Short answer: The Femara label has no missed-dose instructions. It describes one 2.5 mg tablet once a day, with or without food. Letrozole has a half-life of about 2 days, and steady levels take 2 to 6 weeks of daily dosing, so one missed tablet lowers levels only gradually. Ask your prescriber or pharmacist what to do.
| Situation | What the label says |
|---|---|
| Schedule | One 2.5 mg tablet once a day, without regard to meals (2.1) |
| Missed-dose rule | None in the label |
| Half-life | About 2 days (12.3) |
| Steady state | Reached in 2 to 6 weeks of daily 2.5 mg dosing (12.3) |
| Cirrhosis with severe liver problems | 2.5 mg every other day (2.5) |
No. We checked the Femara prescribing information from Novartis on DailyMed. It has no missed-dose section, and this label has no separate patient leaflet. Section 2.1 says only that the dose is one 2.5 mg tablet once a day, without regard to meals.
Generic letrozole tablets have their own labels and leaflets. This page covers the Femara label only.
Section 12.3 gives a terminal half-life of about 2 days and says steady-state levels after daily 2.5 mg dosing are reached in 2 to 6 weeks. With a half-life that long, the level falls only partly in the day before the next tablet.
The label does not describe catch-up doses. The labeled dose is one 2.5 mg tablet a day, and in patients with cirrhosis and severe liver problems the label halves the dose to 2.5 mg every other day (section 2.5). Ask your prescriber or pharmacist before taking more than your usual dose.
Femara is labeled for breast cancer in postmenopausal women (section 1). Use alongside TRT or for ovulation induction is outside the label, so the label has no schedule or missed-dose rule for those uses. The schedule, and what to do after a missed dose, comes from your prescriber.
This page summarizes FDA labeling. It is not personalized medical advice; confirm what to do with your prescriber or pharmacist.