glad I read this. I have been on anastrozole 3 years and complained of joint pain. Was given a month rest then put on letrozole. Oh my god been on it a month and I just want to lie down and die cannot take this pain any longer day and night. Constant headache shoulders hips knees feet hands. And I have a good pain threshold. Not taking it again 

Update my Doc took new blood test after I stopped taliking Letrozole. My liver enzymes had risen whilst on it, they went back to normal once I stopped taking it! . No more Letorzole for me, still have bone pain 

Hi jolamine well I’ve changed from letrozole to anastrozol and have been on them a week now and still having the same side effects nausea sweating I think they must all have the same side effects no difference just hoping the longer I am them will the side effects get less hope so as I have had enough seriously thinking of stopping them altogether and getting some quality of life back kind regards judpet 

You need to give them 6 weeks for it to get out of your system.  I gave it a month & thought there's no difference, but it took about 6 weeks to notice the difference.

Hi clairebr did you just stop taking them altogether without permission from the consultant or did he tell you to. stop taking them did you also have bad side effects from the tablets kind regards judpet

Hi clairebr think I might have misread your last post sorry did you mean you changed from letrozole to anastrazol and it took six weeks for the letrozole to get out of your system if so are you ok with anastrozol now kind regards judpet

Actually I moved from Letrozole after one year, after complaining about pains & aches, then onto anastrozole for 3 or 4 years (not any better) then moved onto Tamoxifen.  It was only after 6-8 weeks on Tamoxifen that I was able to move again.  I did keep stopping anastrozole myself for a month at a time but because I was doing this the consultant recommended moving me onto tamoxifen which I wasn't keen on because of side effects friends had, but I've definitely been better on Tamoxifen.  I was not going to carry on with anastrozole.  Quality of life was more important than being crippled.

Thank you for your prompt reply could I ask when you stopped taking them fora month did you feel any better also my main side effect is nausea did you have that as well I can’t seem to get rid of it kind regards petjud 

I didn't see an improvement after a month.  I did have light nausea first thing in a morning or just after breakfast, but nothing major.  It was the pain & stiffness that I suffered from.

Hi Judpet,

I'm glad to hear that you have switched to Anastrozole. You are probably expecting too much too soon. As Claire has already said, the Letrozole will continue to be in your system for a few weeks still. It will also take a few weeks for the Anastrozole to start to take effect, so don't worry too much about not seeing an improvement yet.

I sincerely hope that you do see a result soon. If not, have another word with your oncologist and see what else s/he can suggest.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

I have read the sandoz brand of Letrozole is no longer being made, which would have been my first choice aside from Femara, which is so expensive, so hard to get prescribed. So have been looking at the ingredients of Teva and Accord letrozole as the ones my local pharmacies seem to have commonly. I want to choose one which will has less side effects, so decided to look at their ingredients. The ingredients are the same, except Teva has two extra E numbers Accord doesnt have. Tartrazine E102 yellow colouring, the side effects include anxiety, migraine, depression, blurred vision, itching, general weakness, hot sensations, a feeling of suffocation, purple skin patches, and sleep disturbances. It also has E132 which can raise blood pressure slightly. 

Accord only uses Iron yellow oxide E172, which doesnt seem to have any stated side effects. It also has Hypromellose E464, used as a binder or slow releasing agent, and also used in opthalmic solutions to increase eye lubrication. Teva doesnt have hypromellose.

So out of those two, i would prefer to take accord, and not have the added side effects of the 2 extra E numbers, especially the tartrazine E102.

Femara has the same ingredients as Accord, other than having a higher macrogol content of 800, to Accords 400. Macrogol is used for constipation.

It was interesting comparing the ingredients.

I now take turmeric for joint pain, which seems to be working. I also take sea buckthorn capsules and since taking these I don't feel so anxious or low. Might just be a coincidence. 

I now take turmeric for joint pain, which seems to be working. I also take sea buckthorn capsules and since taking these I don't feel so anxious or low. Might just be a coincidence.