Letrozole: When will I start feeling/seeing side effects?

I've been on Letrazole since February 2019. I developed hot flashes almost immediately. The joint/muscle pain began shortly after. One day it was so excruciating, I was in the bed all day. I'm fatigued most days. The pain is concentrated in my hips, legs and hands. Yoga, Mindfulness and Acupuncture help. Recently I have been experiencing nausea and diarrhea symptoms. Not sure they are related to the medication. I'm keeping track when something happens. It's been a journey. Ups and downs.

@tammyp
I've just been on letrozole for 1 1/2 months. By any chance, have you tried taking the pills in the evening? I find I'll wake up in the middle of the night with some sweats, but go right back to sleep and if I don't then I ready my Nook books for a bit and then fall asleep. I'll have a few hot sweats in the day, but not bad. The aches and pains aren't great but not as bad as when I took anastrozole. I do take 5,000 units of vitamin D which has helped the joint pain...I started with 1,000 after first speaking with my oncologist and gradually moved it up. I do have some nausea and sometimes diarrhea, but the chemo touched off diverticulitis and anastrozole did as well but that's in control now. Am having Zometa infusion in a few weeks and have heard that helps with some bone pain. I hope you start feeling better soon.

I was on letrozole for over a year. Miserable. I switched to exemestane and it is much better. Last year I started feeling pretty crummy on it so I took a week off. It reset my body and went over 9 months with few symptoms. Just now getting a few back. My doc said a week off would be fine and if it made the drugs easier to live witb to do it once a year.

Yay for you! Good news.

You might speak with your doc about exemestane. All have side effects but she said that for some people the exemestane is a little easoer on the joints. There were abd still are days that I just throw up for no reason, feel as though I have the flu, deep feeling of being unwell, it is frightning but then it goes away for a few days and I know it is meds. Life afyer bc is just like that. The reset was a miracle for me. It eventually comes back but for a while better. Good luck

francine, This is my first time out here on this site having just been diagnosed with IDC stage 4 in April of this year. I started Ibrance/Letrizole last month and have had no side effects from either, no nausea, nothing. I feel very fortunate. Just wonder if it might kick in as treatment progresses.

Started Letrozole yesterday

@vivianvance, had you been on any other drug before Letrozole? Please keep us posted about side effects.

Welcome new members @mom23boys and @vivianvance
@mom23boys You may also be interested in this discussion where members are talking about stage 4 breast cancer, some of who are taking Ibrance
- Metastatic breast cancer: Anyone else? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/metastatic-breast-cancer-to-the-bone/
Do you really have 23 boys?

Vivian, what type of breast cancer were you diagnosed with and what treatments have you had?

I'll have to figure out better how to navigate the site, but thank you Colleen for the link to Metastatic BC. I didn't see any 2019 posts and wonder if there is a link to more recent discussions. Also, No, I don't have 23 boys. I am a mom "to" 3 boys, 29, 22 and 16 and 3 grandkids ages 12, 9 and 7.