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Post by Karen on Apr 6, 2011 18:39:26 GMT -5
(NOTE - I have NO idea if the doses are any different, just threw it out there as a question to ask so I hope no one quotes me on that!!
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Post by JC on Apr 6, 2011 18:55:43 GMT -5
ok, maybe it's lower for endo then. I'm really nervous to start the pill tonight. Stupid. I think all of the advil liquid gels I took last weekend gave me GERD, I haev this awful burning in my throat, I guess I need to buy some prevacid or something. I sure hope I can go on the pill and not have any bleeding..... Becareful about those advils. My GI doc found ulcers in my stomach during my endoscopy that I didn't even know I had. I seriously wonder if they were caused by me popping ibuprofen like candy. I try to eat with them but sometimes I'm desperate for pain relief and nearly puking at the same time. So I have taken a few on an empty stomach. I want to do a little more research on this femara. If you consider taking it then hopefully you wont get those side effects that people report. That's the unfortunate thing with endo; you have to trial and error a bunch of stuff until you find what's right. It really sucks.
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Post by italialynn on Apr 7, 2011 14:52:34 GMT -5
Talia, Can you please give me more info? How much does she take? I read the ask a patient reviews and they are reporting hair thinning and major joint pain. Karen said perhaps that's because its the breast cancer does vs. the endo dose which is maybe less? - is there break thru spotting or bleeding at all? - does this stop the period completely so I'd be going for like a year etc w/o any bleeding? - is there any weight gain from it? - headaches? - does she have to take it at the exact same time like the BCP or else you get spotting? - can you get pregnant while taking it? Femara is usually taken with a progestin-only pill. In my sister's case, she took it concurrently with the Mirena. She had minor breakthrough bleeding, but no actual periods. She had no side-effects other than leg cramping the first week. It's taken as a daily pill, but she didn't need to treat it like a BCP. She only took 2.5mgs/day which is a MUCH smaller dose than that given to breast cancer patients. Because it depletes all the estrogen from your body, you can only take it for 6 months to a year as it can cause early bone loss. Having no side-effects for her while taking it was a HUGE deal because she's been hospitalized before from BCP's. When she tried the Nuva ring, she was throwing up so bad she was on IV meds for 24 hours. She's uber-sensitive to this kind of stuff, so it's really nice to know she handled it well. The only downfall is it's very expensive, and since it's technically not approved by the FDA for treatment of endo, a lot of insurance companies won't pay for it.
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Post by chicagogal2 on Apr 7, 2011 15:10:01 GMT -5
I'm really curious to know how you do on it once you have the surgery again. I'm sorry, forgive my bad memory, are you trying to have a baby anytime soon? I think I have read that you can't try to get pregnant while on the femara so either way if I treat this with the pill now or the femara a baby would still be totally out of the question.
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Post by JC on Jan 9, 2012 10:17:01 GMT -5
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Post by redwood on Jan 16, 2012 3:34:33 GMT -5
Very interesting. Thanks for the link. I found this too: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12095950I love red wine. Have kind of stopped drinking alcohol in the past year or so. Maybe I need red wine again.
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Post by DeAnna on Jul 27, 2012 18:09:17 GMT -5
Hey guys, Just wanted to revive this thread. Anyone out there taking aromatase inhibitors? They are relatively new for the treatment of endo but I am going to see an endo specialist at UCSF. She treats medically only (refers surgical patoents to a lap expert) and they recommend the use of aromatase inhibitors in certain circumstances (like mine). Wondering if anyone else has had any luck with them or any bad side effects.
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Post by loveshoes on Jul 27, 2012 19:36:52 GMT -5
I haven't used it but I saw a pelvic pain specialist who said I could try it if I wanted to. Thankfully, using the pill continual w.o ever having a bleed has gotten me to a point of being "normal" again without any pain so I never moved forward with the femara but I have heard that it's very good. Italialynn's sister used it with great success!
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Post by DeAnna on Jul 27, 2012 22:27:29 GMT -5
Good to know. Thank you
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Post by indyfabulous on Jul 28, 2012 10:16:25 GMT -5
I am starting Arimidex (Anastrozole) as soon as my next period ends. I actually saw the Dr. who the article at the beginning of this thread is about, Dr. Bulun. He said combined with a BCP, I should see little to no side effects. The side effects I may notice are hot flashes and decreased libido. I'll take it!! I will update on how it goes. I am excited about this treatment plan, compared to the other options I was given!
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Post by loveshoes on Jul 28, 2012 13:27:09 GMT -5
I think when you team up with someone who's so knowledgeable in the topic of endo you can't go wrong. It's great that there are other options out there. Liberating to know that YOU are in control.
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