JOINT PAIN & BODY ACHES AFTER CHEMO

[LOPSIDED]

I HAD 4 TREATMENTS OF A/C, SURGERY, 12 WKLY TAXOTERE PLUS SHOTS OF NEULASTA & NEUPIGIN AND DURING ALL OF THIS I FELT OKAY AS FAR AS BONE PAIN AND BODY ACHES. NOW THAT I'M THRU THIS AND I'M DOING RADIATION---I HURT ALL OVER. I'M SO STIFF AND MY STRENGTH IS MUCH LESS THAN 1 MONTH AGO. MY BONES FEEL FUNNY. NOW, I'M NOT HURTING TO THE POINT I NEED MEDICATION. I MIGHT TAKE A MOTRIN ONCE IN AWHILE, BUT I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW DIFFERENT MY BODY FEELS WITHIN JUST A FEW WEEKS. I'M ONLY 41 AND FEEL ABOUT 80. DO YOU THINK ITS NORMAL TO HAVE THE BODY ACHES AFTER THE CHEMO? I HAVE GAINED A LOT OF WEIGHT AND MAYBE THATS WHY MY JOINTS ARE HURTING. I KEEP TELLING MYSELF I'LL GET THIS WEIGHT OFF BUT HERE I AM A FEW MONTHS LATER AND I WEIGH MORE THAN I EVER HAVE IN MY LIFE.

[kristen]

Hi Lopsided,

I hurt toward the end of my chemo, which was 6 tx of TCH and it kept hurting for a long time. I know Taxotere is a rough one for some of us with the aches. I had to take some pain pills. They even ran a bone scan, I hurt so bad. I think it's the accumalation of it all. I also gained a lot of weight, over 25#. I hadn't ever weighed that much except when I was pregnant.
I think we all experience it differently. For instance I didn't loose my eyelashes until 2 months after I was finsihed with chemo. As the saying goes, listen to your body, if it hurts in one place specifically for more then 2 weeks and tylenol or motrin doesn't do the trick get it checked out. My onc. told me if it was bone mets it would keep hurting and those pain relievers wouldn't work. Hope this helps.

[Mgarr]

Good morning lopsided. I am 40 and currently on Herceptin every 3 weeks after 4 A/C 4 Taxol at dose dense. I have awful muscle pains & achiness in my legs mentioned this to onc., chemo nurse and o.b. There is no real consensus but they believe it is part Herceptin part menopause and it should lessen after Herceptin ends. I too take Motrin it does help and I keep walking even it is it for short periods many times a day. Keep your chin up spring is here!

Mary

[tousled1]

I am currently getting taxatore - 2 more rounds to go. I experience severe bone/joint pain. I notice that you are receivng neupogen shots. My first round of chemo (A/C) I received the neupogen shots and the bone/joint pain was so bad that I was in tears. The pain was so bad that I could not function. Had to go to my pain management doctor and he prescribed morphine sul which helped.

[tricia keegan]

I was fine all through chemo more or less and did'nt put on any weight but since I finished in Feb I never felt so bad.Aches and muscle pains mostly.I had really bad backache and went to see the Dr today convinced it was a kidney infection.He said I had'nt and it may still be the Taxol leaving my body.I am going to take up walking again next week when rads finish as I've heard that helps.
Tricia

[dberg]

Lopsided,

About halfway through rads I noticed a definite achiness ALL OVER!! I think it is just a culmination of everything you have had, especially the neupogen and taxol. (Throw rads in there too!!) I started tamoxifen about a month after rads and the good news is it does get better. The old lady feeling went away and I really turned the corner about 5 months after rads were over.

I started on Fosamax a couple of months ago and am going through the whole thing all over again. My pharmacist friend says my body will adjust to it too...just give it time.

I'm lopsided too!
Diane

[LOPSIDED]

THANK YOU FOR REPLYING. I GET SO MUCH COMFORT FROM THIS WEBSITE. I'M IN THAT PHASE WHERE EVERYTIME I FEEL A PAIN OR ANY KIND OF DISCOMFORT MY MIND STARTS WONDERING IF IT HAS SPREAD. I JUST WANT TO FEEL NORMAL AGAIN. TODAY IS A BETTER DAY---NOT AS MANY ACHES & PAINS. I HAVE WENT BACK TO WORK AND I ONLY HAVE 12 MORE RADIATION TREATMENTS TO GO. HERE I COME HERCEPTIN ON MAY 16.

Hi there. It's such a relief to see that I am nit the only one suffering aches after Chemo. It's so depressing because, as you have all mentioned, you finish Chemo and think you are going to feel better then all of a sudden you feel worse. And I only realized yesterday that my eyebrow and eyelashes have fallen out... And it's two months later. I was so excited that my hair was growing back I didn't notice until someone pointed it out. I actuAlly told them them they were wrong and got a rude shock when I went to put mascara ion!

I have the same exact thing going on! However mine has been a bit longer and the pain has actually built. So as time has gone on the pain has gotten worse. My pain is worse in the morning or when i have been sitting and go to move. It hurts for a bit and then subsides to a standable amount.

I stumbled on this site while I was looking up body pain after chemo. Like everyone else is was such a relief when I started reading some of the posts. I'm not alone.

LOL everyone says lopsided, I'm just flat, so maybe instead of flopsy you can call me flatsy!

[Kmswilson]

I'm glad to hear radiation can make you feel rough. I just finished 13 WBR treatments, and I'm still warning from the steroids, and I feel terrible. Meanwhile I've had to stop the chemo during the rads, and I'm terrified of every ache and pain that this has been spreading while I've been off the chemo for 6 weeks. Even though we saw regression in my liver and stability elsewhere when they found the brain mets, I'm terrified it's been running rampant while doing the radiation. Anyway, my neuropathy in my feet seems to be worse, and my feet and legs feel weak. And I am so off-kilter...dizzy and fuzzy, almost like the chemo fog. I hobble around feeling like I'm 90. Anyway, not much point to my post, just glad to hear I'm not alone!

[tricia keegan]

Hi Krissi and I'm sorry you feel so rough but think its to be accepted after WBR and some of the ladies here who had it said the same so you're not alone.
Lyricia can be helpful for neuropathy and although the side effects put me off if its bad enough you may want to try it!!