Herceptin and depression?

julieho

I am almost at the end of my year long treatment of herceptin.  I have had lots of bone/joint/muscle pain with it and recently have felt pretty depressed.  This also happened at the end of my chemo treatments so it may be related to treatment almost being over.

I am just curious if anyone has had the same experience with herceptin.

Thanks,

Julieho

Moderators

Hi Julieho,

We're sure some others will be along shortly with some great advice and experiences to share. In the meantime, you may be interested in checking out the main Breastcancer.org site's page on Depression as a side effect of breast cancer and its treatment.

Also, there's a great forum here called Relationships, Emotional Crises, Anxiety and Depression, which could be helpful to meet others experiencing what you are.

We hope this helps!

--The Mods

lkc

Hi Julie, I had alot of bone pain too, and felt sad. I was on a low dose of Paxil for hot flashes ( I went into Chemopause after starting chemo) I think that Rx  helped me alot with my moods too.

Anyway, the pain totally resolved after a few months and that definitely made me feel better. 

Hope you are feeling better soon, and congratulations on finishing your tx!

suzieq60

Julie - are you taking Arimidex? I was very depressed when I was on it. I switched to Aromasin and am 100% better.

julieho

Thanks Linda for getting back to me.  I have been on Prozac and don't take any hormones because I was er/pr negative.

I am glad to hear the bone pain went away for you - did that happen after you finished herceptin?

I am seeing an oncology psychologist tomorrow - maybe that will help.

Thanks so much,

Julie

julieho

Hi Suzieq60 - I am not taking Arimidex.  Just on herceptin now and my doc gave me some prozac (20 mg) and lorazepam to help me sleep - I take the lorazepam every other night and alternate that with benedryl for sleep.

Thanks for writing on my post.

Take care,

Julie