[Barbara2]

I have a hard time filtering out where my aches may be coming from. I finished chemo in March '03, and have had body aches from that time to the present; mostly in the back and rib area. My ribs are quite tender to the touch; possibly my fibromyalgia contributes to those muscle/tissue type of aches. The joints are stiff, but that could be due to my age-55- as well.

I have taken Arimidex since April 04, and thought that might be contributing to the aches. But my onc says that over time (like a few months) one's body should adjust to the medicine, and those side effects should diminish.

I started late herceptin in May'05 and the aches stayed about the same; do experience some tiredness for a couple of days after treatment.

In Oct.05, I started Actonel due to bone loss from the Arimidex. The aches have increased in intensity and area since starting the Actonel.

With such an assortment of medicines and treatment, how is one to know what causes our discomforts? Someone asked about fatigue; I had a great deal of fatigue for about a year's time after chemo treatment. Discovered that some of it was due to the nightly Ativan I was taking for sleeping, and the Celebrex for body aches. So you may need to see if some of your fatigue is due to medications. Even now I have days of good energy, and days of low energy.

Quite a few people have posted here questioning body aches due to Herceptin. In the clinical trials, I wonder if (some) trial participants can really sort out side effects in a way that is accurate. When I finished treatment, my head was in a big time fog for quite a while. I question how useful and correct my assessment on side effects would have been. The Herceptin is continued directly after the big knock out drugs have been given. Can a participant know what is lingering from the chemo vs. what side effects are coming from Herceptin? It would be hard to know.........