Joint Pain & Neuropathy Post Chemo

[Lee]

I too have hip pain as a result of chemo, radiation, etc. My hip area is checked every 2 yrs for bone loss and we know it's just a matter of time before I starting taking bone loss medicine, (Boniva, etc). I currently take the Viactiv chews to help with my bone loss and taking these chews have helped ease my pain some. I also found walking to be effective; for is I sit to long, when I do get up I get achy achy hip joint area.

Lee

[arniew2001]

The joint pain unfortunately will be there for quite some time, but in some people, it tends to lessen as time goes on. I have had chemo and I was very fortunate and never got severe symptoms, but I did have some at times. I found that a hot bath eased the discomfort for me most of the time. If a particular area was bothering me, I would use a heating pad in those areas. I found that it gave me some relief. I have heard that some people found relief with just the oposite of what I did and that was cold compresses or ice bags. I guess each person is affected differently. I was also placed on a calcium regimen together with D3 to help absorb the calcium. The vitamin D is an important part of the calcium therapy. I hope that this helps.

[bluewillow]

I completed 12 rounds of folfox in mid April. I had a lot of issues with neuropathy, but none so severe as the excruciating pain in my bones, from my hips all the way down my legs....(not just joints) that would just come out of nowhere. Pain meds weren't touching it...unless I eventually took enough to knock me out. 2 months out, I still have it, though not as frequently. What has been most effective for me is ice packs and elevating my legs....and good mattress support. It's a nuisance and I was sometimes having to change ice packs frequently and use them in several places at once, but they did help. For me, these "attacks" usually hit at night or when I am relaxed. I still get weird sensations of other kinds out of nowhere, too. For example, a few nights ago, for no apparent reason, my lower lip, inside and out, went numb...as if I'd had a shot of novacaine. Freaks me out when these things happen because I never know if they're related to the chemo, the cancer or something else, or if they're going to go away and when. Fortunately, that went away after about 24 hours.

One thing I discovered near the end of my treatments was a supplement called "Nerve Support Formula" designed specifically for neuropathy. It is a fat soluble B-complex + that has had a lot of positive reviews. The company is very supportive as well. It was too close to the tail end for me to be a good judge of its effectiveness, but I would definitely use it again if I found myself facing chemo again. You can purchase it online direct from the company....which I believe is called the Wellness Support Network."