FEMARA AND CHOLESTEROL

Well, I found the connection. A friend of mine suggested that I look into the side effects of the psychotropics I take to see if there was a cholesterol connection. I looked up Lamictal and found none. Then, I looked up Femara and it turns out that 15% of women on femara get high cholesterol. I feel so angry and discouraged that no one told me about this. Maybe my oncologist did and I just didn't hear it, but why didn't anyone say anything when I got the results back from the cholesterol test? Take a look at these posts from breastcancer.org discussion posts.

POST #1 Have been taking [Femara] for awhile (3 years) and just got my blood test results today. Kind of discouraged. Cholesterol has been rising, despite diet and exercise. It definitely is the femara (had no cholesterol problem before). So now, I need to start taking a statin drug for my new femara related side effect. Don't get me wrong - I am happy that there is drugs like femara. Especially since I was dx'd as stage 3 and have quite a high risk of reoccurrence. But sometimes, with the pain, brain fog and all, I find myself looking at that little bottle o' pills and just wishing I could toss em. Oh well, just venting. Anybody else needed to take a cholesterol med with femara?

POST #2 I have been on femara almost 4 years. About 3 years ago found out I had high cholesterol. I guess high cholesterol is a side effect along with all the other nasty side effects that go along with this drug. I too am happy to have the femara and am grateful there are medications to counteract any of the side effects. That really sounds weird, but true. I take Zocor (Simvastatin) for my high cholesterol.

POST #3 My cholesterol has already risen on Femara, which I just started a few months ago. Plus I have osteopenia and my doctor and I are watching my bone density as well. I'm not looking forward to having to add more prescriptions just to counter the side effects. It makes me so angry that with all the millions poured into this disease, women still have to put our bodies through so much.

POST #4 I'm right there with ya. Cholesterol was at 200 last year. Two weeks ago it climbed to 248. Been taking Femara for two years now. Pre-Femara, it ran 180. Now I'm on Mevacor. I checked the Femara known SE's. And yep, higher cholestol is listed. Oh joy. Which aliment to die from, so many choices... bc, high cholesterol, and the other host of Femara SE's that dip into my quality of life. Too bad that men aren't taking Femara and that a side effect on them was to cause their p*nis to curl up into a hard knot! The researchers & insurance companies would have a solution in 6 months or less!!!

POST #5 Oh yes, Femara and high cholesterol! This is all new to me as well. I was diagnosed and had surgery 9/09. I didn't have chemo, "just" radiation. I think I'm still in denial. It's gone, isn't it? My breast cancer diagnosis and the corresponding meds are complicated by my congestive heart failure and ALL of those meds! For example, I'm supposed to test VERY LOW for cholesterol due to the heart and stroke risks BUT the femara jumped my numbers through the roof! I am trying everything--diet, 40mg zocor,--and maybe, exercise. None of this is fun.

POST #6 I have been on femara since May 2009 after taking tamoxifen for 2.5 years. My cholesterol jumped 100 points at my physical in Jan. I have started taking crestor and it is already down to normal again but guess what? A side effect of statins is muscle pain. So I have joint pain from the femara and then add in the muscle pain. I am so miserable, can barely walk some days. I am considering taking a break from femara to see if it is the only reason why I feel so bad every day. Scares me though. Going through chemo and radiation was easier than this. And I have 4 more years on it.

I have an appt with my surgeon on Tuesday about the little thing I feel in my left breast. I couldn't find it last night (the thing), but I found it easily this morning. Very stressed and sad and angry about this whole thing. What I really really really really want to do is take my dogs and drive all around the country and just see things and meet people and not think about cancer anymore.

Sue