Side Effects
Common side effects of Femara include:
- Hot flashes,
- Warmth in your face or chest
- Hair loss
- Joint/bone/muscle pain
- Tiredness
- Unusual sweating or night sweats,
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
As with all types of drugs, the effects that each individual experiences will vary and that means some people will be able to use Letrozole without a single side effect, while others might have one or more adverse reactions to the drug. The good news is that you have a good selection of other drugs available if Letrozole proves problematic for you.
The profile of possible side effects is comparable for Letrozole as the similar AI Arimidex. Fatigue, muscle aches, diarrhea, constipation, and chest pain are noted as specific side effects that Letrozole can experience but this usually applies to women using it long term as a cancer medication.
Most male steroid users who make use of Letrozole tolerate it well when it’s used at the recommended dosages. Many men will experience no noticeable side effects at all. Taking excessive doses of Letrozole provides an obvious increased risk of serious side effects.
Taking a closer look at some of the possible side effects of Letrozole can help you to be aware of any signs that you might need to lower your dose:
Fatigue
When the Letrozole dose is too high we see a great increased risk of fatigue and this comes about because estrogen levels are reduced too low – men still require some estrogen at low levels to function normally and because Letrozole is so powerful at reducing estrogen, taking too much can lower your levels beyond what is required for the central nervous system to operate normally – bringing on potentially chronic fatigue.
This can be rectified efficiently and easily by reducing your Letrozole dosage until the fatigue subsides as estrogen rises slightly and remaining at the more appropriate dose from then on.
Pain in the Bones or Joints
This side effect is again a result of estrogen reduction going too far which brings about a negative impact on bone mineral content, resulting in the associated pain. While long term use of this drug has a serious risk of decreased bone strength, the short term uses that steroid users will make of Letrozole is unlikely to present the same risks – however if you do experience joint or bone pain it’s another sign that your Letrozole dose is too high. Lowering the dose should eliminate this side effect without any harm done.
Cholesterol
A risk that comes with the use of any aromatase inhibitor is a negative impact on cholesterol levels, once again a significantly higher risk if your Letrozole dose is too high. In the cases HDL can lower and LDL can rise – this is the bad cholesterol increasing while the good cholesterol is minimized; exactly the opposite effect that we need.
Estrogen has a beneficial effect on cholesterol so once again we want to maintain as low an effective dose of Letrozole as possible to minimize or eliminate this possible cholesterol related side effect. Various studies on women using Letrozole for cancer treatment mostly show that no long-term impact on cholesterol is noted so this does point to this drug being low risk in terms of adversely affecting your cholesterol health – the negative impacts on cholesterol from some anabolic steroids is of a far greater concern.
Rebound of Estrogen
Unlike some other types of AIs which are known as suicide or non-reversible aromatase inhibitors such as Aromasin, Letrozole is a non-suicidal AI and therefore once you stop using it it’s possible to get a “rebound” in estrogen levels: the sudden halt of the drug’s estrogen reduction effect brings about a bounce in estrogen levels.
For this reason, it is important to slower lower your dose of Letrozole rather than stopping it abruptly. Some people will choose to take a SERM like Nolvadex to provide extra protection during the end of a Letrozole dosage period and mitigate the effects of a possible estrogen rebound at this time.
