Femara & Hair Loss

I started taking Femara in January 2005 after five years of Tamoxifen. About June, 2005, my hair started to fall out in massive amounts by September I had bald spots on my head. I used to have very thick hair, now I look like a scare crow with scraggly thin hair. I stopped taking the Femara for about a month now and the hair is still falling out. Although I must say that all the bone and joint pain has stopped. I used to feel like my feet were just stumps on the bottoms of my legs. They were totally numb and I had a hard time walking. That has totally gone away as well as the knee pain and other aches. I've seen a number of doctors about the hair loss because at first I didn't associate it with the Femara. No one seems to know why this is happening. Anyone else with this problem?

I lost hair when I took Megace. I grew it back when on femara. I also took 5 years of tamoxifen. I had bad aches and pains taking femara and am off it for 1 1/2 years and still ache in my hips. I am stable with lung mets from uterine sarcoma. It works on this cancer too. I had LCIS 3x so that is why I took tamoxifen. Did you have your thyroid tested? Sometimes hair falls out from hypothyroid. None of the women on my list complain about hair loss while taking femara only terrible aches and pains and tendonitis. I don't think this is the cause.

Yes, I had a blood test and my thyroid was normal, however, my doctor noticed that my iron levels were low, 11.6. So I've been taking iron supplements (38 mg 3 times a day). The only other meds I take are Fosamax, calcium supplements and a multivitamin. I've always been somewhat anemic and my iron levels have always run low, so this is not a new thing for me. Even after taking the iron supplements now for about 3 weeks, the hair loss is still happening at an alarming rate.

I am on Arimidex for one year and have lost a lot of hair. I used to have a big head of hair and now I have bald spots. I thinks it has to do with the imbalance between estrogen and testesterone. I ahve started using Nioxin hair products. (who knows...) Good luck

I have been taking Femara now for 5 years this August. All of a sudden in April of this year I discovered a large bald spot that the Doctors can't explain. Severe joint pains, but learning to deal with it. Went to a dermatologist who has me using a topical steroid and the hair is returning, but it's White! She says it will probably change back to the natural color. My liver enzymes have remained elevated since chemo and radiation in 2001. Something strange going on... Eliza

I am 30 days away from being a 9 year survivor. I was stage 1, had a tram flap procedure done as well 6 months of precaution chemo, was on tamoxfin for 5 years, never had any side effects.  I have been on femara for a year and a half and have the hair loss, never even had hair loss with my chemo, with the femara is has thinned tremedously and I have a terrible time trying to keep it healthy.  Also and the body aches, exclusively in my legs, incredible aching during the night, mainly in my calves, not all the time.  I would like to know how long I need to stay on the femara, I am 48 years old post menapausal. Has anyone else just stopped taking it or had a doctor say it would be ok to discontinue?                            thanks, jl

Surgery, six months of chemo, radiation, then Femara. I was told I must remain on the drug for a lifetime, unlike most for a period of five years. I experienced all the unpleasant, painful effects of Femara, to the point where standing from a sitting position and walking became difficult and painful.  I was switched to Arimidex.  During this period, I expected to see significant hair growth.  My hair grew back, much thinner than my long, thick, brown mane.  I began to see a lot of scalp up top and my hair ceased to grow on top, while becoming thinner and thinner.  It was explained to me by the dermatologist that while the Femara and Arimidex was doing it job, so was the tostosterone.  It was behaving as it would in a man's body.  The hair loss on top is typical of the manner in which a male will lose his hair.  There is no remedy, except for Rogain, which must be applied twice a day.  I have not begun the use of Rogain.  I would be interested in an update of your situation.

On 10/18/2005 Lynnzbug wrote:

I started taking Femara in January 2005 after five years of Tamoxifen. About June, 2005, my hair started to fall out in massive amounts by September I had bald spots on my head. I used to have very thick hair, now I look like a scare crow with scraggly thin hair. I stopped taking the Femara for about a month now and the hair is still falling out. Although I must say that all the bone and joint pain has stopped. I used to feel like my feet were just stumps on the bottoms of my legs. They were totally numb and I had a hard time walking. That has totally gone away as well as the knee pain and other aches. I've seen a number of doctors about the hair loss because at first I didn't associate it with the Femara. No one seems to know why this is happening. Anyone else with this problem?