How long did you have body aches after taxol???

Hi Deb

I'm so sorry you are still having pain, that's terrible!  I hope someone can come along and help you with your question soon.  I am right in the middle of Taxol tx, so I can't help you with your question.

I do, however, have a question for you.  I heard that the body pain was less common when on weekly taxol.  I have had 6 so far, and no pain, just some twinges here and there.  When did your body pain kick in with your taxol?  Is this something that comes along in the second half of tx?  I have 6 more to go, so I was just wondering if the pain comes near the end of tx.

I truly hope you feel better soon. 

Hugs

Judy

Deb,  I finished my taxol at the end of March and I too expierenced bone/muscle pain with every treatment and took my temp to make sure I didn't spike a fever because I truely felt like I was getting the flu each time.  For me if I do get active I will have aches/pains, fatigue a few days later and know to take it easy.  I had minor numbness in my fingers and toes, that has turned into a real ugly nail-thing looks like I will loose a couple of my nails. It takes a while to go through the threads to find one that applies to you so I was glad to find this one.  Any updates to share we will eventually find someone who can lend an ear.  I was told it could take up to a year to get the chemo flushed out?  I'll keep checking here for any updates, until then keep pushing through the pain, I am!

I'm still aching and tingling and i had my last dose in September.  I am doing herceptin though and thats adding to it, but I can defintely still feel the taxol.  I had REALLY bad pain during it though, and had it every 2 weeks.

Laura

gcpommom...I was on weekly Taxol and heard horror stories from some of the people in the waiting area on chemo day about Taxol.  I never had any body/bone/muscle pain at all.  My doctor said the weekly Taxol definitely cuts down on the side effects, especially the pain.

Ugh, still having aches and pains....legs, hands, knees....it's been 11 wks now since I finished chemo.....I feel like a little old lady.  It's not so bad that I take pain killers, but I hurt every day, especially when I get up from sitting/laying down, or when I climb stairs.  The hands are always stiff (could be arthritis, but didn't have before chemo)???

I sooo want to feel normal again.  It seems like many women feel better by now...

sorry for the gripe, but this is so frustrating....I have days when I feel great and get lots done, then I have days when I am so achy and tired and not motivated at all.  I just want to feel better all over, not just in bits and pieces.

Judy

I'm so glad I found this site. I had my last taxol mid-January and am still experiencing leg aches and shin splints. Does anyone else still have some of the residual pain. I had severe pain and was taking pain meds the entire time during treatment. I also lost an entire big toe nail yesterday (gross) and the nails on my fingers have a slight yellow tint - like i've had nail polish on for an extended period of time. I also still have the neuropathy. Can anyone estimate when this will go away? Thank you! 

I just found this website and have been reading posts, I finished my last chemo treatment of taxol in May, 2012, I have so much pain in my legs and arms, everyday I wake up I am in pain, can barely make it to the bathroom. I have contacted my Onc numerous times, their answer is prescribing more painkillers, oxy, percocet and mortrin 800, I do not want to continue to take these meds forever, I fear the damage that can be done to my liver. When I ask questions, I feel noone is fully being truthful, one of the nurses even stated it may not even be from the chemo, well I told her I never had any of these symptoms before chemo. Hot flashes like crazy, tingling in my fingers and feet, also numbness still on the soles of my feet, got to get help buttoning up things or putting on earrings. I am told it could be up to 2 years after treatment, if anyone has any suggestions as how to manager the after effects of taxol please share with me. Thanks so much, God Bless you all as we go through this struggle to beat this breast cancer.

Welcome to the world of AC. That's how it is. It usually hits on the 3rd or 4th day. At least it did for me. Drink lots of water and it will help. Phenegran is your friend. I like it so much better than Zofran. If you have any questions, just ask me. I just finished AC and have just started Taxol.

Well I thought I was getting lucky cause was feeling pretty well first few days! Till yesterday and today that is! Does it get better or worse? And the taxol, was it very painful?

Hi, everyone. . .



I had ACx4. Felt pretty crummy and flu-like through all of that.



