ONGOING JOINT PAIN POST CHEMO

I've got tendonitis in my ankles and knees, myalgia in my leg muscles and general soreness everywhere--of most concern is the pain in my hip. I don't know what happens elsewhere, but up here the post treatment scans are kept to a minimum--they are costly and really not that good for you. Things may have changed since my last trip on the cancer train, but back then there were no routine scans and nothing was done unless there was good cause to think there was a problem.

I've finally managed to secure some physio, so we've decided to give that a go and see if it makes any difference to my hip. If it hasn't improved in a month I'll probably have another bone scan.

I'm blaming the Docetaxol for the majority of the misery--on the great scheme of 'everyone is different' it seems I've had a bad reaction to it. I was fine for 3 rounds then after my last dose in March I woke up one morning and literally couldn't walk. It happened that quickly. I'm now on Femara which is also notorious for seizing up feet and ankles and accelerating osteoporosis. Sadly, I'm thinking this is going to be my lot in life--getting rid of my ovaries certainly will have an ongoing effect as well as even post menopause most women still produce a few hormones until their mid sixties.

Regarding the elbow pain, that could well be classic, old fashioned tennis elbow ( one type of tendonitis). I use a strap which you put around your arm just below the elbow to reduce the strain on the tendons when I'm doing something which will aggravate it--that's worth a try, you can buy them from the chemist, they work for me and they are not expensive.

Things have generally improved since March, but I'm feeling pretty beat up. I'm taking a variety of supplements including turmeric, magnesium and Glucosamine all of which are 'supposed' to help with inflammation and muscle pain. I don't know if they are working or it's just time and exercise making a difference. I could well have the most expensive wee in Victoria and getting no benefit from it. This is a shit of a disease.