Femara & Rib pain?
Comments
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Hi everyone - I have been taking Femara for 5 months. I have the usual side effects - weight gain, joint aches, etc. I only have mild ones of those. What I have had for a few weeks is an ache at the bottom of my rib cage. Kind of like a side ache when you run, only it's higher than a side ache that you get when running. Does anyone else have this? I tried to figure out what organ is located at the bottom of your rib cage on the left side -- is it your liver? Pancreas? It is definiitely not near my heart and not near my stomach. It aches for hours at a time... I will ask my onc about it at the next appt, but I thought I'd ask if anyone else has experienced this. Thanks for any input. Good luck with your side effectes everyone. It's such a battle, huh.
Yolanda
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I have been having rib pain but think it is because I had broken ribs due to the cancer. It has been a year and the pain is still there. I never thought it could be from Femara that I have been taking for a year. I also have joint pain that I told my doctor about but she just dismissed it. Do you think the joint pain can be reversed?
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I too have rib pain. I noticed it about 2 months into taking Femara, only mine was more in my sternum. It hurt, almost to a burning sensation , sometimes radiating around my upper back, that it scared me into thinking that mabye my heart got damaged during my chemo or radiation. I had also expierenced pain in my right foot, and aching in my left hip! I truly didn't know what was going on. I went to my oncol. with my heart fears and she sent me for tests, all came back good. I stopped the Femara and did my own research, taking about a 6 week break.( I felt back to my 'ole self again ) I went back on it, now more armed with the knowledge of what to expect, and after 2 months these strange pains are all back, but, at least I know what it is all from. I haven't made up my mind if I want 4 years of this, my Hubby and I have talked about this and he will back me no matter what. I also hate the drained feeling I have most of the time too, I have ALWAYS been blessed with abundant energy and I sure feel is sapped. I still keep my pace but its a push, I feel for Gals out there who start this stuff and are not in the best shape.
So, I know where you are comming from, wondering if the pain could be from a organ near your rib! We have been through so much in treatment, it does lead you to think something could be damaged. For your peace of mind, go tell your oncol. as I did, now I know that my bone pain is from the Femara, sternum, right foot, left hip, right hand (thumb and trigger finger) It was there when I stopped it, off for 6 weeks, felt great!! then back on 2 months later..same places, wierd, but I know its Femara.........take care....Debi
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Yolanda,
I'm not currently on Femara but wanted to respond. I was DX over 2 yrs ago. Double mastectomy. I've complained of rib pain especially on my cancer side (rt) since almost day one to this day. I mentioned it to my surgeon and oncologist every single appt because it worries me. Its always there. But in that two years I've had PET/CT's, and ultrasounds and nothing shows up thank goodness.
But since I complained about this so often to my onc she did finally say that she hears this complaint all the time from the women after mastectomies and she believes its due to all the nerves cut, tissue damage, etc. That is a major surgery we have had. I had a MRM...I know so of you have lumpectomies so I'm not sure if that would cause it? But I do know in the two yrs I have heard this so much on all the boards. All I know is my right side still hurts. Its that lower rib right in front which would be about where the bottom of my breast would of been if I didn't have a mastetomy. (Higher up then normal.) Its non-stop pain. The pain isn't bad but its enough to get my attention. So I am starting to believe this is a more common thing with us women that had mastectomies...that is alot of slicing and dicing on our bodies. I hope this might relieve some of your worries. I first blamed it on the my chemo, then the herceptin. Then once finished with all of that it continued. Then I thought it was femara. But I'm off femara and it is still there. So now in my case I really do believe the MRM caused nerve damage and whatever else is cut in there to cause this. It seems its always something. The fun never stops. ARGH!!! Keep us updated and let us know what your onc says? Hang in there.
Chelee
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I too have been having rib pain. I have been taking Arimidex for over a year and have been having rib pain on the left side just under my left breast, sometimes worse than others. I thought that it might be from the radiation. Nothing has shown up on the bone scan or the MRI. The pain is strictly at the rib and doesn't feel internal. I notice it most when I lie down on that side when the sheet is wrinkled so I quit worrying (kinda) about it.
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I am so glad I googled "Rib pain and Femara". Now I don't feel like I'm going crazy, questioning myself, "Am I really feeling something or not?". My pain is similiar to that of "Marbri" in that I feel it when I lay on the right side (side where I had my lumpectomy). It's just under the breast at the rib. A month ago it felt like a tiny spot of pain; now it's a larger area of pain - but only when I lay on that side. It eventually doesn't bother me, so it's more of an annoyance than anything else. I was going to call my oncologist & insist he see me, but perhaps it's not necessary.
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It's possible that the rib pain is costochondritis, which is discussed below. Also, it is much more likely in women even without surgery .... The main diagnostic test is that pressing on the area reproduces the pain that is felt when the area is not pressed on. Lying on that area would involve pressing on it, which is why pain may be more obvious when doing that. The treatment is just rest, NSAIDS, and cold, as for any inflammatory problem.
Costochondritis is an inflammatory process but usually has no definite cause. Repeated minor trauma to the chest wall or viral respiratory infections can commonly cause chest pain due to costochondritis. Occasionally, costochondritiscan occur in people who have had surgery to their upper chest. After surgery, the cartilage can become more prone to infection, because of reduced blood flow in the region that has been operated on.
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It's possible that the rib pain is costochondritis, which is discussed below. Also, it is much more likely in women even without surgery .... The main diagnostic test is that pressing on the area reproduces the pain that is felt when the area is not pressed on. Lying on that area would involve pressing on it, which is why pain may be more obvious when doing that. The treatment is just rest, NSAIDS, and cold, as for any inflammatory problem.
Costochondritis is an inflammatory process but usually has no definite cause. Repeated minor trauma to the chest wall or viral respiratory infections can commonly cause chest pain due to costochondritis. Occasionally, costochondritiscan occur in people who have had surgery to their upper chest. After surgery, the cartilage can become more prone to infection, because of reduced blood flow in the region that has been operated on.
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OMG!!!! So happy I have found this post. 2 months into Femara and rib pain and upper right quadrant abdominal pain that has been awful. I had convinced myself it was liver mets. I have had my gallbladder removed so it was not going to be that. It hurts like hell when I press on the lower ribs and the pain has been radiating into my right shoulder. It feels like a really bad side stitch and hurts more from coughing, lying on my side, bending over and turning. I had an ultrasound today after complaining to my onc and it was clear. She is doing more bloods to rule out my liver as I have Gilbert's syndrome. I have been thinking I am going CRAZY and feel like the boy who cried wolf. Tonight I decided to google rib pain and Femara after she suggested that the Femara might be playing a role in things. And, BINGO! Sigh..... I am hoping it eases off as the thought of 5 years of this is making me feel so miserable. But thank God for BCOrg. Feeling a wee bit more relaxed after reading this thread.
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I developed a similar pain issue in the past couple of weeks. I was about to call my Oncologist and tell her I was ready to quit Femara over it, but decided to try harder to manage the pain. I've been using both Motrin and Tylenol. i noticed that it was worse late in the day and began to wonder if the Claritin I take at bedtime for my allergies was helping alleviate the pain, but was wearing off late in the day. So I'm now experimenting with taking Claritin in the morning. We'll see how it goes....
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