Arthritis after Chemo

NJMom10 said:

I had pain before, stopped during and severe pain after
First of all Jendry, your comments about your oncologist and his evil minions had me rolling on the floor! It always drove me nuts to be told that my symptoms were just 'normal'!

Second, I am kind of relieved to hear that some of you were told your arthritis would get better during the chemo and worse after. I've had back and neck pain off and on over the past 2 years. My assumption was that it's arthritis but I never really knew for sure. I found it got remarkably better when I was on chemo, no problems at all. But when I stopped chemo, the pain was so severe I could hardly stand up. Since the BC diagnosis I worry that everything is cancer related now. So I was convinced I had a tumor on my back and that the chemo shrank it and now it's back! Now I realize, it's probably just the arthritis.

And about the arthritis, anything that lowers estrogen can help along arthritis and/or osteoporosis. Chemo and all the after drugs...tamoxifen, armidex are 'estrogen lowering', 'forcing us into menopause' causing drugs. And that can increase our risk for arthritis.

For me, I find that exercise and trying to reduce weight helps me. I was in severe pain a few weeks ago. I forced myself to the gym and through some strength training regimens and I feel much better...not perfect, but better. We'll see as time goes on.

Finally answers I have

Finally answers I have horrible lower back hip bone pain had to have chemo 2 times within 2 years yes just as hair looking good outfit came again. No one ham answer this pain!! I take oxycodone 1-2 times daily power thru the pain n walk 4-5 miles daily but that is it for my day

womdering yo if some of this is from Herceptin still on til it stops working

fiag 2010 IBC met to spine 2012

thanks for reading

be well friends

Pain, Pain, go away...come again...never.

I also had the same trealament last year. I was diagnosed with Stage 3A breast cancer at age 35. I was very sick the prior year with hives & swelling under armpits & behind my knees. No doctor could figure out why? I was in chronic pain too. I went to many doctors & tried acupuncture & nothing helped. I ended up in hospital several times for swelling, hives & pain. They would put me on steroids & I was on them for over a year! I couldnt eat hardly any foods without having a reaction & I felt my body shutting down but had no idea what to do? After I felt a large lump in my left armpit, I contacted my doctor & had immedie imaging. Mammogram & ultra sound showed lumps in left breast (I couldn't feel) & large swollen lymph node. They did a biopsy the following week & on 3/27/13 told me I had cancer. The next day I was talking to a surgeon about a plan. I went through many tests due to chronic pain. Thank the good Lord above it was only in my breast & armpit! I had a left mastectomy & 14 lymph nodes removed. 15 positive cancerous tumors removed. I started physical therapy 2 weeks post op due to losing my range of motion in my left arm. About 60%!! I went twice a week and I'm still going. I had surgery 4/21/13 & found out I was allergic to nerve pain medication. Gamapentin. I was already taking Vicodin the previous year, so I needed stronger pain meds. I was on Oxycotin, percocets & Tramadorevetments recently was added. I also stated chemo A/C for times & 10 weekly Taxol for a total if 14 chemo treatment! I was suppose to have 12 Taxol but the neurophathy in my hands & feet were becoming severe.

 

My Onc told me it could be permanent & I stopped treatment early. 6 months if chemo from 5/21/13-10/7/13 the following week I was mapped for radiation and began that in November. I had 35 sessions. I was doing ok until the end & got really burnt! I ended treatments on 12/26/13 and thought that was the day my life would go back to normal!!!!!!!!!! Sad to say I was in bad shape & the fatigue hit me hard. I was down most of Jan/Feb and started coming around in March. My husband took my kids & I too Hawaii to celebrate my survivorship 4/15-4/20 and I have to say that was the BEST I've felt in 3 years!!!! soaking in the heat & sun, floating in the salt water, relaxing & not thinking about cancer with my family all happy was so fabulous & needed! I still couldn't function without my pain meds but I felt so good! When I returned I was energetic & finally feeling a breakthrough from pain. Eveyday I wake up & take pain meds to move. All day & at night. It's 12:43 and I already took my regiment adding in muscle relaxers and still I ache. This month I feel I'm sliding backwards despite my efforts. I go to physical therapy, gentle yoga (as much as I can), I walk 30 mins a day, drink a ton of water, eat organic! I have a garden So I know it's organic! Lol. But I feel bad. All day I ache. My hands & feet hurt. I'm so tied of pain meds & feeling toxic. I try not to google read side effects to drugs because it's so scary. I finally googled "pain after chemo" hens stumbled upon this site. I know I'm only 5 month post treatments but I find it discouraging to start feelig better & now I'm sliding back. I haven't been painfree since 2010! I really want to be pain free & off pall these strong drugs. My feet hurt (right toenail was removed during chemo do to it becoming infected. It was so painful having the foot specialist removed my entire toenail  because of the nerve damage) I'm still in pain from that!!!!!

