Femara Info

[candie429]

To all of my friends using Femara, and those that are thinking about it, I found some really good info online that is very detailed.  It's actually a fact sheet from a fertility clinic in Ontario.  I don't know anything about the clinic, but it's by far the best info I've seen on using Femara for infertility.  Here's the link if anyone is interested:

http://www.soft-infertility.com/docs/PILetrosol.pdf

Also, any updates from those of you using Femara?  My first cycle resulted in ovulation, but no BFP.  :(  I'm now on cd 9, so hopefully it will work this time!

To jnitro26:  I saw that you are also in your 2nd Femara cycle.  How is it going?

To HeathJo:  How is your 2ww going?  SSBD to you!!!

To G_S:  Here's hoping everything is OK and that you get your BFP!

To bny807:  Best of luck with your ultrasound today.  If there is some endo, I'm sure it will be treatable.  My thoughts are with you today.

To kschnack:  How is your first Femara cycle going?  I hope it works out for you!!

Thanks to all the wonderful ladies on this forum who are so supportive.  My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

[renae176]

ive been on it for 4 months and it keeps turning my eggs into cysts, unless i take ovidrel with it, anyone else had this problem

[kschnack]

Nope not yet UGh this waiting is nerve racking. Still no AF though so still very hopeful

[candie429]

Good morning kschnack.  Any word on your test results yet?  

[kschnack]

It is Sunday and I am late by two days will find how tomorrow. I woke up this morning at 2 am not feeling well. Feel like I am going throw up but never did. I woke up a little bit ago and still feel that way. I am praying for a BFP tomorrow.

[candie429]

Yeah for you!!  Still no AF!  Hopefully your DH is right and you get great results Monday!

[kschnack]

AF still has not come. Still having low back pain but that is it. Took Home PG test and it was neg. DH does not trust those things and said he would wait for the DR to call on Monday with the results from my beta HCG.

[candie429]

jnitro - Best of luck to you and your DH.  I know how stressful this can be, and you know more than anyone what you need to do in order to go on.  If it's possible to take a mini-vacation or even have a weekend getaway, maybe that would help.  Sometimes a change of scenery helps.  Every once in a while, we just leave the dog with my parents and get a hotel room in a nearby city and just enjoy being together.  You always hear these stories of people who take a break to relax and that's the month it happens.  Hopefully you will be one of those lucky people!  Please keep in touch.

nevaeh222 - If I were you, I would definitely give the femara a shot.  I think once you've had 6 IUI's the chances of conceiving start going down, so maybe your body just needs a different drug.  Lots of luck being sent your way!!

bny807 - Thanks so much for sharing that info.  You're right.  There's just so much to think about, so many causes of infertility, so many treatment options.  It can feel so overwhelming at times and make you worry that you're not doing the right thing!  I think that's a good idea to get some questions written down and then meet with the doctor.  Hopefully she'll have more answers for you.

[bny807]

I also read somewhere in an article that after three months of femara there were no traces of endo to be found... but i wander if all of the endo was removed during the first lap (they couldn't remove much of mine since it was on the bowel and bladder, ureters etc). hummm.. this is all so confusing and overwhelming!   I have a few more days to do as much research as I can before the Dr and I sit down and figure out a plan.. she is currently researching the femara as well, since i dont' think its as widely used!   Good luck to yall using femara instead of clomid, i hear its great and it doesn't thin the lining as much as clomid, also read that the success rates were higher with femara than clomid!  Here is an article that I found about it that looks promising::::::


Aromatase is an enzyme that is responsible for the production of estrogen in the body. Letrozole works by inhibiting aromatase thereby suppressing estrogen production. Clomiphene citrate, on the other hand, blocks estrogen receptors. In both cases, the result is that the pituitary gland produces more of the hormones needed to stimulate the ovaries. These hormones, FSH and LH, can cause the development of ovulation in women who are anovulatory or increase the number of eggs developing in the ovaries of women who already ovulate. As a result, several studies have now been published using letrozole as a fertility drug.

One of the earliest studies using letrozole as a fertility drug looked at 12 women with inadequate response to clomiphene citrate. Ovulation on letrozole occurred in 9 of 12 cycles and 3 patients conceived. A later study by the same investigators compared the effects of letrozole to those of clomiphene citrate. This time 19 women were studied. Ten women received clomiphene citrate and nine women received letrozole. This study was unable to demonstrate any difference in the number of women who ovulated, the number of eggs that developed in each woman, or the thickness of the uterine lining during treatment. However, a more recent study by a different group of investigators found that compared with clomiphene citrate, letrozole is associated with a thicker uterine lining and a lower miscarriage rate.

Nobody has yet identified the optimal dose for letrozole. Three dose regimens have been tested: 2.5 mg, 5 mg and 7.5 mg. Different studies comparing these dose regimens have occasionally found favor with one dose or another but there is no conclusive data that one dose is better than another. The usual length of treatment is for five days.

Some early studies suggested that the pregnancy rates with letrozole far exceeded those with clomiphene citrate and were possibly even higher than gonadotropins. Further data has determined that this is not the case. Pregnancy rates with letrozole are similar to those seen with clomiphene citrate and are lower than the pregnancy rates seen with gonadotropins. Older patients have a lower chance of success than younger patients.

Treatment with letrozole may still be successful even if other treatments have failed. For example, some data shows that in women who did not ovulate with clomiphene citrate, they still may ovulate with letrozole.

[nevaeh222]

i am going to see if i can try femara next month instead of the clomid. Obviously the clomid isn't working (starting 6th IUI). Hopefully this is the trick.
thanks for the info.

