All About Letrozole Oral Tablets
Contents
What are letrozole oral tablets?
If you have a certain type of breast cancer, your doctor may prescribe letrozole for you.
It | s prescribed for adult females* who | ve gone through menopause. It | s used to treat certain forms of:
early breast cancer (breast cancer that hasn | t spread beyond your breast or lymph nodes in your armpits)
locally advanced breast cancer (breast cancer that | s spread to areas near your breast or in the lymph nodes in your armpit)
metastatic breast cancer (breast cancer that | s spread to areas beyond those near your breast or in the lymph nodes in your armpit)
In some cases, letrozole can be used by itself. But it can also be used as add-on treatment following surgery, or together with other drugs.
To learn more about these conditions and how letrozole treats them, see the “What are letrozole oral tablets used for?” section below.
* In this article, we use the term “female” to refer to someone | s sex assigned at birth. For information about the difference between sex and gender, see this article.
Letrozole oral tablets basics
Letrozole is an active drug ingredient that | s available as a generic medication. It comes as oral tablets that you | ll swallow.
Letrozole is a hormone therapy for breast cancer.
Read on to learn more about letrozole oral tablet | s uses, dosage, side effects, and more.
Letrozole oral tablets brand-name versions
Letrozole oral tablets are the generic version of the brand-name drug Femara.
Letrozole oral tablets are a generic drug, which means they | re an exact copy of the active drug in a brand-name medication. The brand-name medication that letrozole oral tablets are based on is called Femara.
Generic drugs are thought to be as safe and effective as the brand-name drug they | re based on. In general, generics usually cost less than brand-name drugs do.
If you | d like to know more about using Femara instead of letrozole oral tablets, talk with your doctor. Check out this article to learn more about the differences between generic and brand-name drugs.
What are side effects of letrozole oral tablets?
Like most drugs, letrozole oral tablets may cause mild or serious side effects. The lists below describe some of the more common side effects that letrozole oral tablets may cause. These lists don | t include all possible side effects.
Keep in mind that side effects of a drug can depend on:
your age
other health conditions you have
other medications you may be taking
Your doctor or pharmacist can tell you more about the potential side effects of letrozole oral tablets. They can also suggest ways to help reduce side effects.
Mild side effects
Here | s a short list of some of the mild side effects that letrozole oral tablets can cause. To learn about other mild side effects, talk with your doctor or pharmacist, or read letrozole oral tablets | prescribing information.
Mild side effects of letrozole oral tablets that have been reported include:
hot flashes
feeling weak or having increased tiredness
dizziness
belly pain or cramping
hair loss
swelling, usually in your arms, feet, hands, or legs
sweating more than usual
vaginal spotting
weight gain*
bone, muscle, or joint pain*
headache*
* For more information about this side effect, see the “Side effect focus” section below.
Mild side effects of many drugs may go away within a few days or a couple of weeks. But if they become bothersome, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
Serious side effects
Serious side effects from letrozole oral tablets can occur, but they aren | t common. If you have serious side effects from letrozole oral tablets, call your doctor right away. But if you think you | re having a medical emergency, you should call 911 or your local emergency number.
Serious side effects of letrozole oral tablets that have been reported include:
high cholesterol
weakened bones
cardiovascular (heart or blood vessel) problems, such as heart attack
stroke
allergic reaction*
* For more information about this side effect, see the “Side effect focus” section below.
How long before letrozole | s side effects start and how long they last
Letrozole starts working right away in your body after you begin taking it. This means you can also have side effects from it right away.
You may have some side effects very quickly. These include side effects such as flushing, hot flashes, or headaches.
Other side effects may take longer to develop because they require a build-up of the drug in your body. These could include weakened bones, for example.
Usually, side effects from letrozole will be reduced after the first few months of treatment.
Side effect focus
Learn more about some of the side effects letrozole oral tablets may cause.
Weight gain
Letrozole may cause weight gain. In fact, this was a common side effect in studies of letrozole.
You may also experience weight gain with letrozole if you have swelling, which is another possible side effect of the drug. Swelling from letrozole usually occurs in your arms, feet, hands, or legs.
What might help
If you | re concerned about gaining weight while taking letrozole, talk with your doctor.