 

I'm sorry we all are in pain! I've heard that it take two years to really start feeling better after chemo? I was taking tamoxifen but honestly I feel so bad on that medicine I just can't take it. I fear taking it & I fear NOT taking it. The quality of life after cancer is hard enough for me. I have major nerve damage where my mastectomy was & under my arm always swells & hurts. Tamoxifen caused me to feel extremely sad, headaches, nightmares (when I could actually sleep), weight gain (after 2 years if steroids & pain I've gain 50 unwanted pounds & really want to lose it) painful sex, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, hot flashes, and more. My Onc wanted me to try half in morning & half at night to see if it would help with feeling sick. She also wanted me to anti-nausea pills (Same ones I had during chemo which I hate the thought of taking them again) and also Xanex at night to sleep. I forgot to say I've been on Ativan since they told me I had cancer for anxiety. Panic attacks. So I'm on all these addictive drugs! I hate it! But if I don't take them I feel like I would be in a wheelchair...crippled in pain. I'm not on here feeling sorry for myself or complaining. Just giving the facts. I'm very blessed & I celebrate the little victories. I just have to talk to others who understand so I don't feel alone. So I don't feel crazy. No one in my family understands. No one really knows how I feel. It's hard. I know time heals, but I'm one of those people that try to fix things. I want a solution & it's so frustrating that no one can really help us.

 

I'm going to try Chinese medicine now that I'm in remission! Praise The Lord! I want to see if acupuncture can help? Healing tea? Alternative medicine. I just can't keep living life drugged on pain meds & still in pain. There has to be a better way!! If I find it, I will def share. i did have a bone scan in Dec 2013 and it was clean. I also had a PET scan prior to treatments so I have a peace of mind it's not all over my body. It's def hard though to move forward from treatments & be a survivor yet feel so bad. They give you great tools & support during your fight! Amazing! I'm so grateful for my amazing surgeon & Onc & radiation & physical therapy. But the healing process lacks knowledge & support both physically & mentally. I'm not a writer but I really want to write a book on the healing process. Even if it's just a mental preparation for what to expect after treatments that NO ONE prepares you for! Everyone just focuses on the last treatment day(including yourself) & no one feels the "normal switch" click on. You realize wait?! I'm only half way done! I did the fight & won! Praise God! But now I have to heal? Isn't that frustrating. No one told me two more years. Pain. Aches. More meds! No one prepared my mind!! I thought I was done! I want my life back! I have kids that need me well & my energy & my mind. I've had TERRIBLE short term memory loss since treatments & my onc said it's partially all the strong drugs & from chemo. Lovely! Anyways enough of my ranting. I'm going to be 37 this summer & I feel like my 75 yr old yoga instructor can run laps around me. I want to be strong, healthy & alive! I want to be painfree!!! Proud of you all & praying for your aches & pains to leave as well Fight! Pray! Win! Phil 4:13

 

my blog: www.fightpraywin.com

I need to update it. My last post was in memory of my dearest grandma....she fought 15 years! She was my heart & inspiration. I just haven't felt like writing since she pasted in Oct. I also lost a friend in Nov...then a college friend in Feb....all to cancer. We are all effected & have heavy hearts. I'm grieving the lost of myself, along with the loss of my family friends.

 

Time heals...

xoxo

Sole'

 

 

 

 

 

 

betsyreececancer said:

I am 70.  Have breast cancer

I am 70.  Have breast cancer Hers 1 positive.  Was not conscience of arthritis before radiation.  Did get peripheral neuropathy after taxol.

Severe cramping, muscle spamism, charlie Horse seems to be helped by magnium.  I use Calm (brand name) sold in health food stores.

It helps the cramping.  Other things that help.  Cottage cheese mixed with fish oil.  Strange, I was having allergic reactions to dairy before

cancer, but now the food allergy seems lighter.  What else as helped?  Wormwood extract with iron.  Only use once a week.  There are articles

about these suggestions.  Google wormwood to find references.  I am light on using it because wormwood contains thudja.  Dr. Budwig came up

with the cottage cheese and fish oil idea.  Cold pressed fish oil by Carlsons.   Hope this helps you.