I've had 3 of my 4 DD Taxol so far. I have it on Thursdays. I feel great Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, I feel quite a bit of muscle, joint, bone pain. I take ibuprofen and use a heating pad periodically on my lower back on Sundays only. Come Monday morning, I feel back to normal and return to work. I haven't had any neuropathy. My lashes and brows are considerably thinner. But, hands down would take the Taxol over AC any day!!!



My last treatment is this coming Thursday; I pray it goes as well as the last 3.



This can be done! (4 months ago I never would've said that.)



Happy Labor Day!

I just joined this site today after having read SO many great and insightful comments by so many of you! I will share more later, but want to share my overall story first.

After my mastectomy Feb. 2012, I began chemotherapy the next month, in late March 2012.  I did the dose-dense A/C (Adriamycin/Cyclophosphamide) every other Monday for four sessions.  This covered an eight-week period.  Then I had 12 weekly Taxol chemo sessions.  I continued to work during all of this, albeit only a part-time job after my job layoff prior to the cancer diagnosis.  I continued to work because I needed the money.  But most days it wasn't that bad.  The Taxol was definitely much easier to handle than the DD A/C chemo.  

I was aware that one of the possible side effects of the Taxol treatments was bone and joint pain.  I did experience this while doing the Taxol, and I had my medical oncologist prescribe Vicodin (5 mg.) for the pain. Otherwise, there was no way I could have kept pushing myself to work five days a week.  He was kind and understood my financial situation.  We kept our agreement that once I finished Taxol, that he would no longer write me a prescription for the Vicodin.  

I completed my last Taxol treatment on August 6, 2012 -- thank God!  I felt much better within two weeks, with my energy returning, etc.  I then did 28 daily sessions of radiation treatments and completed those Oct. 16, 2012.  Those were a walk in the park compared to doing chemo!!  

I do not remember having any bone or joint pain when I completed my chemo nor in the weeks after.  But, beginning Dec. 9, 2012, my knees began hurting very badly.  I am also experiencing what many other women have commented upon -- severe stiffness in the hips and knees, particularly upon standing after sitting for a while, and feeling YEARS older because of this.  I have a part-time receptionist position now (still looking for full-time work), so I sit for periods of time.  I've noticed that even if I sit for only 15 minutes, I am so incredibly stiff and slow to get going again that I truly feel much older than my 50 years.  Up until going throught the breast cancer treatment, I felt, and was told looked, much younger.  

I sincerely sympathize with all the women whose posts state they are suffering this side effect as well.  I have not taken anything for it, i.e. Ibuprofen, Tylenol, etc., as I feel I would be relying on it daily and worry about possible damage to my liver and/or stomach.  I have a 3-month check-up with my medical oncologist on January 7, 2013 (next week), and am definitely bringing up this subject with him.  I'm also going to share with him the web site links to these board posts, as I feel dozens of women going through the exact same chemo as I had and suffering the same achy side effects cannot be imagining it or wrong.  I only mention this because I know all too well how doctors can be -- they often tell you that they have never heard of such side effects (especially post-treatment) and seem to not believe you are having such severe pain; not only that, but often they have no idea how long these symptoms may last.  I'm fortunate, though, and have a great medical oncologist who, I feel, with believe me.  We'll see next week. 

Hi Tracy15,

Thank you sharing your comments.  You say it's been almost six years since you began your Taxol treatments, yet you still suffer from muscle and joint pain, as well as neuropathy.  First of all, I am truly sorry to hear you are still having to endure any of these.  It's no fun being as young as we are and feeling so terribly old at times and being in what I consider to be constant, relentless pain.  I certainly would hope that at least the pain and stiffness would diminish or go away completely after a good year or so.

Now the neuropathy, as I understand it, can be permanent.  This was the ONLY side effect of Taxol that I was told could be permanent -- nothing about joint pain and stiffness being permanent as well.  But I've also heard from other women that their neuropathy has gone away in time.  I was lucky that mine didn't show up until the last half of my Taxol treatments, was only in a few of my toes on both feet, and it was only a bit of numbness -- no burning or tingling.  It's now been five months today since my last Taxol treatment, and my toes are beginning to feel better with less numbness, so much so that at times, they feel normal again.  So I am very hopeful that my neuropathy will go away completely as more time passes. 