[jnitro26]

hey cnadie just wanted to say thanks for all of the support, me and dh have decided to take a break, for a bout a month or so, he wants me to get stress free, he said i was focusing on getting a bfp that i stopped taking care of everything else, so i am going to take a break and get everything back to normal and when the time is right we will get our bfp.

[candie429]

I definitely remember talking about this.  I think it was in another post because bny807 has been going through a lot of difficulties.  I just saw in a her most recent postings that she has pretty severe endo and they are going to put her on Femara.  Hopefully this is true.  I'm sure it would give hope to many.

[G_S]

I read an article somewhere that femara was tried as a test on some endo people...consistent use after a couple of months removed all traces of end. I think i read it somewhere in this or endo forum.

[candie429]

I am so sorry to hear that your endo is so bad.  At least they were able to save your ovary and both of your tubes are opened, so that sounds promising.  I've heard of people doing the Lupron for a few months to treat endo, but I didn't think you had to take the Femara constantly too.  Obviously though, I'm not too sure about this type of treatment, so I could very well be wrong.  I saw the announcement that there is a new Endo community here.  Maybe after you're feeling better, you should search that too and see if you come up with anything.  I'm sure someone else out there has been in your exact same situation and can offer some good advice.  Don't ever give up hope though.  Miracles happen everyday and we'll all be praying for you to be the next success story!  Take care and keep us posted.

[bny807]

Hello! I am back from surgery (feeeling very very out of it at the moment! so excuse my typos!!)   But they were able to save my ovary (took out the 6cm endometrioma) but the bad news was that she said it was one of the worst cases of endo she has seen : (   and wanst' able to remove much of it (no adhesions or scar tissue at least) just said there were TONS of endometrial implants mostly all over my bowel bladder and ureters.. only a couple of spots on my good ovary and none on my uterus... so even though we are TTC she wants me to do three months of lupron of femara (well she wanted to do six months but i'm not gonna do that i dont' think)   Anyone do femara constantly for three months??  Ugh what a pain all of tihs is!! they did do a hsg while they were in there and both tubes are wide open thank goodness!   I wish we could start ttc again this month insted of doing the menopause thing which sooo doens't sound like fun!

[kschnack]

No I will have to wait until Monday for the results of my hcg. My dr is suppose to call me monday

[candie429]

I've never seen anything specifically related to BBT and Femara, but I do remember reading a lot of literature about Clomid when I was on that and it definitely said to be cautious when doing BBT charting while on it.  I believe the rule of thumb was that Clomid caused your temps to go up on the days you took the pills as well as for a day or two after.  I'm assuming that since Femara messes with your hormones in a similar way, it would cause the same thing to happen.  Since I pretty much know what my temperature range typically is before and after ovulation, I try to avoid this by not starting to take my temps until a day or two after I'm done with the Femara and then throughout the rest of my cycle.  Then once AF comes :( I continue until I see the temps go down (to make sure I'm really not pregnant) and then I stop.  Hope this helps.

[G_S]

I have a question on Femara ....I am tracking my BBT while on it. I have noticed that my BBT is higher (close to my after ovulation) on the days when I take this med. Is it because of the med or something else?

[candie429]

Hopefully AF will stay away!!  That's so funny that you mention your ribs being sore.  Mine were the exact same way towards the end of my last cycle.  I couldn't even touch them.  I wonder if that's a side effect of the Femara.  Weird.  Well, as I said before, good luck with your HCG tomorrow.  Will you get the results the same day?

[kschnack]

I really don't feel like AF is coming at all. Not like I normally do when its about to arrive. All I feel is lower back pain, my bbs have stopped being sore, and I just feel plain down right tired. I have been having pain in my rib cage like someone body slammed me to the floor and that pain is all the way around. When I push on my ribs it feels like they are bruised like when you get a bruise and you push on it its that kind of pain. So I am still hopeful.

[candie429]

Hi G_S.  I just saw that you are beginning your second round of Femara and I wanted to wish you luck.  Lots of SSBD being sent your way!! :)  

[candie429]

jnitro - I just wanted to let you know that I will be thinking of you this time around and hoping you get your BFP on your own!  This can all be so stressful that a little "mental vacation" is definitely needed once in a while.  

kschnack - I'm sorry that your progesterone wasn't as high as they wanted it to be.  I have seen a lot of women on this forum with low progesterone that have gone on to be pregnant, and have a healthy pregnancy, so don't lose hope yet!  Good luck with your HCG.

HeathJo - I know this is off the subject, but I meant to tell you that I love the picture that you added to your profile.  It is so adorable!  

[kschnack]

They told me that it was very low I guess not a good sign. I am suppose to have my HCG done on Friday if AF does not start if it does I am suppose call them and tell them and then the DR will call me on Monday.

[jnitro26]

thanks, that means alot to me, but me and dh have deicided to take a break this month, i will try femara again next cycle.

[candie429]

kschnack - Any word on the progesterone results?

jnitro - I understand how you feel, and I can only imagine how hard it would be to stay positive after 4 or 5 years.  If the only problem they can find though is that you don't ovulate on your own, you may want to consider sticking with the Femara for a few cycles.  If it's getting you to O, then it may be the answer you are hoping for!  We are certainly here for you if you want to talk.

G_S - I'm so sorry that AF showed up.  Hopefully the second time will be the charm for all of us!

I got my positive OPK on Sunday and my temps went up today, so now it looks like I'm beginning the looooong 2ww!