Avastin & shoulder pain ?

peterz54
peterz54 Member Posts: 341
in Colorectal Cancer #1
after 12 treatments of FOLFOX 6 with Avastin (at about 400 mg) my wife has started on Avastin only. The initial dose 4 days ago was a about 1100 mg. Today she exhibted extreme shoulder pain (very top of shoulder) for the first time.

I have read some older forum posts which seem to correlate Avastin usage to shoulder and joint pain, or to generalized pain.

Has anyone obtained a physicians perspective? is Avastin the likely cause, and if so, are there interventions other than pain meds?

thank you,

peter

Comments

  • LivinginNH
    LivinginNH Member Posts: 1,456 Member
    #2
    Hi Peter,
    Yes, Rick has been
    Hi Peter,

    Yes, Rick has been having shoulder pain in his left shoulder, sometimes both at once, ever since he started on Avastin. The onc didn't really address it since it's not bone cancer, so his primary doc gave him muscle relaxers, but they don't seem to work. He usually just takes ibuprofen for the pain. However, he went to an acupuncturist on Friday who told him the intestinal pain will often cause a nerve in the shoulder to act up. This information rang true for me from personal experience. I can attest that whenever I get stomach cramps, my left shoulder immediately starts to ache! And when the stomach pain goes away, the shoulder pains is gone too. This was why I kept my mouth shut when he told me that she placed three seeds in his ear to press 20 times at four times per day. I have no idea why.... And I currently have some weird looking chinese roots in the fridge to make tea with. The resulting tea tastes god awful, but it's supposed to heal the intestines. Last week my Chinese boss brought a drink in for me to give to Rick, and wouldn't you know it was the very same tea! His tasted and smelled better though - but they've had a few centuries to perfect it. ;-) I think it's called something like a "5 vegetable tea".

    Take care, and I hope that you're feeling better,
    Cynthia
  • dmdwins
    dmdwins Member Posts: 454 Member
    #3
    LivinginNH said:

    Hi Peter,
    Yes, Rick has been
    Hi Peter,

    Yes, Rick has been having shoulder pain in his left shoulder, sometimes both at once, ever since he started on Avastin. The onc didn't really address it since it's not bone cancer, so his primary doc gave him muscle relaxers, but they don't seem to work. He usually just takes ibuprofen for the pain. However, he went to an acupuncturist on Friday who told him the intestinal pain will often cause a nerve in the shoulder to act up. This information rang true for me from personal experience. I can attest that whenever I get stomach cramps, my left shoulder immediately starts to ache! And when the stomach pain goes away, the shoulder pains is gone too. This was why I kept my mouth shut when he told me that she placed three seeds in his ear to press 20 times at four times per day. I have no idea why.... And I currently have some weird looking chinese roots in the fridge to make tea with. The resulting tea tastes god awful, but it's supposed to heal the intestines. Last week my Chinese boss brought a drink in for me to give to Rick, and wouldn't you know it was the very same tea! His tasted and smelled better though - but they've had a few centuries to perfect it. ;-) I think it's called something like a "5 vegetable tea".

    Take care, and I hope that you're feeling better,
    Cynthia

    Please Mention it to you Onc
    Please mention it to your oncologist. It may very well be nothing....but a few years back on my first treatment of Avastin alone after 6months of Folfox I started having shoulder pain and also did have some discomfort when taking in a deep breath...turns out I had a pulmonary embolis(blood clot) and pretty big lung infarct.... no more avastin for me.

    Not trying to scare you, just wanting you to be cautious.

    Dawn
  • LivinginNH
    LivinginNH Member Posts: 1,456 Member
    #4
    dmdwins said:

    Please Mention it to you Onc
    Please mention it to your oncologist. It may very well be nothing....but a few years back on my first treatment of Avastin alone after 6months of Folfox I started having shoulder pain and also did have some discomfort when taking in a deep breath...turns out I had a pulmonary embolis(blood clot) and pretty big lung infarct.... no more avastin for me.

    Not trying to scare you, just wanting you to be cautious.

    Dawn

    Thanks, Dawn, I mentioned

    Thanks, Dawn, I mentioned that to Rick just be to safe. (And I apologize for my prior rambling post - I now know not to post at 11:30pm when I'm sleep deprived!) :-D
  • golf_gal
    golf_gal Member Posts: 69
    #5
    LivinginNH said:

    Thanks, Dawn, I mentioned

    Thanks, Dawn, I mentioned that to Rick just be to safe. (And I apologize for my prior rambling post - I now know not to post at 11:30pm when I'm sleep deprived!) :-D

    nsaids and avastin
    Check with onc if ibuprofen is ok. I was told no nsaids while on avastin. I'm not home but I feel certain it was avastin. If I'm wrong I will make correction tomorrow after I get home from Moffitt.

    Jamie
  • steved
    steved Member Posts: 834 Member
    #6
    Get it checked
    Shoulder pain is a funny thing because whilst a lot of the causes are due to shoulder problems a significant number is due to 'referred pain' where the pathology is elsewhere and the pain is felt in the shoulder because of the say we are wired (the Chinese doc described above has it spot on). These can often be things around the diaphragm- so liver, gall bladder and stomach problems can lead to shoulder pain. With avastin one has to be alert to any signs of bleeding anywhere and (though it is unlikely as a cause in your situation) these can occur in these organs.
    I think it is unlikely to be serious but definitely get it checked as shoulder pain without a history of trauma needs checking.

    Let us know what the docs say as it seems others have had it too.
    steve
  • peterz54
    peterz54 Member Posts: 341
    #7
    thanks everyone
    I have read about referred pain elsewhere too. My wife and I will definitely discuss with her oncologist.
  • Kathryn_in_MN
    Kathryn_in_MN Member Posts: 1,252 Member
    #8
    peterz54 said:

    thanks everyone
    I have read about referred pain elsewhere too. My wife and I will definitely discuss with her oncologist.

    Shoulder pain
    You mentioned extreme shoulder pain starting 3 days ago. If she still has the pain, at the same level or worse, this is NOT something to just put on a list to discuss at the next appointment with the oncologist. PLEASE call NOW.

    My shoulder pain (while on FOLFIRI and Avastin) was due to a blood clot in my subclavien vein (near my port). That wasn't quite as dangerous as the blood clot in my lungs while on FOLFOX, which gave me chest pain, but still is not something to mess around with.

    My port was on the left, and my pain was in my left shoulder, and it radiated down my back. I just ignored it for quite a while until it got really bad. That was not smart...
  • peterz54
    peterz54 Member Posts: 341
    #9
    Kathryn_in_MN said:

    Shoulder pain
    You mentioned extreme shoulder pain starting 3 days ago. If she still has the pain, at the same level or worse, this is NOT something to just put on a list to discuss at the next appointment with the oncologist. PLEASE call NOW.

    My shoulder pain (while on FOLFIRI and Avastin) was due to a blood clot in my subclavien vein (near my port). That wasn't quite as dangerous as the blood clot in my lungs while on FOLFOX, which gave me chest pain, but still is not something to mess around with.

    My port was on the left, and my pain was in my left shoulder, and it radiated down my back. I just ignored it for quite a while until it got really bad. That was not smart...

    thanks Kathryn
    have discussed with Onc and arranged for scans asap...

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