Avastin and joint pain

AnneBehymer said:

Let me know what you find
Let me know what you find out you are in my prays and will be from know on. I hate that you are a friend now because of the battle we are fighting but a friend I am. If the avastin is causeing the blood presure and we know pretty much it is maybe they could find another kind of maitance chemo instead of the avastin. You had to look at is it helping me or is it going to kill me staying on it and I would say the numbers you are it I also would worry about the risk. Let me know what happens I have my treatment on Thursday I will be praying for you hope it goes well. Where do you live I am in Glendale AZ?

Anne

Hi Anne, I'm in Chandler.
Hi Anne, I'm in Chandler. I go to St. Joseph's hospital for all my treatment and had my surgery there. They have a great gynecological oncology team there. Actually, they are having a seminar at the hospital on 3/3/12 given by this department that covers Ovarian cancer treatments, recurrence, etc. Go to www.wcn.org for information, best part it's free! I will be attending.
On another note, I did go to my treatament yesterday. I spoke to them about my concerns. The doctor told me that I was the only patient he's had on this clinical trial have such issues with severe blood pressure, boy do I feel special! He is having me continue on my current meds, but he spoke to me about possible kidney problems causing my uncontrolled blood pressure. So I'm getting scheduled for a renal ultrasound to check for Renal Arteriosclerosis (a narrowing of the artery coming out of the kidneys, when this happens the kidney secrets hormones that make the blood pressure go up and it is not controlled by medicine). What? Now possible kidney problems? If the artery(ies) are narrow, I will have to have a stent put in. He said that condition is not caused by Avastin or the cancer, but something I already had and the avastin is bringing it to light. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure in 2006 and the doctors then didn't know why I developed it because I was young and in good health. I never had my kidneys checked, maybe I've had it since then? Who knows. Anyway, I'm praying and trusting in God that he will see me through this also as he has always. I'll keep you posted.

Carmen

AnneBehymer said:

every one is different you
every one is different you may not have the same problems I have the pain I found out could be my fibromyalgia while on the heavy chemo it kept it at bay once the medication was out of my system the fibromyalgia came back full force. Don't get worried yet just wait until you start on it.

Anne

Thanks
Thanks for your reply Anne. I talked with my chemo nurse the other day and she said they use tons of this and they've had success with it. She said that they mainly see high blood pressure with it, but that they control that with medication. She said that they mainly see the perforated bowel problems with colon cancer.....I thought they did the first dose in the hospital, but apparently not anymore.....

whiterose said:

Thanks
Thanks for your reply Anne. I talked with my chemo nurse the other day and she said they use tons of this and they've had success with it. She said that they mainly see high blood pressure with it, but that they control that with medication. She said that they mainly see the perforated bowel problems with colon cancer.....I thought they did the first dose in the hospital, but apparently not anymore.....

waiting to start this chemo
Just waiting for insurance to precertify me so then I can start it I to was told pretty easy tolerated no real side effects but after reading about it scared to death to start it.As I do now take blood pressure medicine. and I will also be taking another chemo drug in form of pills they work great together. Do this for 3 wks then off 1 wk. thanks Sherry

Avastin and joint pain
Hi Anne,
I just finished a year of Avastin after 7 months of Carboplatin, Taxol, and Avastin. My joints were killing me. I'm 49 and usually quite active, but I had a hard time getting out of the car. Doctors first told me it was the Taxol, but the pain was really bad even after I was just on the Avastin. They looked at me like I was crazy. Finally, this past December, I saw one of my nurse practitioners and she asked me about the pain. She said it was from the Avastin and since I was off it as of Dec 2011 I would start to feel better in a few months. Sure enough, the past couple of weeks I have noticed a significant improvement. There is hope!

lrcolahan said:

Multiple Side Effects From Avastin

I am so happy that I found this network!  My doctor flat out told me the Avastin was NOT the cause of my increased joint pain!  Someone else on here is experiencing issues with their nose.  I am too.  It drips and runs all the time and there is actually a painful hole that has been worn down on the septum.  There is extreme joint pain in both of my thumbs that I did not have before and stiffness in my back and feet when I try to stand after sitting; even for as little as 15 minutes.  Dry mouth and hoarseness are also some of the side effects I am experiencing. The neuropathy in my feet is getting worse as well.  I am going for an ultrasound on my left breast today because they found something in my mammogram the week before last.  My CA125 was elevated from 126 to 679 in less than a month.  I've only been on Avastin for maintenance since June.  I guess that's a bad idea...looks like it back to chemo treatments again.  Thank you for everything that you have all shared here.  I thought I was going crazy and finding things wrong that weren't really there.  I KNOW I'm in pain and I know the Avastin has something to do with it...this helps to validate those feelings.  Y'all are great!  Laurie

