Letrozole is capable of causing side effects, just like any other drug would. Letrozole is the most powerful aromatase inhibitor on the market so it’s obvious that side effects can occur. This drug popular as the brand Femara among others is doing an incredible job at lowering total estrogen levels in the body. It’s extremely powerful so is capable of drastically reducing estrogen levels really fast.
Many may assume that estrogen is the female hormone. But that’s a myth. Estrogen is actually an extremely important hormone for both men and women (although it plays a bigger role in females).
Estrogen has a lot of different uses in a male’s body. For example, it helps maintain a proper immune system, plays a major role in your Central Nervous System (CNS), it’s responsible for keeping healthy cholesterol levels, ensures you’re having proper bone mineralization and health and believe me or not, but estrogen is a hormone that is also helpful at growing muscle mass, gaining strength and even having a proper libido and erection.
Now imagine what it can lead to when you’re not having enough estrogen levels in the body. Since Letrozole is doing the best job in lowering estrogen levels (in comparison with other steroids), of course, there are possible Letrozole side effects.
What To Know About Letrozole Side Effects
Exactly as with all types of drugs, the effects that each individual is experiencing with this product are highly varying. This means that there are some people that are capable of using Letrozole without encountering a single side effect. Nonetheless, other people may find that Letrozole side effects are getting out of hand. But in most cases, especially among bodybuilders, Letrozole side effects, even if they appear, are manageable or tolerable. At least, as long as you use it carefully. 
There is good news though. In case Letrozole (Femara) is a drug that you can’t tolerate – there are other drugs that you can try instead (like Arimidex – Anastrozole or Aromasin – Exemestane). Moreover, most Letrozole side effects have a direct relationship with the dosage that you use.
If you’re experiencing the adverse effects, it’s most likely a sign that you’re either using too high a dosage and/or for too long a period. This usually means that your body either can’t tolerate this drug, you’re hypersensitive to it or allergic, or, in most cases, you’re suppressing estrogen levels too fast, too much, or for too long a period.
Generally, the profile of side effects of Letrozole is very similar to those of Arimidex and Aromasin. That’s because they are all doing the same job in lowering estrogen. Some simple and common ones are fatigue, diarrhea, chest pain, muscle aches, constipation, and others.
Side Effects in Males
The good news is that most side effects are common among females that use it for breast cancer in usually higher dosages and for very long periods. Men are less susceptible to side effects due to shorter periods of use, lower doses, and so on and so forth.
It doesn’t mean that it cannot occur in men, but chances are much lower in men than in women. In fact, most male steroid users who are using Letrozole (Femara) are tolerating it very well. But then again, only if they use it in the recommended guidelines (dosage, frequency, periods, etc.). A lot of men won’t experience any side effects at all. However, it’s obvious that administering excessive doses of Letrozole is very much increasing the risks of side effects, including serious side effects.
Take a closer look at a few possible side effects of Letrozole below:
Fatigue
In case you’re going to use a too high dosage of Letrozole, there’s a high risk that you’re going to experience fatigue. That’s likely to occur because estrogen levels are becoming too low. It’s important to understand that men still require to maintain estrogen levels within the normal range in order to function normally. As said, Letrozole is an extremely powerful compound at reducing estrogen (the most powerful out there). As a result of taking too much, it can lower way too many of your estrogen levels (beyond the point that it requires for the Central Nervous System to properly function). That’s what’s likely to lead to chronic fatigue.
An easy and great way to avoid or deal with this issue is to reduce the Letrozole dosage. That’s going to lead to an increase in estrogen levels and fatigue is likely to subside. It’s important to remain at the more appropriate dosage from that moment on. Generally, I recommend keeping the Letrozole dosage at the lowest effective point.
Pain in Bones and/or Joints
Again, because of reducing estrogen levels too far (as a result of using too much Letrozole), can offer a negative impact on your bone mineral content and bone health. This results in pain in joints, ligaments, and/or bones.
The good news for bodybuilders is that there is a serious risk of decreased bone strength in the long term use of this drug. Considering that bodybuilders generally require short term use (only for as long as they are using steroids) – it means that the use of Letrozole is unlikely to cause the same risks. Unless the dosage is extremely high and/or the individual was already suffering from low bone mineralization.
In short, it’s unlikely to cause serious damage to your bone health as long as you don’t abuse it for a long period. Nonetheless, if you do experience joint or bone pain then it could be a clear sign that the dosage of Letrozole is too high. That’s because there is not enough estrogen. Again, you should lower the dosage and that should eliminate this issue.
Cholesterol
Considering that estrogen is an important hormone for maintaining proper cholesterol levels – another risk of using any Aromatase Inhibitor (especially a powerful one like Letrozole) is the negative impact on cholesterol.
That’s an especially big problem for bodybuilders because they tend to stack it with anabolic steroids that come with the risk of negatively affecting cholesterol on their own. Estrogen can help maintain proper cholesterol levels, but without this hormone, a man can experience lower HDL levels (good cholesterol) and increased LDL levels (bad cholesterol). One reason why men are more predisposed to cholesterol issues than women is that they naturally have less estrogen than women!
Again, estrogen has a beneficial effect on cholesterol and that’s why it’s a good idea to maintain the dosage of Letrozole as low as possible. Maintain the lowest effective dosage for minimizing or eliminating the risks associated with cholesterol issues.
Negative effects on cholesterol occur simply because of using anabolic steroids, but stacking it with Letrozole increases the risks. That’s why it’s always a good idea to keep dosages as low as possible.
Rebound of Estrogen
Letrozole (Femara) is an extremely powerful aromatase inhibitor, but it is not a suicide AI like for example Aromasin (Exemestane) is. Letrozole is a non suicidal AI and that’s why, when you’re going to stop its use, there’s a chance of experiencing a “rebound” in estrogen levels. This is a sudden increase in estrogen levels because of a sudden decrease in the estrogen reduction effects from Femara. That’s especially possible with Letrozole because it’s having such powerful estrogen decreasing effects.
Needless to mention that this is only increasing the risks if you’ve been using it in rather higher doses and then you suddenly stop. For this reason, some people choose to lower their Letrozole dosage slowly toward the end. Moreover, they stop the use of Letrozole when all aromatizing steroids are out of the system (so there are no steroids to convert into estrogen).
Moreover, some of them choose to add Nolvadex which could help protect them from gynecomastia in case estrogen increases. Or a few doses of Aromasin in order to completely disable the aromatase enzyme and offer the protection they need.
Other Issues
In the end, bodybuilders should understand that estrogen is actually important for their needs. That’s because estrogen is playing an important role in growing muscle mass and strength. Reducing estrogen too much (too high Letrozole dosage) is likely to hinder your muscle and strength gains progression, or maybe even lead to a regression. You may start feeling unwell and may suffer from insomnia and low libido too. You could notice decreases in sex drive as well as erectile dysfunction. Yes, estrogen helps a man get and maintain an erection too!
Generally, there are a lot of negative symptoms that you may experience. Mostly, in case you attempt to abuse Letrozole and lower estrogen too much.
Conclusion
In the end, remember that Letrozole (Femara) is a powerful Aromatase Inhibitor. Abusing it is never a good idea because it’s likely to cause side effects. Generally, in bodybuilding, it is used as a last resort for the treatment of gynecomastia. But you could use it for other high estrogen related issues. But in whatever the case, use it carefully to avoid the possible side effects.
Also, to avoid Letrozole side effects, make sure you get a real and high quality product. At HGH.to you can find everything you need for the best prices, from the best manufacturers ensuring quality stuff.