Betsy

 

I am glad I perused this, as

I am glad I perused this, as I feel as if I have had an increase in cramps:  foot, leg, and thigh.  Sometimes at PT because of the stretches,  I start to get cramps on the torso side where my arm/shoulder getting the attention are.  Someone at work recommended magnesium to me.  I may give thst a try.

creampuff91344 said:

Same here!
Well girls. I guess we all must be missing some brain cells, because arthritis seems to be a common link to having chemo. However, oncologists MUST be right when they say that chemo can't be the cause of pain. I had six rounds of TAC back in 2008, and 40 rounds of radiation. Started Femara and then stopped after 4 months because I literally couldn't get up and down because of pain in my left hip. Started Tamoxifen, and the pain got even worse. Now, three years later, I use a chiropractor, massage therapist, hot tub theraphy, and lots of walking and bicycling to keep myself mobile. I have taken every test, CAT scan, MRI, bone scan, etc, that they offer, and nothing shows up as a reason for my pain. So, I have diagnosed myself.....the chemo has caused me to turn into an old lady way before my time. It does help to use all the crutches I have chosen, but I still have a hard time getting out of bed, getting out of a chair or car after sitting a long time, and walk stiff legged (no akkle or knee break) because of pain. However, I am alive to tell this story, so guess I will just stop complaining and learn to use the sources available to keep me going. Good luck everyone. Just wish the doctors would recognize that there MAY be a link to chemo and all of the joint and muscle pain we suffer. Hugs, Judy

You just told my story

You just told my story exactually! I am so glad/sad that I am not the only one. God bless. 

robarue said:

arthritis after chemo, YES

I had a frozen shoulder 7 yrs before I got breast cancer & it was mostly gone until after 4 rds of chemo (taxotere, cytoxin)it came back 1 yr after chemo. I'm 3 yrs cancer free now! But had MRI on shoulder today & now have osteoarthritis in shoulder & bone spur now. Exercise is imperative. It would be frozen again if I hadn't been doing low impact aerobics with stretchy band. Guess they can put this down as a late term SE of chemo. Don't give up, see a sports medicine Dr., cortisone shots will help & physical therapy at home! They will show u the exercises to do. Had in my finger/wrist too after chemo but exercise & 1 cortisone shot took care of it in 3 months, hasn't bothered me in 2 yrs now.

Yes. Started the year after chemo 2003.
I was 45, had none b4 chemo. Was on celebrax for a while. It was good in the summer but when cold, rain or snow hit I can hardly move. Was told it had nothing to do with chemo, they never heard it did? Yet so many others who had cancer asked me the same question in the last 12 years.
Since stage iv and years of chemo, it has been unbearable, was taking Ibupro. but had to stop due to clots and coumadin. So regardless of what drs say, I say it absolutely started with chemo.

Sole4Sole said:

Pain, Pain, go away...come again...never.

I also had the same trealament last year. I was diagnosed with Stage 3A breast cancer at age 35. I was very sick the prior year with hives & swelling under armpits & behind my knees. No doctor could figure out why? I was in chronic pain too. I went to many doctors & tried acupuncture & nothing helped. I ended up in hospital several times for swelling, hives & pain. They would put me on steroids & I was on them for over a year! I couldnt eat hardly any foods without having a reaction & I felt my body shutting down but had no idea what to do? After I felt a large lump in my left armpit, I contacted my doctor & had immedie imaging. Mammogram & ultra sound showed lumps in left breast (I couldn't feel) & large swollen lymph node. They did a biopsy the following week & on 3/27/13 told me I had cancer. The next day I was talking to a surgeon about a plan. I went through many tests due to chronic pain. Thank the good Lord above it was only in my breast & armpit! I had a left mastectomy & 14 lymph nodes removed. 15 positive cancerous tumors removed. I started physical therapy 2 weeks post op due to losing my range of motion in my left arm. About 60%!! I went twice a week and I'm still going. I had surgery 4/21/13 & found out I was allergic to nerve pain medication. Gamapentin. I was already taking Vicodin the previous year, so I needed stronger pain meds. I was on Oxycotin, percocets & Tramadorevetments recently was added. I also stated chemo A/C for times & 10 weekly Taxol for a total if 14 chemo treatment! I was suppose to have 12 Taxol but the neurophathy in my hands & feet were becoming severe.