Avastin side effects

Hi Ircolahan

I'm having some of the same issues. I have one more chemo treatment to do; My doctor wants to put me on avastin for maintenance, but I'm having second thoughts. I will have to weigh the side effects against the benefits, it just may not be worth it

Living with Avastin

First, I'll start by saying that I'm not one to turn to support groups, online or in person, but was quite relieved to find so many people experiencing similar symptoms to their Avastin treatment as I have been to mine. That said, I figured it only fair to pay it forward by sharing as well, for the future person who comes on here looking for someone to relate to them. So to those of you who have shared, I thank you!

I was diagnosed almost exactly 1 year ago with Stage 4 Fallopian Cancer. I immediately went through a full hystorectomy, they scraped the omentum and did detailed removal of as much residual cancer "grains" as they could before stitching up my 16" belly scar. Right after, I started 6 rounds of super chemo every three weeks, lost the hair, and was laid up for the next six months, totally useless to the world.

Once chemo was finished, we tried moving me to the LYNPARZA treatment because it was most effective with my genetic makeup. (I HIGHLY recommend getting the genetic testing to help guide your treatment, after you've been diagnosed and hopefully have life insurance in place. NEVER do genetic testing before having life insurance secured.) . ---But the Lynparza was impossible for me to handle. I was SO SICK all of the time. ALL of the time. Every minute of every day without any relief.

So, they switched me back to Avastin for maintenance, and I'll be on it for the next four years, possibly the rest of my life. 

Now, compared to the Lynparza, this Avastin stuff is a DREAM. Granted, I'm far more healed from my surgery today than when I first tried the other drug, so I HAVE considered that could have played a huge part in the strength of the side effects I was experiencing. Still, the Avastin was immediately a breath of fresh air, even if it came with its own struggles. I am still thankful to have it for a treatment, but do continue to explore additional medical options in the meantime.

For me, I experience extreme bone pain from the Avastin.

• My ankles each feel as though they are healing from being smashed in a rollerblading accident.
• My shoulders are so tense, I'm in physical therapy to lower my ribs, which have raised out of place so much I constantly look like I'm shrugging "I don't know".
• The brutal strikes of knee pain come and go randomly, it seems, but always ache extra special now under the kneecaps.
• I'm stretching at least 25 minutes out of every hour I'm awake, but if I sit still for more than three minutes I turn to stone.
• But if I'm active for more than 5 minutes, I feel like I ran a marathon and my instant-menapause hot flashes kick in even more often- Yay! 
• I can feel the individual pain between every knuckle of every finger on each hand through the palms and radiating at the wrists- Stretching and rubbing them constantly.
• Neck-shoulders-upperback...They aren't really seperate body parts anymore. They've dried up into each other, forming one big, upperbody-shaped rock.

And the best part is, it is ALL INVISIBLE! So, when I, a seemingly healthy-looking 38-year old woman, use both hands to brace and push my body to a standing position at a speed that resembles a dying sloth, I am consistently being accused of "overdramatizing" my stiffness and pain. Which, as I'm sure many of you are familiar, just feels like a big, warm hug.  

There's nothing quite like surviving an initial Stage 4 diagnosis, surgery & chemo treatments only to be called a big FAKE while you're still pumping one of the poisons into your veins every three weeks to survive. Maybe they think we're getting ADVIL, not AVASTIN? I just can't figure out why it would be hard to believe that a drug like this would have painful side effects?

Again, the struggle is worth it and I'm thankful for the treatment. I can handle the bone & joint pain from the Avastin, the nerve, belly and digestive pain from the surgery, and even the pain of physical therapy to put my rib back into place. But the pain of having a friend or family member doubt me like that, MID-treatment, just a year out from the surgery and diagnosis...is unbearable.

Wishing the best to anyone who is on this page looking for answers- For yourself or for a loved one, everyone here has been touched by cancer and I wish you all the strength, courage, patience and support you need to get through your time. Thank you for listening.

Rocky
Minneapolis, Minnesota