AFTER CHEMO---FEEL STIFF & HAVE BONE PAIN

[LOPSIDED]

I WAS REALLY TIRED DURING CHEMO BUT DID NOT EXPERIENCE ANY PAIN UNTIL MY TREATMENT WAS OVER. IT SEEMS LIKE AS SOON AS CHEMO WAS OVER, I STARTED FEELING STIFF IN SHOULDERS, NECK & BACK. I AM DOING RADIATION (ON MY 15TH TREATMENT). DID ANYONE ELSE HAVE THE ACHES & PAINS AFTER CHEMO (TAXOTERE 12 TREATMENTS).

[Bev]

Hi, I know of others that had quite a bit of pain from taxol, although I didn't. Neulasta for WBC did cause pain in the back,neck and shoulder area for me. If it's from taxol I think it will eventually improve. Best wishes, BB

[Maryanne]

I had alot of stiffness and still do! I finished Chemo almost a yera ago. I do find yoga helps alot and take a weekly class as well as at home. You might want to get a tape and follow some of the basics. I also bad alot of back problems while doing radiation. I did it on my stomach and the position I was in...day in & out cause it. Meybe this is the case?

[sabpri]

I finished chemo (A/C and Taxotere) in Jan and Radiation finished mid-Feb and I have had the worst stiff shoulders, neck, back and also elsewhere if I sit too long in one spot. I never had a lot of that going through the treatment, even with the Neulasta shots, but has gotten a lot worse now that treatments are done. Of course I thought the worst and assumed it was bone mets in neck, back and shoulders but thank goodness my PET scan showed I was clean. I talked to my onc about it but she didn't seem to have any good explainations either, so I am glad to see others had/have it too (not glad, but just knowing that it may be a normal side effect!).

I thought maybe it was from my posture change after the double mastectomy since things feel like I was pulled together tightly and I might be holding myself different, but then I notice that my legs get very stiff if I am in a sitting position too long or get up after a long car ride. I am only 37 so I don't think it is old age setting in yet. The neck, back and shoulders seems to be the worst, so maybe it is a combination of the treatments and the mastectomy. Did you have a mastectomy?

Natalie

[LOPSIDED]

EVERYTIME I HAVE A PAIN NOW, I THINK THE CANCER HAS SPREAD. IT IS SO SCARY. I HAVEN'T HAD ANY SCANS YET. I'M STILL DOING RADIATION. DURING CHEMO I GAINED A LOT OF WEIGHT (25LBS), WHICH PUTS ME OVER 200LBS. I TOOK 2 MONTHS OFF OF WORK, SO I WASN'T AS ACTIVE AND I THINK THIS EXPLAINS A LOT OF MY ACHES & PAINS. I DID HAVE A MASTECTOMY (RIGHT BREAST) 2.1 C.M. TUMOR, 8 OUT OF 10 LYMPH NODES POSITIVE, 4 A/C, 12 TAXOTERE, 35 RADS--I'M HALF WAY THRU THEM AND THEN I'LL DO ONE YEAR OF WKLY HERCEPTIN. MY BODY HAS BEEN THRU A LOT THE LAST FEW MONTHS AND I'M SURE YOU HAVE TOO. I HAVE A TREADMILL AND I'M TRYING TO GET THAT WEIGHT DOWN, BUT ITS A SLOW PROCESS. I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK AND NO YOUR NOT ALONE WITH THE ACHES & PAINS, BUT HOPEFULLY THINGS WILL GET BETTER. WE'RE TOO YOUNG TO FEEL LIKE WE'RE 100 YEARS OLD (I'M 41).

[sadie]

Lopsided,
I have aches & pains post chemo too. First, I thought it was because of inactivity during chemo and winter months. Then I was blaming old age (I'm 52). I am trying to be just as active now as I was pre-chemo. Sometimes the aches in my legs & feet just make me want to sit and do nothing. My feet and ankles are swelling everyday too. I take lasix, but that does not seem to help.
I also gained 20 pounds putting me over 200. That, in itself, was very upsetting to me.
It's like a vicious circle. I want to exercise to get the weight off so I can stop feeling so stiff & achey. But I'm too stiff & achey to want to exercise!
There should be a health club for post-chemo people!