 

My Onc told me it could be permanent & I stopped treatment early. 6 months if chemo from 5/21/13-10/7/13 the following week I was mapped for radiation and began that in November. I had 35 sessions. I was doing ok until the end & got really burnt! I ended treatments on 12/26/13 and thought that was the day my life would go back to normal!!!!!!!!!! Sad to say I was in bad shape & the fatigue hit me hard. I was down most of Jan/Feb and started coming around in March. My husband took my kids & I too Hawaii to celebrate my survivorship 4/15-4/20 and I have to say that was the BEST I've felt in 3 years!!!! soaking in the heat & sun, floating in the salt water, relaxing & not thinking about cancer with my family all happy was so fabulous & needed! I still couldn't function without my pain meds but I felt so good! When I returned I was energetic & finally feeling a breakthrough from pain. Eveyday I wake up & take pain meds to move. All day & at night. It's 12:43 and I already took my regiment adding in muscle relaxers and still I ache. This month I feel I'm sliding backwards despite my efforts. I go to physical therapy, gentle yoga (as much as I can), I walk 30 mins a day, drink a ton of water, eat organic! I have a garden So I know it's organic! Lol. But I feel bad. All day I ache. My hands & feet hurt. I'm so tied of pain meds & feeling toxic. I try not to google read side effects to drugs because it's so scary. I finally googled "pain after chemo" hens stumbled upon this site. I know I'm only 5 month post treatments but I find it discouraging to start feelig better & now I'm sliding back. I haven't been painfree since 2010! I really want to be pain free & off pall these strong drugs. My feet hurt (right toenail was removed during chemo do to it becoming infected. It was so painful having the foot specialist removed my entire toenail  because of the nerve damage) I'm still in pain from that!!!!!

 

I'm sorry we all are in pain! I've heard that it take two years to really start feeling better after chemo? I was taking tamoxifen but honestly I feel so bad on that medicine I just can't take it. I fear taking it & I fear NOT taking it. The quality of life after cancer is hard enough for me. I have major nerve damage where my mastectomy was & under my arm always swells & hurts. Tamoxifen caused me to feel extremely sad, headaches, nightmares (when I could actually sleep), weight gain (after 2 years if steroids & pain I've gain 50 unwanted pounds & really want to lose it) painful sex, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, hot flashes, and more. My Onc wanted me to try half in morning & half at night to see if it would help with feeling sick. She also wanted me to anti-nausea pills (Same ones I had during chemo which I hate the thought of taking them again) and also Xanex at night to sleep. I forgot to say I've been on Ativan since they told me I had cancer for anxiety. Panic attacks. So I'm on all these addictive drugs! I hate it! But if I don't take them I feel like I would be in a wheelchair...crippled in pain. I'm not on here feeling sorry for myself or complaining. Just giving the facts. I'm very blessed & I celebrate the little victories. I just have to talk to others who understand so I don't feel alone. So I don't feel crazy. No one in my family understands. No one really knows how I feel. It's hard. I know time heals, but I'm one of those people that try to fix things. I want a solution & it's so frustrating that no one can really help us.

 

I'm going to try Chinese medicine now that I'm in remission! Praise The Lord! I want to see if acupuncture can help? Healing tea? Alternative medicine. I just can't keep living life drugged on pain meds & still in pain. There has to be a better way!! If I find it, I will def share. i did have a bone scan in Dec 2013 and it was clean. I also had a PET scan prior to treatments so I have a peace of mind it's not all over my body. It's def hard though to move forward from treatments & be a survivor yet feel so bad. They give you great tools & support during your fight! Amazing! I'm so grateful for my amazing surgeon & Onc & radiation & physical therapy. But the healing process lacks knowledge & support both physically & mentally. I'm not a writer but I really want to write a book on the healing process. Even if it's just a mental preparation for what to expect after treatments that NO ONE prepares you for! Everyone just focuses on the last treatment day(including yourself) & no one feels the "normal switch" click on. You realize wait?! I'm only half way done! I did the fight & won! Praise God! But now I have to heal? Isn't that frustrating. No one told me two more years. Pain. Aches. More meds! No one prepared my mind!! I thought I was done! I want my life back! I have kids that need me well & my energy & my mind. I've had TERRIBLE short term memory loss since treatments & my onc said it's partially all the strong drugs & from chemo. Lovely! Anyways enough of my ranting. I'm going to be 37 this summer & I feel like my 75 yr old yoga instructor can run laps around me. I want to be strong, healthy & alive! I want to be painfree!!! Proud of you all & praying for your aches & pains to leave as well Fight! Pray! Win! Phil 4:13

 

my blog: www.fightpraywin.com

I need to update it. My last post was in memory of my dearest grandma....she fought 15 years! She was my heart & inspiration. I just haven't felt like writing since she pasted in Oct. I also lost a friend in Nov...then a college friend in Feb....all to cancer. We are all effected & have heavy hearts. I'm grieving the lost of myself, along with the loss of my family friends.