I'm printing out many of the comments of the women here to show my doctor as proof that all of us cannot be wrong about experiencing the incredible stiffness and ongoing pain in our joints, and that it is most certainly linked to the Taxol treatments.  Like me, many women stated they never had any such issues prior to beginning Taxol.  And we all know what chemotherapy drugs are capable of doing to good cells, i.e., hair loss, damaged and lost nails, low blood cell counts, weakness -- the list goes on and on!  Yes, I was told about Taxol's 'possible' side effects by my medical oncologist prior to my first treatment with it and how joint pain and stiffness was the biggest side effect.  Maybe I was naive and should have asked more about it, but I was under the impression this side effect, much like nausea, was only experienced 'during' the course of receiving the Taxol treatments.  I was NEVER told that it could be a lingering and almost debilitating effect that would last well after completing the last Taxol session and that I would simply have to live with it!  No, sir!  I sure was't told that at all.  So I am a bit angry that it wasn't mentioned to me.  I fail to believe that medical oncologists are unaware of its lingering effects with so many women developing breast cancer and most of them, I'm sure, receiving Taxol as one of their chemo drugs.  Sorry, but yes, I am angry, as I'll bet many of us are at times.  It's one thing to loss a breast, have failed reconstruction, and go through 20 weeks of chemo and 5 1/2 weeks of daily radiation while living alone.  But I didn't know, and more importantly, was NOT told, that any of these side effects could last months after Taxol completion!  

As I wrote previously, I have a three-month check-up with my medical oncologist tomorrow morning, at which time I'll cover all this with him and report back what he says.  I feel I need some pain medicine to help me make it through my days a bit better and with less frustration.  But I am also searching for a truthful answer as to how long I can expect this to go on.  I turned 51 yesterday, and up until the chemotherapy began last March (2012), I felt a good 10 years younger than my age.  I live alone and take care of my house myself, mow and edge my yards weekly, do gardening, and much more.  But this has made me feel 20 years older than my age, if not more.  Is it any wonder we are frustrated, angry, depressed, and discouraged by feeling this achy and old?!?  My heart goes out to each and every one of you ladies who are suffering this same joint pain and stiffness.  It is my hope that it will go away at some point.  Will a different diet help?  Maybe.  I am not giving up.  That is one thing I am not -- a quitter.  It is my tenacity and strength and faith that allowed me to complete 20 weeks of chemo while living alone and continuing to work each and every week, and to only miss four days of work in that period of time.  I will make it through this, too, by golly! :-)

Tracy15, I pray you will find wonderful doctor(s) there in Arizona who will help you with your pain and can provide you with good answers and relief!  I'll post the results of my appointment and discussion with my doctor as soon as possible.  

Thank you all for sharing your experiences with the rest of us.  It is invaluable to me to see I am not alone in this and feel somewhat of a connection with you all!

Hang in there, gals!  :-))

I have just completed my 2nd round of Taxol after completing 4 rounds of AC with not too many side effects and nothing that was debilitating.  I thought the Taxol would be easier but my body says differently.   I had terrible muscle aches and pains 3 days after and lasted for 3 days.  9 out of my 10 fingers are black already and I am praying that I don't loose all the nails.  I have had a little tingling in my feet and hands but that seems to be mild so far. I have had terrible thrush and  I have gotten this itchy rash on my hands that I have to use cortisone cream on.  My MO says I may not be able to complete the 4 rounds of dose dense Taxol.  Curious if anyone switched from dose dense to weekly and did that help?

teacher - I have had only one treatment of taxol and I have to say that I have felt miserable since. I have throbbing finger nails, weird sensations in my hands - they feel huge (but they aren't) I have pain in my knees, blood blister on my toe, pain in my face, a bumpy itchy rash all over my legs. Basically icky all over. I am honestly thinking of quitting the taxol altogether - will see my MO next Thursday and see what she says!