Joint pain/muscle spasms caused by Prolia/Fosomax and Femura?

waterdog

I'm trying to get in to see a reumotologist but in the meantime I was curious whether anyone has had the same experience. My twin sister and I are both experiencing treatments post breastcancer. We are both on Femara (me for 4.5 years, her for 3 years), she is on Prolia and I just started fosomax three months ago. We have both had costochondritis (hers has resolved, mine has not). She is having sever knee pain but an orthopod sees nothing wrong. I have developed lower back spasms in the past two weeks, worse in the morning and better throughout the day. We are not talking about a little pain. We are talking major discomfort. We are wondering if any of you have had the same experience. OTC drugs have not really helped. Thanks!

vlnrph

How interesting to have twins in the same boat - are you identical? As I just posted on the Not Diagnosed with Recurrence or Metastases But Concerned forum, my back pain became disabling last August. Home remedies did not help. Once I finally got an x-ray, a fractured vertebrae was seen. My history is summarized in my signature. This experience was different from the stiff aching joints I had while taking letrozole/Femara.

Since your symptoms have persisted for 14 days (the rule of thumb as to when to see the doctor), it is time for you to get checked out. You might want to go to urgent care this weekend unless you can call first thing Monday am and be seen quickly. Don't wait for the rheumatology appointment.

I am now on IV bisphosphonate therapy which is in the same class as Fosamax or generic alendronate but have no side effects. When I worked as a pharmacist, people would complain about gastrointestinal upset from the oral tablets so I had to remind them to drink a big glass of water with each dose and don't lie down afterward however they never told me about muscle spasms associated with the med as you are describing.

waterdog

Thanks for your response. I have decided to call the oncologist first up on Monday. He is very responsive so I'm hoping to have answers and relief shortly. My sister and I are fraternal, and my mom has been a two times breast cancer survivor. We have been genetically tested and nothing is showing up. I think we are in the group where they haven't yet found our genetic link.

vlnrph

Wow, your mom with BC twice! If your/her testing was more than five years ago (or only for BRCA), you may want to visit with an up to date genetic counselor to inquire about which panel might be appropriate. There are mutations in certain ethnic groups that some companies choose to omit from their analyses.

Meanwhile, have a good weekend - what's left of it anyway. Monday will be here soon enough...