 

Time heals...

xoxo

Sole'

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pain, pain go away...

Hi Sole4Sole, I just joined this site, tonight. I've been reading everyone's posts. I thought I was alone but I'm not. Girl, I know what you're going through. I'm an 8 year HER2+ right breast cancer survivor. I had 26 lymph nodes removed; only 9 were cancerous. Somedays I have difficulty w/my right armpit and arm. It swells and it hurts. In fact, my whole damn body hurts!

I was 55 when I had my surgery and then went through the weeks of chemo & radiation treatments afterwards. As you well know, they were brutal. I'm 63 years young but everyday I feel like I'm 100! Many of the posts I've read, say that some doctor's have told their patients that the pain will go away after a couple of years IF you're 45 or younger; not true. And IF you're 50 or older, IT MOST CERTAINLY DOES NOT GO AWAY!

What some doctor's don't tell you is that, if you are predisposed to getting arthritis, or if you already have mild arthritis, you WILL have an early onset of arthritis or severe arthritis after the treatments are over. I go to bed w/pain and I wake up w/pain and excercise DOES NOT help me! I have to take percocet and ativan to get me by each day and night. The chemo (poison) that cures the cancer, causes other health problems. Problems that you'll have forever. Anyway, I too would love not to take pills that get me through the day, I too would love to feel like I felt like before this cancer nightmare. But I don't think so. I hope and pray for you that you're pain go away - you're so young.

By the way, how often do you get your percocet? I get mine monthly and each time I go for it, the pharmacist around here make me feel like I'm some kind of druggy - thanks to the D.E.A. I get so annoyed w/them.  

Lovecat3 said:

Finally answers I have

Finally answers I have horrible lower back hip bone pain had to have chemo 2 times within 2 years yes just as hair looking good outfit came again. No one ham answer this pain!! I take oxycodone 1-2 times daily power thru the pain n walk 4-5 miles daily but that is it for my day

womdering yo if some of this is from Herceptin still on til it stops working

fiag 2010 IBC met to spine 2012

thanks for reading

be well friends

Finally answers...

Hi Lovecat3, I hope that by now, you are not still experiencing pain. When I was taking Herceptin, I had joint pain all over. I was told that when I am done w/Herceptin that the pain would go away. Doctor's tell you that the pain will go away because for some women it does but for most it does not. 

I am an 8 year breast cancer survivor. I STILL have joint pain; bad joint pain. So, who know's? Doctor's and scientists don't have all the answers and they can not imagine how horrible it is to be in pain, everyday. 

I hope that you are well and healthy.

mollyz said:

I have it
I feel pain all the time now,my last chemo was January 28,2011 and I hurt all over legs back and in the groin area it's really disabling and before all this i was very active did arobics everyday now i just feel like a old lady. MOLLYZ

arthritis pain

During my first body scan i noticed some red areas on the screen and i was worried that the cancer had spreaded. The ex-ray tech told me it was arthrities in both my shoulders, knees and pelvic areas. I hadn't started my treatment yet so i wasn't feeling any pain. After completing both chemo and radiation i began experiencing pain on my right wrist and thumb. I couldn't bend my right thumb. The doctor had me where a brace for a couple of weeks but it didn't do anything.  I ended up having surgering for tendinities. Shortly after healing up I had to have surgery on my left thumb due to having trigger finger. I never had problems with tendinities and I never thought i would have arthritis in my pelvic area. The pain in my pelvic was unbearable. My doctor performed a laser lap to find out that i had pelvic congestion. He described it as having varicose veins in your legs and the only cure was to have a hysterectomy. i'm through with having kids and the chemo has dried up my ovaries. There was no need to keep any of it. The down side to all this is hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes and low sex drive. My legs and shoulders hurt so bad some times I just want to chop them off.  They don't hurt to touch they just ache like crazy. This is my first time joining the group and i just have one question.  "Is there anything that I can take for the hot flashes, nigt sweat, sex drive, and mood swings". Its driving me crazy.  I'm glad someome came up with this website. I know it will help a lot of people and give them strength. So bless you all for inventing this website.

