

Thanks! I didn't realize that.

Ladies who have used both Clomid and Femara - what was the difference in follies, that you saw?

halo_tx · December 2010

If this cycle is a BFN, I will be switching from Clomid to Femara. My RE said they pretty much work the same way, but with my situation the Clomid was making me grow cysts so she thinks the Femara will be better. She says some people just don't react well with Clomid. As PP said, it can thin your lining but I didn't have this happen. I know both rounds of Clomid (50mg), I had 2 mature follies per cycle. HTH!

goodgollie · December 2010

Thank you girls. I left a message with my RE. I'm praying he will let me try it while we're waiting to save up for the FSH cycle.

cmcruz22 · December 2010

I'm doing a round of Femera this time. (5 mg a day for CD 3-7). The SA are nearly nonexsistant while on the 100 mg of Clomid I felt awful! Most RE/Dr. don't prescribe it because it is for 'off-label' use; it is only approved as a breast cancer treatment.

One study in 2005 found that there was an increase chance for brith defect that was prsented at a confernce for IF Dr. The manufactuer then issued a warnding to NOT use the drug for IF treatment... just to Cover their A$$es. Since then, other studies have come out dispproving the 2005 study; the basic scientific model for the study was flawed! I hate to throw this out there, but I truly believe we all need to be informed when going into these things. Check out this article: https://www.sogc.org/jogc/abstracts/200708_DrugsinPregnancy_1.pdf

Femera actually has a lower incidence of muliple births than Clomid. And although it works in a different manner than the Clomid, the end result is the same; more estrogen in your system to signal your follicles to mature.

Hope this helps... GL to all!

Tell me about Femara

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