Ibrance and week off

[Puppy_love]

Does anyone know if the longer your on I branch the worse week 4 becomes. I always feel bad on my week off and have had several issues with cellulitis.

[Buffwright]

I never experienced much difference among the weeks on/off Ibrance. None was better or worse than another.

[Dolphin_]

Hi I find that the last week taking ibrance I feel a bit groggy my bloods seem to crash after every cycle so treatment delayed until blood recovers.. andi am only taking 75mg x

[Puppy_love in reply to Dolphin_]

So you get your bloods drawn on that week off?

[Dolphin_ in reply to Puppy_love]

Yes I take ibrance for 21 days and letrozole all the time ..7 day break .blood tests on Mon to see if I can start next cycle but bloods seem to crash every other and I just scraped through to start 😡

[Dolphin_ in reply to Dolphin_]

Also I haven't worked for a year now due to vivid. Work in a supermarket so my oncologist says it's not safe ..I'm now hopefully leaving work due to ill health ..Had cancer 18 years ago but can't seem to cope with it this time round as I'm older .Good luck with everything xx

[Puppy_love in reply to Dolphin_]

You too. I’m worked right through Covid and I’m getting very tired honestly physically and mentally.

[Puppy_love in reply to Dolphin_]

Makes more sense. I may ask my oncologist if I can do that. My cycle is getting messed up because of 2 bouts of cellulitis, so they had to stop my meds.

[Bettybuckets]

Hi Puppy Love- nice name although I have a new puppy and my hubby and I often think “what were we thinking?!” To answer your question, yes my week off did get worse as I went along but finally seems to be evening out. A few months in I dropped to 100mg but still I had expected a break during my week off but there is always more sore mouth and possible pain during that week off. Hope that helps!

[Mermaiden]

I'm sorry you have having problems with Ibrance. My "weeks off" after 3 years are never easier than my weeks on. My main symptoms of fatigue and sore mouth are the worst during that week off, I seem to be at my best the first two weeks back on. My general tolerance at 125mg was very poor, and still poor at 100mg. I have been on 75mg for the last two years and tolerate it much better, but am always surprised that the week off is usually my worst for symptoms, albeit not too bad. All that said, I'm so grateful to be NED for almost 3 years now and if this is all it takes to live life quite normally, I'm very grateful for Ibrance and Pfizer!

[Puppy_love in reply to Mermaiden]

Thanks for your answer. I’m still working full time and that week off is just a killer with fatigue, sinus pain, agitation and now again cellulitis. I was diagnosed with Mets to the lung after 25 years cancer free. And now I’ve been with the Mets to lung since the end of 2017. There’s been no progression since these meds so I guess I’m doing ok.

[Mermaiden in reply to Puppy_love]

Hang in there Puppy Love! We have a similar story... my bone Mets were discovered at the very beginning of 2018 after 23 years! It came as quite a shock for both of us I’m sure - thinking we were well out of the woods! But thank God Ibrance is keeping our cancers at bay and may that please last a good long time! 🙏🏻

[Thatflowerlady in reply to Puppy_love]

Have they linked your sinus issues to your treatment medications ?

[Puppy_love in reply to Thatflowerlady]

Well I read that on side effects of Ibrance. It mostly happens on the end of the third week and of course the week off.

[Thatflowerlady in reply to Puppy_love]

I am going to have to check into it further thanks !

[Bettybuckets in reply to Mermaiden]

Yay NED! But I always wanted to ask does that mean no pain?

[Dragonfly2]

Hello Puppy Love! Great question...yes, I have noticed a worsening of side effects during that last week..indeed I’ve had to add another week to the recovery time between IBrance cycles.

When all this started back in July, I thought I’d feel better on the wheel off.. LOL. But now I understand that the three weeks of chemo have wreaked havoc on my bone marrow and it’s really the FIRST week of chemo after the break, that I would feel best.

Unfortunately, the start of chemo also coincides with a Zometa infusion which kicks in a few days later...so now the feel good week is shortened even more. Sigh.

Since then I’ve learned about taking 5 days of Claritin to control the side effects of Zometa...and that works! So, that being said, the “feel good” days are limited to the precious few at the very end of the recovery week and the beginning of the chemo cycle.

But it’s all about expectations, self-care, judicious planning of activities, and medication management to stay comfortable and safe. Take what you need, avoid the unnecessary, reschedule the inconvenient...

Stay well...🥰

[Timtam56]

having been on I Brents 100 mg myself for the last three years I still find that week off I’m very low in energy and much more tired than any other days of my cycle. Why it still takes me by surprise is anyone’s guess I’ve tried writing in my diary "you will feel like shite this week".... and still I give myself a shock at how yucky I feel. So now I just tend to go with the flow. But that’s easy to say when I don’t have to work. I just don’t know how you, girls who work, do it.

[Puppy_love in reply to Timtam56]

I work as a supervisor in a breast canter. I have to be on my game 24/7. It’s challenging having to deal with the day to day issues. I can't retire I’m not of age yet. I desperately need my health insurance I’m a single gal.

[Timtam56 in reply to Puppy_love]

Oh puppylove.... I so feel for you. You must get tired. I hope you have some family or friends who care for and about you sometimes. I'm single too. But I love it? And my puppy, 20 month old moodle is the love of my life. I'm thankful that I have her.

[Bettybuckets in reply to Puppy_love]

But you can get Medicare after two years MBC... and Social security disability after 6 months of not working... consider quitting( take a loan to cart 6 months of your bills) even though you are young you will get social security payment as if you worked til 67.

[mariootsi]

I feel exhausted on my third week on Ibrance. But, I have 2 weeks off so my platelets recover. I find sometimes I don't feel well during weeks off.