Musculoskeletal pain

Liz-To me if you've had musculoskeletal pain in your shoulder's it does not seem unusual to have

it in the neck if you think of all the muscles and nerves that they have in common and that are  needed to affect your movement.

Don't know where you live but, I live in Pennsylvania and I can tell you my musculoskeletal pain has worsened with the change in seasons.  You can tell the weather by my body.  I've become a human barometer.  And you are right on schedule with the femara pain---About 3 months in when it started to be a real concern.

I think there is a little voice in the back of your head that tells you when a pain is really out of the ordinary for you--more than just arthritic or musculoskeletal----or if its lasting too long.

But if your pain is so generalized and the same degree all over Femara is the likely culprit. A few years ago I thought Arimidex would be worse but I've changed my mind.  They are both

nasty.   

Liz,

I know what you mean!  I've been on Femara and Fosamax for 8 months and have experienced weird pains all over my body.  I take the Femara at bedtime and sometimes in the middle of the night I'll be woken up by throbbing pains in seemingly random spots on my person.  Sometimes in my knees, sometimes in the area around my mastectomy, sometimes in my ribs, etc.  So of course I'm lying there thinking, is it mets?  By morning the pains are usually gone and I'm a little less hysterical.  I also have joint pain and stiffness that comes and goes, especially after sitting or lying down for a while.  My daughter calls it my Frankenstein walk.  But none of my pain is what I would call continuous, and I can usually tame it with Advil or Aleve.  I think that's what distinguishes met pain from Femara pain.  And some of the pain has, over time, just become familiar to me (and I've had scans and blood tests that indicate no cancer).  But I too have thought how ironic it is that the medication that we take to keep bone mets away causes very similar symptoms.  I've never considered not taking the Femara, but it certainly sucks that we have to endure these painful side effects!

       

Amy

Wow.  All I can say is ditto!!!!!  Thanks to all of you for letting me know that I am not a hypochondriac.  My story is exactly like yours, LizM, except that my oncologist thought that my pain might be better on Femara than it was on Arimidex.  Not true.  Hang in there, everyone.

Hi Liz and Ladies,



We understand your worry, Liz, also taking these AI's. It's enough to make you worry, sensing the intensity of the muscle aches, and the bone aches which seem to accompany them.



The neck of course, is a paramount place in the body to reflect the "S" word, as in stress. And for we women it often shows in the neck. Hold your neck in a peculiar position, and the next thing you know it, your paraspinal neck muscles are tense, then your shoulder muscles (deltoid, rhomboid, lat dorsi, etc..) start a flittering. Soon it just is one big knot of a kink, and you're reaching for the Advil every 6 to 8 hours.



So, how about a little Spa therapy for you, Liz? Know any friends with a hot tub? Add some epsom salts and sit for a bit with your shoulders in and wow, they'll relax. Then some heat at night via a heating pad. Even a short term prescription of some Flexeril works wonders for muscle spasm. And by all means, try to look inward to seeing what else may be tensing you out. Perhaps you want to try the Arimidex again. Of the 3 AI's, the advice is to switch until you find the one with the lowest SE's. I'm almost up on my Arimidex 5 years, and boy do I not want to start switching around in spite of my SE's.



Lastly, very doubtful, but are you having any arm heaviness on the affected side? LE can creep in, 30% fluid expansion without clinical pick up and it certainly puts strain on our shoulder and neck. Just a thought.



I feel for you Liz...

Tender

I first tried the inhibitors,,,Aromasin, then Arimidex.  The bone pain was so bad I told my oncon no way was I taking them.  He put me on tamoxifen even though I am post menupausel.  I have pain with it also and it seems to be increasing as the months go by,  I have been on it since April.  It is the joints in my hands and feet that hurt the worst,  Plus the usual lack on energy.  I think all of them have there draw backs.  I told my Oncon I would give it a year,,,then decided if it is worth the pain.  Quality of life has to count all so!

Good luck

Steph

Liz,

could you give us more info on that study you've read regarding rotor cuff tendonitis (Spell?) as I am having a rough time for a few weeks in my upper left shoulder, where the collarbone meets the shoulder and I am now wondering if this could be caused by Arimidex, too?! What else is next??? Thanks.

Hi there everyone..I was on tamoxifen for a year and then switched to Arimidex for four years and the fosamax for two..I finished up a year ago with the AIs..I too had the pain on the arimidex...but it became less invasive after a time..I had a frozen shoulder while I was on it...but I figured it was worth it to me...I say switch to the one you can handle the best..

Hi Liz...it did take a while for the pain to go away after I stopped...and now every once in a while it still aches.. I still take FosamaxD..I tried stopping it for about a year, but it seems I still need it...I was in natural menopause when I started the Arimidex and it seemed to make me go thru it once again..but then they put me on neurontin for my neuropathy and it stopped the hot flashes...

One thing that really helped with muscle/joint pain was an antiinflammatory gel called Voltaren..I got it in Europe but they can make it here in a formulary pharmacy with a RX...my niece is a pharmacist in Canada and they made it for the Canadian Olympic Team...anyhow it is put out across the counter in Europe, so when any of my friends takes a trip there I ask them to get me a couple of tubes...Now all the people here use it for arthriitis etc... worth a looksee...

When I started the arimidex my bone density was way above average but plummeted after 18 months on it...good thing to have it checked often, I think..

I’m happy that I found your post. I started Anastrozole January 1. The past several weeks, I’ve experienced upper headaches with back pain between my shoulder blades and tightness in my neck shoulders and jaw, all on the right side of my body (opposite side as breast cancer). My oncologist has recommended that I stop taking the Anastrozole for two weeks to see if it is SE of the medicine. I have found it hard not to be anxious over new aches and pains. Trying to learn a new normal. Has anyone else ever experienced similar se on Anastrozole as mine?

tendon ruptures rare side effect of NCbI.nih.gov