Femara

Diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2006, masectomy, chemo, then I was on Tamoxifin (tamoxifen), then switched to Arimidex March 2008 till now, August started with the aches & pains in my feet and knees, now my dr. has suggested I try Femara to see if the aches and pains are less.  I'm wondering if it's going to be worth switching.  I have read some comments that people on that are experiencing aches and pains also.  What do you think?


This discussion is related to Joint pain � swelling from Femara.

[PaulMD]

Hi.

Bony aches and pains are indeed a common side effect of arimidex and also that of similar drugs in its class (called aromatase inhibitors).  Femara is another drugs with the same mechanism of action such as arimidex so I would not be surprised if the aches and pains persist even when switching.  Furthermore, the switching regimen is only proven for arimidex and aromasin (another aromatase inhibitor), while the data on switching to femara is still lacking but already on the way (data to be out about 1-2 years from now).

I would suggest you ask your doctor about bone strengthening strategies such as calcium supplementation, pain medications and even a group of drugs called bisphosphonates to somehow lessen the pain while on this drug.

Regards and God bless.