clomid vs. femara

[lexbeach]

Can anyone shed some light on the differences/similarities between these two drugs? Dw has mild PCOS and appears not to be ovulating on her own. We're trying to decide what our next course of action should be.

Thanks!

Lex

[songbird45]

From memory, here's what I know.

- Most docs prescribe Clomid first, because it has been in use for decades, is cheaper, and has a long and proven safety record.
- Femara seems to have a shorter half life (doesn't stay in your system as long) and doesn't have the anti-estrogen negative side effects that Clomid has (thin lining, poor cm)
- Femara has some small amount of controversy, because taking it while pg can lead to birth defects. So they make you take a pg test before taking Femara, every time, even though you (obviously) wouldn't be taking the drug if you were pg!
- They both suppress estrogen. How this helps I have no idea, but it seems to cause ovulation. (Maybe someone else can chime in with the chemistry of this).
- Clomid is a pseudo-estrogen - it suppresses estrogen by binding to estrogen receptors in the body
- Femara inhibits the production of some enzyme that is used to make estrogen.
- Everyone is different and not everyone responds to Clomid. Not everyone responds to Femara. Some people respond to both. Some to neither.

That's what I know! Lots of women have gotten pg on both, so good luck!

[GoodKarma]

I am currently taking Femara for the sixth cycle. It is a little more expensive ($65 for 5 pills) but is supposed to have fewer side effects than Clomid. It is supposed to be less likely to muck up cervical mucous and cause a thin uterine lining.

[lranderson50]

It's been a really long time since I've taken either- I eventually conceived w/ injectables and IVF. But I had horrible side effects with clomid- hot flashes, severe mood/emotion swings. If your RE thinks you'd do just as well with femara- I would reccomend it. It was like nothing changed for me when I tried it (2 maybe 3 cycles). clomid on the other hand was miserable for everyone involved. FWIW- I have PCOS. Good Luck!

[blueyezz4]

This is kinda odd, but I did a search on rxlist.com to look up femara and here is some of the info I found. I didn't see anywhere in the info that it talked about taking it for fertility purposes. It does mention about hormone receptors, but it's kinda scary that it is a breast cancer drug, don't you think????? It scares me that down the road they will discover that all these wonderful meds we IF women have to take to get a BFP will make us "sick". Changing the subject...Wonder if my insurance would pay for it?? They don't cover clomid, but I wonder if this one would be covered??? Interesting!! I'm kinda scared to ask b/c I don't want them to catch on... anyways, I still think I will ask my RE about it if AF shows up...

Here is part of the info........


Femara® (letrozole tablets) is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor positive early breast cancer (see CLINICAL STUDIES).

The effectiveness of Femara in early breast cancer is based on an analysis of disease- free survival in patients treated for a median of 24 months and followed for a median of 26 months (see CLINICAL STUDIES). Follow up analyses will determine long-term outcomes for both safety and efficacy.

Femara is indicated for the extended adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer in postmenopausal women who have received 5 years of adjuvant tamoxifen therapy (see CLINICAL STUDIES). The effectiveness of Femara in extended adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer is based on an analysis of disease-free survival in patients treated for a median of 24 months (see CLINICAL STUDIES). Further data will be required to determine long- term outcome.

Femara is indicated for first-line treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor positive or hormone receptor unknown locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Femara is also indicated for the treatment of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women with disease progression following antiestrogen therapy.

[songbird45]

It's because that particular form of breast cancer is caused by excess estrogen, and Femara lowers your estrogen levels.

I found the stuff from the RE that explains how the feedback loops works.

* Femara and Clomid lower estrogen levels
* This causes FSH levels to rise
* This causes follicles to grow
* You stop taking Clomid/Femara now that your FSH has been triggered
* As the follicles grow, FSH falls and estrogen rises
* This leads eventually to ovulation

Femara lowers estrogen levels by inhibiting an enzyme necessary to make estrogen. Clomid does it by binding to estrogen receptors.