Hip and leg joint pain - is it mets?

I hope you get some relief soon. It sounds a lot like the issues I had on Tamoxifen and the AIs. I also have developed osteoarthritis in the past few years. A daily naproxen helps a lot.

I hope you get some more answers soon. Also you might checkout this thread. The ladies there are very helpful. Take care!

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/8/topics/...

Dear Scared,

I was really achy the summer after Taxol, and needed a lot of ibuprofen to keep up with my cycling. Things started to subside a few months later. I also think it's unlikely that you would hurt in all those places if bone mets. Just one or two places. BTW - if you keep moving, you will most likely have less pain. Feel better. Ibuprofen is your friend. - Claire 

I get hip pain too, especially after driving. I found using a wedge pillow the is higher in the back, lower in the front helps alot. I too worried about mets, but then took a different job with a much shorter commute and the pain is gone most days, unless I do an activity that aggrevates it. Mets pain does not come and go.

Could it be bursitis? I have it in my right hip and your symptoms kind of sound like bursitis. I am not on any anti-hormonal, and had mild bursitis before chemo but it got a little worse after. I've also fallen on my bike a couple of times right on my hip which probably hasn't helped. Try icing and see if that helps. Something sticks in my head that if it is pain that never goes away for two weeks it should be investigated.

Even an x-ray can rule out mets. I threw out my lower back in Dec. and then after working out last month had some deep muscle pulls. Both times I had x-rays to rule out spinal and rib fractures or metastatic lesions. An ultrasound can confirm a diagnosis of bursitis.

Bone mets pain is constant. AIs like the Arimidex you’re on are notorious for causing or aggravating joint pain because they deplete estrogen and mimic or exacerbate the symptoms of aging. If you have a tendency to osteoarthritis it’s likely that the AI is accelerating it. And muscle aches can be from holding one position too long or unconsciously changing stance or gait to ease joint pains. If you get intermittent dull bone aches, try taking loratidine (Claritin)—or if you already take a different antihistamine for allergies, switch to loratidine.

A couple of years ago I had awful hip pain, by the end of the day I could hardly walk-literally hobbling around. I have rheumatoid arthritis but this pain was very different from that. My MO sent me for a scan and it was bursitis, no mets. I was given a round of steroids and it felt much much better.

Scaredashell and Loriio, I know how you felt. My hip pain scared me because it was a different pain than I'd ever dealt with and it got worse. Thankfully most of our scary symptoms turn out to be just normal (albeit painful!) conditions.

hmm I've never even heard of thermography. What happened with that?

Chisandy....how does loratadine help?