How long do we ache after finishing chemo?

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rinna40
rinna40 Member Posts: 357
edited June 2014 in Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned

I finished Chemo on Sept. 14.  I did three rounds of FEC and then three rounds of Docetaxol.  I was really achy  on the DT and was prescribed a strong anti-arthritic med for that SE. Within the last three weeks I've developed aches in my hands at the joints as well as really sore feet/ankles. Could this still be the chemo working it's way out? This did start shortly after I started Rads, but the nurse there doesn't think this ache is related. Any one have any thoughts or similar experiences?

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  • fightinhrd123
    fightinhrd123 Member Posts: 633
    edited December 2009

    Yes, and i'm a year and 3 months out of chemo.  I was doing herceptin though.  I just had a PET that came out clear, and i have pain all over.

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  • rinna40
    rinna40 Member Posts: 357
    edited December 2009

    Is that a usual SE for herceptin? Glad that your scans were clean. I don't know if I should make an appointment with my onc or my family doctor.

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  • carol1949
    carol1949 Member Posts: 562
    edited December 2009

    Rinna, I don't know how old you are... I just turned 60, and I am just over one year out of chemo.  Remember, it is poison in our systems.... yes it kills the cancer cells, and also some of the good ones with it.

    I am just feeling "normal" again, and I encourage you to read about rebuilding your immune system and excercise as much as you can.  I started taking a tap dance class... and it really helps me to reenergize. When I finished chemo, it felt like my muscles had atrophied terrribly.  I always had very good muscle tone, having been a dancer for years.

    I also use Reiki therapy, which for me has been profound.

    Most importantly, is do your research and find something that you are comfortable with that occupies your mind, body and enriches your spirit!  Weather it is music, dancing, yoga, remember to find your ":fun" again.

    I have a dear friend who is an 11 year bc survivor who did it holistically and she has been inspriational to me.  If I can pass on any of what she shared with me, I feel as though I am paying her back.

    I find the more I move the better I feel!

    Good Luck and Hugs to you!

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  • rinna40
    rinna40 Member Posts: 357
    edited December 2009

    Thanks Carol.

    I am 41 years old, so I guess I think I'm too young to feel this old. Ha  Ha.  I have started working out, as I need to loose weight as well. I actually just got back from the gym, and I do feel better right after working out. The worst is after I've been sitting a long time. When I drive to my radiation appointment, I am so stiff when I get out of the car.

     Also, my hands seem to go numb really easily. If I'm on the computer for a while they go numb. They often go numb while I sleep. Is this part of the SE's as well? Does it go away? 

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  • Deborah1965
    Deborah1965 Member Posts: 9
    edited December 2009

    OMG Rinna40, I've been wondering the exact thing! I just finished chemo the last week of October, so it's been a little over a month now, and I feel completely drained. My muscles in my legs ache like I have the flu. So, like you, I'm wondering when I'll feel good again?? Ladies, share you're recovery journey from chemo with us. Thanks All. ~Deborah

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  • LJ13-2
    LJ13-2 Member Posts: 235
    edited December 2009

    Rinna, my joint pains started shortly after I began rads too. Both the docs looked at me like I was nuts when I observed this. Like I was nuts to think the pains were related. Ordinarily I would have accepted that it was just a late side effect of the chemo, but it was literally like someone flipped a switch.

    It does get better over time, at least it has for me. Very very slowly, it gets better.

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  • Yazmin
    Yazmin Member Posts: 840
    edited December 2009

    My pain from Taxol took months to  disappear. But eventually, it did, and apparently much faster than it did with some other people I know were also on Taxol (by then, I had become a nutrition/supplementation fanatic, so perhaps that helped?) 

    As for the itching, I tried that Chinese Tiger balm, which is recommended by Dr. Weil on his website, and it worked, indeed.....

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  • roxy42
    roxy42 Member Posts: 495
    edited December 2009

    I'm 2 years out and still have affects from the kemo i had TAC.I'M Ned Now and doing great.It takes awhile.I'm a stage three girl........love to all my sisters.....roxy

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  • rinna40
    rinna40 Member Posts: 357
    edited December 2009

    Thanks for the replies. Although I hate being achy, it is good to know that others have felt the same way and it goes away.

     LJ13-2   I get strange looks at RADs too, when I ask about the joint pain starting right after rads started. They tell me it must be effects from chemo, but it definitely got worse once rads started.

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  • living4today
    living4today Member Posts: 215
    edited December 2009

    Just wanted to pop in here with my two sense re: rads...when I complained of feeling aweful with rads, the radiologists recommended to me to take two advil when I came in for treatment...something about the rad causing an inflammation in the body.  Before this journey, I wouldn't take any pills, but the advil (ibuprofen) worked wonders for me.  Good luck...this too shall pass, although I hate to admit that the numbness in my feet have gotten worse this last week and I am 5 months out of chemo....thinking maybe -20 temp might have something to do with it.

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  • chrisct
    chrisct Member Posts: 2,662
    edited December 2009

    I stumbled across something called post-chemotherapy rheumatism.  I found it interesting and hoped that that was why I felt particularly achey. 

    "There is a particular syndrome or phenomenon where patients, a month or two following completion of chemotherapy, can get quite a bit of trouble with pain in their hips and knees and morning stiffness-type troubles. This has been termed "post-chemotherapy rheumatism" and is something that generally goes away in a matter of months."  http://www.breastcancer.org/tips/menopausal/ask_expert/2002_03/question_05.jsp

    I've been having more problems with my feet than I was having before.  And all my aches that I was having before chemo- that I thought I shouldn't be having because I was only 42 - have come back now that the steroids from chemo are out of my system.  If not post-chemo rheumatism, I'm thinking vitamin deficiencies... or something along those lines.  I did just test on the low side for vitamin D and will start supplements as soon as I get myself to the store.  It's hard to know what's going on - who knows what chemo has done to us or how long it will last.

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  • carol1949
    carol1949 Member Posts: 562
    edited December 2009

    Ladies,  My oncologist approved for me to take 800 iu;s per day of vitamin e and also told me to take vitamin B complex twice a day.  The E has been proven to help reverse nerve damage in stroke patients. You can google that and read about it.  Also, we all need the b's as our bodies don't store it.

    E is best absorbed in the evening.  See is that helps.  I do getsome numbness, but had some of it pre chemo.

    I also am going to order immunomax which is suggested in much of the research I have found.

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