They can suggest ways to help you manage a healthy body weight. Additionally, you can find information about weight management here.
Headache
During studies of letrozole, headaches were a common side effect in people taking the drug.
What might help
To help relieve headaches with letrozole, you can take over-the-counter (OTC) medications. These include acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil).
But before starting any new medications, be sure to talk with your doctor or pharmacist. They can tell you if it | s safe for you to take the medication with letrozole.
Also, you can apply an ice pack or heat pad to your head to help ease the headache. Holding the ice pack or heating pad on your head for about 10 minutes a few times a day when you | re having a headache is recommended.
For other home remedies for quick headache relief, check out this article.
Joint pain
In studies, joint pain was a common side effect of letrozole. Letrozole and other drugs in the same group of medications commonly cause joint pain and stiffness.
What might help
Similar to treating headaches, OTC medications can help ease joint pain. Examples of OTC medications include acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil).
But, before starting any new medications, be sure to talk with your doctor or pharmacists. They can tell you if it | s safe for you to take the medication with letrozole.
Additionally, walking can help strengthen your muscles and protect your joints from pain.
If your joint pain doesn | t get better, talk with your doctor. They may recommend ways to help reduce the pain.
Allergic reaction
An allergic reaction to letrozole oral tablets wasn | t reported in studies of the drug. But it can still happen.
Symptoms of a mild allergic reaction can include:
skin rash
itchiness
flushing (temporary warmth, redness, or deepening of skin color)
A more severe allergic reaction is rare but possible. Symptoms of a severe allergic reaction can include swelling under your skin, typically in your eyelids, lips, hands, or feet. They can also include swelling of your tongue, mouth, or throat, which can cause trouble breathing.
Call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction to letrozole oral tablets. But if you think you | re having a medical emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number.
Are letrozole oral tablets used for infertility?
Letrozole is sometimes used off-label to treat infertility in females.* Off-label use is when a drug that | s approved to treat one condition is used to treat another condition.
Letrozole stops your body from making the hormone estrogen. Estrogen typically prevents your ovaries from ovulating (releasing an egg). When estrogen isn | t being made, your body can ovulate. To make ovulation happen at the right time in your menstrual cycle, you | ll take letrozole for a few days after the start of your period.
Letrozole is often used to treat infertility that | s caused by polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). But it can treat other forms of infertility, as well. (PCOS affects normal ovulation, and it | s one of the more common causes of infertility in females.)
If you | re taking letrozole to induce ovulation, using intrauterine insemination (IUI) may help you become pregnant better than having timed sex will. (IUI is a procedure in which a sample of sperm is placed directly into the uterus.)
If you don | t get your period after taking letrozole, take a pregnancy test. Let your doctor know about your missed period and your test results.
* In this article, we use the term “female” to refer to someone | s sex assigned at birth. For information about the difference between sex and gender, see this article.
Letrozole dosage for infertility
You may have specific questions about using letrozole for infertility, such as:
What | s the dosage of letrozole for infertility?
When will you ovulate after taking letrozole?
How many cycles of letrozole are needed to get pregnant?
Because this isn | t an approved use for letrozole, the manufacturer of the drug doesn | t provide dosage guidelines for infertility treatment. So, check with yourdoctor about the dosage of letrozole for infertility that | s recommended for you. They can also answer other questions related to using this drug for infertility.
Letrozole vs. Clomid and metformin
Letrozole is an active drug, while Clomid was a brand-name medication that contained the active drug clomiphene. Clomid is no longer available, but its generic version, clomiphene, is still available.
Both letrozole and clomiphene are used to treat infertility in females by helping to cause ovulation. Unlike letrozole, clomiphene is approved for this use.
Metformin is a drug that | s typically used to treat diabetes. But it | s also sometimes prescribed to help treat other PCOS-related conditions, such as elevated blood sugar levels and insulin resistance. StudiesTrusted Source haven | t shown metformin to be useful when used by itself for infertility. But sometimes, metformin is given together with clomiphene to help treat infertility in females* with PCOS.
If you want to know more about the different treatment options for infertility, talk with your doctor.
foods to avoid while taking letrozole for fertility?
