Ladies: What side effects did you have on femara?

cmm012 · February 2016

Hello everyone! I had horrible side effects with clomid, and my doc is considering switching me to femara. DH looked up the side effects and saw that hot flashes and hair loss were the top two. I'm wondering if any of you had negative side effects from femara. Thank you!

LizzieJ13 · February 2016

None! I've only done 2 cycles (5mg CD 3-7), so I can't speak to any longer-term side effects like hair loss, but I didn't notice anything.

ZoeFer · February 2016

I have done 4 cycles of Femara, did not have any side effects. Actually I thought about it when you mentioned and I might have the opposite effect, I was complaining about my hair loss this summer before I started Femara and I do not have any hair loss any more

I do not think they are related though. Good luck !!

babylonghorn16 · February 2016

I've done 2 cycles of Femara (letrozole) of 5mg CD 3-7 with no side effects whatsoever! I've been taking prenatals and have noticed my hair has felt fuller these past several months. Definitely not seeing any hair loss. I've had a very positive response in both cycles with multiple mature follicles!

GL to you! This is hard enough without crappy side effects.

MrsDepo · February 2016

I have done 2 cycles and so far I have had headaches and hot flashes. I have never been on Clomid but if it's as bad as people are saying, then Femara is a piece of cake!

arbasham · February 2016

HEADACHES!! They feel like bad hangover headaches and they're worse in the morning ( I take the pills in the afternoon).

leakypen · February 2016

I think I hot-flashed on my first cycle while driving. Started removing clothing and then realized that it could be the Femara.

And that was it, there was nothing remarkable to note of throughout the following five cycles.

Nina7236 · February 2016

I did last cycle with femara and experienced some dizziness and some night time hot flashes. I definitely felt much better on femara than I did clomid! Had a good response in terms of follicles too! GL!!

PCOSat25 · February 2016

I am on my third cycle of letrozole which I understand to be the same as femera. My only really side effect with the first two was moderate drowsiness. I just took my 5mg dose at night to accommodate that. I was bumped up to 7.5 mg this cycle so I will be on the look out for any increased symptoms...

i will share that when I picked up my most recent prescription the pharmacist asked if my physician was monitoring my bone density. I said that I was not aware of any bone density tests and he indicated I should ask my doctor about it. The pharmacist said that letrozole/femera leeches calcium out of the bone and it can become a problem. Any use should be monitored for changes in bone density. I had no idea...

BurrBaby2 · February 2016

I have been on several cycles of letrozole with no side effects. I just had my first IUI on 1/20/2016. Aunt Flo came to visit so it was a big bummer. I am going to try a cycle this month with just with me and the hubby the hubby this month since I will be OOT and will not be able to do IUI this month. If no luck I will do IUI next month. Good Luck ladies!! ~Kim

BurrBaby2 · February 2016

I would go ahead and start taking prenatals while on it. It has increased amounts of calcium in it and that could help with the calcium loss if you feel that it is a problem. Not a doctor a nurse just a suggestion.

PCOSat25 · February 2016

Thanks @BurrBaby2 I am on prenatal vitamins and actually asked the pharmacist if I should be taking a calcium supplement as well. He basically said that I could if that made me "feel better" but it wouldn't really change anything as the medication can leech calcium directly out of the bone.

I am just sharing this information as he was very adamant that this should be monitored especially if you are doing multiple cycle.

ZoeFer · February 2016

@PCOSat25 letrozole is normally used to treat postmenapousal breast cancer patients and bone loss could be a big problem for them. I think they need to take this medication for a longer period , while we get only 5d per cycle. Also, the estrogen and estrogen receptor in your body should be able to protect the bone loss, i do not think bone loss would be a big problem for women at child bearing age. For example calcium deposition from your bones with breast feeding is big, but it doesnot cause any trouble for healthy women. It is normally replaced very quickly. Honestly i couldnt find a study on this matter but i tried to speculate based on what i know. I am a ' bone and mineralization' researcher so the topic got my attention

mskeenan · February 2016

I didn't experience any ! I actually felt better on it ... Which sounds crazy . But everyone is different . In general , I have heard clomid has worse side effects . Good luck !!

KilgraveMadeMeDoIt · February 2016

PCOSat25 said:

I am on my third cycle of letrozole which I understand to be the same as femera. My only really side effect with the first two was moderate drowsiness. I just took my 5mg dose at night to accommodate that. I was bumped up to 7.5 mg this cycle so I will be on the look out for any increased symptoms...

i will share that when I picked up my most recent prescription the pharmacist asked if my physician was monitoring my bone density. I said that I was not aware of any bone density tests and he indicated I should ask my doctor about it. The pharmacist said that letrozole/femera leeches calcium out of the bone and it can become a problem. Any use should be monitored for changes in bone density. I had no idea...

I've been lurking on here for a while but I was only able to finally post today and I wanted to address this.

The bone density thing is because letrozole blocks oestrogen production by inhibiting aromatase*, the enzyme that converts androgens into oestrogens. Oestrogens are important for bone because we have constant bone resorption/deposition (turnover) going on; in the absence of (sufficient) oestrogen, resorption becomes the overriding process and you end up with reduction in your bone mineral density (BMD).

However... those recommendations are for postmenopausal women who are on letrozole for cancer (the only indication for which it has published monitoring recommendations) and reduction in BMD was only seen at two years of continuous use, it was only statistically significant at one measured site, and, again, it was in postmenopausal women with breast cancer who are at increased risk of reduced BMD anyway.

All the above to say.... letrozole actually has a relatively short half-life and it does not permanently block aromatase so it's really, reaaaally unlikely this is going to be a problem in reproductive age women who are using it for 5 days a month for several months. This is why REs don't generally monitor BMD when using letrozole.

Just wanted to contribute that to the discussion.

*Minor edit since I typed the wrong enzyme in one spot, heh. I have to know the whole pathway so I have all these enzyme names in my head.

Caroline351 · February 2016

I didn't mind Femara. I don't think I had any real side effects. Clomid made me crazy.

PCOSat25 · February 2016

Thanks for the information @zoefer and @KilgraveMadeMeDoIt

Angelic789 · February 2016

A friend of mine started Femara in September. I believe she took 2.5, 2 times a day. And her least favourite symptom was just overall moody and feeling uneasy!
She tried not to plan anything important around those five days! Then in October, in addition to the Femara, she was prescribed Decadron (She has PCOS). My friend was moody all the time then! Also she gained about 10-15 lbs from the raging appetite.
She has been on four different medications for infertility and they fell pregnant this pastmonth. She's 8 weeks so although the side effects were driving her nuts, it worked!
Best of luck to you! Hang in there!

cmm012 · February 2016

Thank you everyone for answering. I am feeling much better about the medication now. I will, most likely, take a calcium supplement while on it as a precaution.

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