Upper arm pain and hand tingling after Radiotherapy

lizzie58
lizzie58 Member Posts: 2
edited June 2014 in Pain

Hi ladies.

This is my first post and I'm wondering if anyone else has had the  side effects from Rads that I'm experiencing.

I had a lumpectomy in May this year for a 7mm invasive lobular tumour in my left breast. The sentinal nodes were clear.

My surgeon and Onc recommended Rads - 15 sessions totalling 40 Gy is the norm in the UK.

He assured me that my armpit lymph nodes would not be treated.

I started Rads on 6th August and after about 8 sessions felt tingling in my left hand.

I discussed this with my Onc and he said it should go away a couple of weeks after finishing Rads 

Rads finished on 26th August.

Two days later the pain in my upper arm started, also restricted arm movement and the hand tingling was still there.

Now, nearly five weeks later I still have the arm pain, restricted movement with pain and tingling in my hands.

Has anyone else had these symptoms and do they go away?

Thanks

Lizzie

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Comments

  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited October 2012

    Ray, yep, that is how my LE started too.

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  • lionessdoe
    lionessdoe Member Posts: 780
    edited October 2012

    My Lymphedema was diagnosed prior to radiation. You may want to familiarize yourself with Radiation Induced Brachial plexopathy (RIBP) symptoms under the lymhedema discussion topic just in case it worsens and is not LE. Although You can have both!

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  • lizzie58
    lizzie58 Member Posts: 2
    edited October 2012

    Hi Ladies, thanks for the replies. 

    I'm still having pain in my arm and breast, and restricted arm movement. I do my physio 3 times a day for my shoulder but the flexibility doesn't last. The pain was so bad last week that I got some neuropathic pain killers from my doc. She's very sympathetic but doesn't know what's causing the pain. 

     I see my oncologist in 4 weeks, for my 3 month review, but am trying for an early appointment as I need some answers.

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  • TraceyB51
    TraceyB51 Member Posts: 1
    edited November 2012

    I am one year out from chemo and almost one year out from radiation.  I have hand and foot pain and recently began swelling in my hands. My daughter spoke to a sports medicine doctor who recommended I take 800 mil of straight Ibuprofen in the morning with food and then again at night with food before I go to bed.  He said it would relieve any inflammation I may have.  But he said to tell me I cant live on Ibuprofen forever.***So, I did this and for almost one week I could walk again, my knees didn't hurt, my ankles didn't feel like they were going to break, I felt like the bone in my foot I swore was broken went away.  Then I was told by my friend that taking Ibuprofen like that would make my stomach bleed and cause me more problems.  So I quit taking the Ibuprofen.  Within a couple of days I was crippled feeling again.  So, I started taking the Ibuprofen again and my pain diminished to almost nothing. So what I do now is take it for a week then stop one week.  Take it again in a week then I break a week from it. When I am on Ibuprofen my attitude is so full of hope but towards the end of that week when I am off of the Ibuprofen I find myself saying, "who cares if my stomach bleeds if it takes all this pain away"?  Sounds like I am a desperate idiot but this is how I live these days. Laughing   

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  • proudtospin
    proudtospin Member Posts: 5,972
    edited November 2012

    Tracy, have you talked to your onco about the pain?  I have a woman who works for me, she has really bad arthtis and takes mega doses of NSAIDS but her doctor (A ruemetologist) monitors her very closely. 

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