Joint pain

Kristalynne

I’m receiving Keytruda infusions every 3 weeks.

My knees and hips are hurting.

I’ve read Keytruda can cause joint pain.

I’m using cold / heat packs on my right knee which is swollen and difficult to bend.

Any suggestions on how to reduce the joint pain?

MAbound

Hi, it' a holiday weekend, so that may be why nobody has responded yet. The other thing to also remember is that nobody here is an oncologist that I know of and won't be able to address this issue for you specifically. Icing your joints is all well and good, but I'd still call whatever number you were given to report this issue. They may just say keep doing what you are doing or have different tricks in their bag to help you. This could also be a sign of a more serious immune-related adverse event that your oncologist needs to know is brewing. Nobody ever wants to make a call when the office is closed for a holiday, but there is usually someone knowledgeable manning the lines to handle issues just like you are dealing with. Go ahead a call rather than continue to suffer with this.

Kristalynne

Thank you MaBound. I will call.

Kim25

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/328725/joint-pain

I’m glad you are calling. Everyone is different

Also I’m on a different immunotherapy.
My joints are doing the same thing only it’s my hands and shoulders. Nurses said take max dose of Advil for a couple days to try to decrease the swelling. It helps but I can’t do that for too long or I get other issues.

Hang in there and hope you find some relief. So far I’m not having much luck with pain relief but am adjusting to the new version of me. Thankful that I’m able to get treatment.

NoTimeForCancer

Thanks MaBound for keeping your eye on the page! As always, I would concur with your thoughts and just want to post to give my support to Kristalynne.

Thank you too, Kim25. With the treatment shift to immunotherapies, it is always good to hear from those who are going through it to help others.

Kristalynne

Thank you, Kim25. I called my team about my knee pain. They continued to recommend heat/cold. They also prescribed prednisone 5 mg daily to reduce the inflammation. I started the prednisone yesterday. My knee hurts today but my team said to give the prednisone a week or so to provide relief. My oncologist said that 5 mg daily is a small enough dosage not to adversely affect my Keytruda treatments. She also recommended Diclofenac liquid drops to rub into my knee to reduce inflammation . I tried the drops but they haven’t had an effect on the pain yet. Fingers crossed they will help.

Like you, I am grateful for treatment. I’m sorry you’re have no pain in your hands and shoulders. Maybe talk to your team about prednisone or diclofenac.

Keep up the good work!

Kristalynne

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1719268#Comment_1719268

Thanks Kim 25.

I apologize if you’re getting a duplicate message from me. I thought I sent you a message 5 minutes ago but I don’t see it posted.

I called my team about my knee pain (possibly from immunotherapy) and was prescribed 5 mg daily dose of prednisone to reduce inflammation. My oncologist said 5 mg is a small enough dose not to affect the effectiveness of my Keytruda treatments. She also prescribed Diclofenac drops to rub into my knee to reduce inflammation.

I just started both prednisone and diclofenac yesterday and so far haven’t felt relief in knee pain. Fingers crossed I will get some relief after a week of use.

Like you I am grateful for treatment and am willing to endure discomfort but am hoping I can get some relief from the knee pain.

Kim25

Thank you.

Lauraeg10

interested to know if Diclofenac liquid drops have worked for anyone. I haven’t found anything that works for my knee inflammation, pain and stiffness from keytruda.

Venuestes

I’ve had bouts of knee and hip aches on treatment too, and it can feel like you suddenly aged overnight. What helped me was stretching gently a few times a day and keeping track of which days the pain peaked. I also found it useful to learn here for figuring out options others use for pain relief. Sometimes even small tweaks make the rough days a bit easier.

NoTimeForCancer

Venuestes, thank you for coming and adding information for everyone. As you found the thread, others will in the future.

I am hoping someone comes along and can add some answers for you.

Kim25

Hi-

Have not used Diclofenac (allergy to ingredients). My nurse recommended it too.

I have lots of pain (immunotherapy dostarlamab) in various joints. The pain seems to resolve mostly and then move to another unrelated joint.

I saw a Physical Therapist for left hand/wrist pain and she helped me. What was great is she was really invested in my recovery. We noticed that what would have helped a normal patient (think it was 14 appointments) - my issues took twice as long to resolve in that hand. *I was originally not wanting PT because didn't think it could help but I was wrong…so if you can get it…maybe consider trying it?

Surgery was recommended because both Tyroid and Menopause issues can cause these types of pain (De Quervain's tenosynovitis & trigger finger), however I'm not that brave about surgery so - I've stuck with PT and happy how it's gone. My left is almost normal.

Good luck & please keep asking your team for help.