Knuckles stiffness in hands especially after I just wake up

Options
Toyamjj
Toyamjj Member Posts: 151
edited May 2019 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

I first felt it in one finger on my left hand and now for the past two weeks I'm starting to notice it in two fingers on my right. Could this be a side effect from lupron and anastrozole? Or could it be something more serious? I want to my primary care doc on Thursday and she ran blood work to see if I could have rheumatoid arthritis and as luck would have it I am able to see my tests online but of course its a holiday weekend and no one to interrupt the report till Tuesday, ugh.

· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 4,800
    edited May 2019

    you don't say how old you are but depending on age, it's just as likely to be just plain old aging and osteoarthritis & not something we can blame on the cancer or treatments.

    I had osteo in my thumb and toe even before I got diagnosed. I started showing symptoms like the morning stiffness when I was around 48. My doctor said that hardly anyone gets to 50 with some osteoarthritis somewhere and whether we feel it or how painful it is, is what varies from person to person.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Toyamjj
    Toyamjj Member Posts: 151
    edited May 2019

    Im 44, on a different note how do I include my age in my diagnosis?

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 4,800
    edited May 2019

    re the age in sigline, I did it by using the signature field (from left hand menu: settings>signature) ; you can put in any extra info in there that doesn't show in the other fields

    I hope your sore fingers turn out to be mild osteoarthritis as that is really the most benign dx (well, apart form maybe you're sleeping on your arm funny at night and crushing it??) . Rheumatoid would be a much more serious thing but that usually presents as bilateral ...

    & I have heard that hormonal therapy can make symptoms of OA worse so that would add up

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • ShetlandPony
    ShetlandPony Member Posts: 4,924
    edited May 2019

    I think it could be a side effect of Lupron and anastrazole. All three anti-estrogen therapies I have been on gave me some degree of stiffness/pain, and letrozole (an aromatase inhibitor, like anastrazole) was the worst of the three. In the morning I would have to slowly bend my fingers, then wave them, as a sort of warm-up. This helped a lot. Then again during the day, after any period of inactivity, I had to do the warm-up again. My index fingers were the most sore. My oncologist said this was a side effect, and that it was not permanent damage. Indeed, now that I am off anti-estrogens, the stiffness and pain is gone. Besides movement, I recommend anti-inflammatory foods such as wild salmon (omega3) and ginger tea.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • gb2115
    gb2115 Member Posts: 1,894
    edited May 2019

    I have joint pain, tendon pain and muscle pain from tamoxifen. It's definitely the medication and I have had multiple docs agree. Blood work all negative, I am only 40, so not from aging. Orthopedics said I need to accept being in pain. :-(

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Toyamjj
    Toyamjj Member Posts: 151
    edited May 2019

    Yes clearly this is bought on by the medicine, I just ran out a bought vitamin D3 5000, I read that may help us with joint pain?

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • illimae
    illimae Member Posts: 5,710
    edited May 2019

    Yes, it from estrogen suppression/blockers. My MO recommended glucosamine, which helps a lot. I didn’t notice it much until I missed two days, never again.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Toyamjj
    Toyamjj Member Posts: 151
    edited May 2019

    Illmae, Just googled it thanks for the recommendation. I'll run back out and get some today, I feel as though that each day goes by it gets worse so I don't want to have too many more days off doing nothing.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories