Nervous about switching from Letrazole to Exemestane

@mariam58 I’ll be interested in what they say. When I went through chemo, they put me on loratidine (Claritin) once daily for a week each time to help with the pain and inflammation. I still had to take an anti inflammatory with it for several days. Later I read an article out of Sweden that did a study (collecting info on record over 10 years of usage) on the use of loratidine and dexloratidine (prescription strength) on breast cancer reoccurrence and their results were positive. Asked my oncologist if I should consider it and he was not that enthused - wanted to wait for further info. Have also read articles on long term side effects of these types of antihistamines which can really muddy the picture. So as I said, will be interested in your oncologist input.

I took Letrozole for over 5 years for ER and PR +. I also took Zyrtec to help with the pain. In 2025 I was diagnosed with TNBC . I had a mastectomy followed by chemo. It was suggested that I take Claritin for bone pain. It seemed to help. It might also help with AI side effects. Maybe check with your medical team to see if Claritin would help with side effects.

Good morning, I may switch to exemestane. I have been taking Letrozole for 10 months but have many side effects especially joint pain. I was diagnosed with ILC one year ago. Has anyone made this switch? Thank you!

Good morning, I may switch to exemestane. I have been taking Letrozole for 10 months but have many side effects especially joint pain. I was diagnosed with ILC one year ago. Has anyone made this switch? Thank you!

I've been on Letrozole since Jan 2026 for ILC and have many of the same symptoms. My joint pain since to "float around"--that is, for awhile it's my knees, then my ankles, then another day it's foot pain. Lots of trigger finger. It seems to particularly attack areas of past injuries, like a broken ankle, or bones in my feet, but sometimes new places that have never bothered me before (knees). Like others, the more I move, the better it is. I'm finding it helpful to keep searching for the right exercise or movement for each pain. For knees, I was surprised how much it seemed to be the leg press machine at the gym that seems to help. Walking is very helpful, but it does feel at times like my legs have turned to lead. I've been fortunate to avoid the headaches. I've had extreme dry skin, even eyes and nasal passages, and am constantly having to moisturize something. I have significant osteoporosis, was pushing for Tamoxifen, but my endocrinologist pushed for me to "let my bones take the hit" for what he sees the survival advantage of an AI and "we'll deal with the bones later." I'm not sure how much "later" I have; I'm 73, and am also a 6 year ovarian cancer survivor. I'm trying to be very diligent about weight lifting twice a week, and then using Dr. Lisa Moore's Brick House Bones 52 week osteoporosis series (free on youtube) for posture, strength, impact and balance the rest of the week. I have a digital scale with a bunch of measures (fat, lean body percentage, bone mass, muscle mass) and I watch it carefully to make sure that I'm maintaining my proteing levels, and any weight loss (from a high protein, cholesterol lowering, weight loss diet created for me by my "dietiticain" (aka AI (artificial intelligence type)). I watch the trends, not any absolute numbers. I should have an idea of how much my bones are being affected after December's Dexa scan. I'm also feeling that a different AI would probably have similar effects, so I'm staying with Letrozole for now. I had no idea how much the cost of staying alive still would involve so much maintenance, and I miss my hair being thick! I just really wish there was more research done specifically on ILC; I don't think the Predict tool used is really reliable for ILC because the data is primarily on ductal cancer, not ILC. It would be easier to deal with all these side effects if there was more evidence that it's actually helpful for preventing ILC recurrence.

Hi, I had my first estrogen positive progesterone positive cancer in 2017. I had a single mastectomy on my left breast with reconstruction Oct. 2017. I started Letrozole in Dec. 2017. I stopped the Letrozole in April 2023. I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in my right breast May of 2025. I had a mastectomy on my right breast with reconstruction June 2025. No nodes in neither of my cancers were positive. I had 4 rounds of chemo from the end of July 2025 to the end of September 2025. So far I am doing fine. My hair has been growing back. I did continue exercising , walking and lifting weights through out these years. I have a wonderful trainer who has worked with me virtually. Thanks for your thoughts. It has been quite a journey. But, I feel very fortunate to have a caring medical team and I caught the cancers early.

Good morning, I may switch to exemestane. I have been taking Letrozole for 10 months but have many side effects especially joint pain. I was diagnosed with ILC one year ago. Has anyone made this switch? Thank you!

Hi, Letrozole only protects fron E+P+ cancer. My second cancer was E-P- and Her2-. Triple Negative Breast Cancer is more aggressive and is treated with chemo. There was no medication to follow. I was 70 with my first cancer and 77 when I was diagnosed with the TNBC. It was a complete surprise. The screening mammogram mentioned “focal asymmetry” possible ultra sound, come back in a year. I called for more information. Then I got a letter on My Chart saying your mammogram is normal come back in a year. I called my oncologist office and they order further testing. Then I got a letter on My Chart that said my mammogram was abnormal and I needed further testing. I had a more targeted mammogram and an ultra sound. Then I was told I needed a biopsy. TNBC 10-11 mm. My cancer journey wasn’t over.

@angele2times
Hi, my second breast cancer was Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). It is different because it was not estrogen or progesterone positive. So an AI like Letrozole is not a treatment option. The standard of care is chemo.