'

 

Dotkom said:

Old pains made worse

Hi All,

I'm new to all of this... breast cancer, chemo and this website.  I'm grateful to have found you all.  I find great comfort reading about another person's troubles when it sounds just like my own.  I feel less alone &  alot more like I'm not inventing this stuff.  Anyhoo, my medical history is quite colorful, to say the least.  Orthopedic problems have plagued me since I was 12 y/o when my kness, both of them, would dislocate spontaneously.  For no apparent reason, my kneecap would slip out of place.  I wound up having them both operated on at ages 16 & 17.  They told me I'd develop arthritis at an early age & they were OH so right.  Since then I've had both knees replaced with only limited success.  I also had a hysterectomy at age 29 which sealed my fate as an old lady WAY before my time.  So I'm used to hurting and aching.  Oh & did I mention that somewhere in all that I also 'caught' fibromyalgia, the ache that keeps on giving?!  So by comparison, chemo hasn't been nearly as difficult as I expected it to be.  However, now that I've got just one round left (followed by 6 weeks radiation) I am having more difficulty getting from point A to point B than ever before.  I have very flat feet, and a trendelenburg gait (dropping of one hip) both contributing significantly to mobility issues.  I've accepted all of this for years.  I've walked with a cane for 10 years already & I'm just about to turn 55 next month.  But recently, my walking has become a serious challenge.  I live in fear of falling, have done so for a long time.  But it's become worse than ever since chemo & I truly believe there's a direct correlation.  It's gotten so bad that I now have to wrap both knees just to get to work.  I can't stand for more than 5 mins without screaming pain & my legs shake with the effort of holding my up.  A few nights ago my feet, knees & low back hurt so bad that I shook all over.  I couldn't continue to cook dinner.  I was drenched in sweat from the effort of standing & stirring!  A couple of hours later, just as I was going to bed, my back went into a brutal spasm.  What I'm so long-windedly getting to is that I am more convinced everyday that chemo has worsened my arthritis and other orthopedic problems.  I'm now shopping around for a walker because I have no strength in my legs at all anymore & I'm sick with the fear of falling.  If I fall, I'll not be able to get up without help, I know it.  The smallest slope in a sidewalk strikes fear in me.  The only time I'm remotely comfortable out in public is when I'm grocery shopping.  No, it's not that I enjoy grocery shopping, but I get a nice, strong carriage to hold on to & I feel secure.  I know in my heart it's time to end this suffering & just buy one.  But I believe I could have put this off for at least a few more years had I not gone through chemo.  I think chemo finds our hidden or latent weaknesses and brings them to the surface.  Is it worth it?  Of course.  I'd rather limp or be in a wheelchair than not be at all.  But the price of beating cancer is very much higher than I'd ever expected.  Let's hope that after all of this I do in fact 'beat' it.  Sorry for the whining but thank you kindly for listening.  ~Dot

Welcome

Hi, Dot

     Welcome and thank you for sharing your story - we share your frustrations.  Come and visit often!

Kathy

arthritis and chemo

i am a 4 year survivor (yea me).  my last chemo treatment was november 2012.  since then i have nerve damage in both feet.  back pain to where i could not walk up right.  i was on every type of pain meds for that.  a tens unit worked the best.  when my port was removed i experienced pain in the shoulder closest to where it was.  i now have pain in both wrists and hands, knees, hips and ankles.   ive tossed out all my fabulous shoes and have been reduced to wearing socks with ugly man sandals. but my feet dont hurt as bad.  today i had 15 xrays on hands wrist shoulder and ankles to  see if i have rheumatoid arthritis.   neither of my doctors, my family dr and my oncologist has ever said that chemo does not cause arthritis.   i think ladies we are walking proof it can.    chemo is a damned if you do and damned if you dont drug.  personally....i will never do it again.  sure i could live another 10 years but is it living if you never leave your house because of the pain?  is it living if some days you have to spend it in bed because you hurt to bad to be up?  i am not on any pain meds nor will i take any meds that have side effects that are worse than what i already have.  my dr told me i was stubborn (jokingly) but when you have been on almost everything under the sun and it causes something else, well id rather feel the ache than take a pill that causes me to crap my pants.   i hope you all find comfort and a way to ease the pain. for me its playing with my grand babies every chance i get.   no pill compares to that.