About a month ago I wrote for advise to deal with Hot Flashes while taking Letrozole and Ibrance and I wanted to give you an update. I saw my onc and she recommended that I begin taking Gabapentin which is an anti-seizure medication that is know to work with hot flashes. She mentioned that it must be taken for a while (2 weeks or so) before I see any change. Well I am now on day 17 and I continue to have 21 hot flashes/24 hr period. I have an appt with my onc on Tuesday and I'll be asking her for a low does of Effexor. More to come.
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Shar313
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Hi. I have been taking Venlafaxine which is Effexor for years. I take the lowest dose and break it in half. One half at night and one half in the morning. Works great. I had flashes and night sweats with arimidex 10 years ago. The five years of arimidex was supposed to keep Cancer from coming back.
I also take lorazepam for anxiety.
The faslodex stopped working so the oncologist had me on letrozole. I hope it works. Give me spasms in my intestines so I now have meds for that. Yes, and I get dizzy when I stand up.
So keep a sense of humor as this is the only sense we have.
I really don't think there are any meds worth taking for hot flashes - don't know of any that are effective and why take a pill to just have more side effects?
I know we all react differently to medications but low dose Effexor has been amazing for me. Frequency and intensity of hot flashes have decreased. The effect was almost immediate after starting. Good luck. I hope you have the same results!
I have tried all available meds to reduce hot flashes plus acupuncture...nothing has been effective and effexor made me feel super weird. I think the best thing is to think of oneself as a "hot woman"
I have been on Ibrance and Letrozole for 1.5 years with good results so far. I have gotten used to feeling more tired...however I actually think that it is improving. I swim a minimum of 3km per week and walk my dog for up to 1 hour per day..
I have had some difficulty with the lack of co-ordination of the medical system...I got furious and wrote a letter to the admin with some positive results. The pivot nurses could not easily accss the info wrt my blood work, The pharmacist needs 36 hrs to be able to get the Ibrance as pharmacies do not stock it...so there were delays in starting my Ibrance which affected the scheduled onco appointment and prior blood work to asses neutophil levels...some times it is worth complaining!!
My onc has never offered anything for hot flashes. I have about 30+ a day/night. I only had about 4 a day on Faslodex but the injects were to painful and switched to letrazole. I see him in a couple of weeks and will inquire. They seem to be getting worse. Thanks for the info. I hate to take another pill but at wits end...
Hi Barb, yeah, I tried acupuncture for about 3 months with no change, that's when I decided to go with the medical route. I wish I could've stayed without another medication, but having this many hot flashes is not tolerable.
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