Hi, if it’s the filgrastrim (stomach) injections giving you the bone pain try taking loratadine daily (anti histamine). You may need to take it a few days to notice any difference but it’s worth a try…. I ended up taking it throughout my chemo. I was advised this and it really helped. I was also advised to keep moving and not just constantly rest if body was sore (for example try to go a walk or do some other gentle exercise). It might seem counter intuitive but movement does help with the pains and other side effects. I also drank lots of water and had hot baths with Epsom salts. Hopefully some of this helps you
Hi @farra
I had 12 taxane and had leg, hip, knee joint and muscle pain. I used a hot water bottle nd tiger balm. It is probably too hot to have a hot bath in Malaysia but anything warm helped a bit. I was bot prescribed anything for pain and paracetamol was not doing much.
Take care x
Hello everyone
So here we are at Christmas Eve and as @marionse25 says, Baileys, mince pies, Heroes, roast potatoes are definitely all calorie-free for us. My consultant recommends enjoyment while we are going through this and I trust her implicitly. Glad Kadcyla is over for you, Marion. You couldn’t go on with that. My work is also crazy busy now I’m back in the office. It’s like I’ve never been away. 
I take my hat off to you that you’ve kept going into the office throughout all this.
@jeml Great that you got the first drain out so fast and I hope the second one is out in time for Christmas and that you are back with your little girl and fully indulging in the magic. @shannon27 that goes for you too. Christmas with children is wonderful and transports you right back to that time when you would wake up to the amazement that Santa had been and filled your stocking. You deserve to enjoy every moment together.
@purple_rain Many GPs are reticent to give out sleeping pills but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Those steroids keep you awake. I wouldn’t have liked to have done this journey without Mirtazapine and Zopiclone. Definitely ask. After Phesgo finishes in April, I will carry on with the zoledronic acid for another 2.5 years, I’m told.
@arty1 How are you doing, darling lady? I feel your pain re the steroid crash. As you know, that was the worst part of it for me. Sounds like you are really going through it. I hope side effects subside in time for Christmas. I’m so glad you told me that the average course of chemo takes at least 8 months to recover from because as you know, I am going all out to enjoy myself to make up for last year but I’m finding that I get whacked out the next day and I’m having to accept that my energy levels have not yet recovered.
Hello, our @norts, I wouldn’t be surprised if some people have a kind of dissociation to this whole experience. As is so often pointed out, the brain manages to forget the exact pain of childbirth, even if you remember that it was horrific. I write a diary every day and I am currently reading back to see what I was doing and how I was feeling a year ago today and that is helping me to process it. I can imagine that there is some kind of trauma response to it all because make no mistake, it IS trauma. Being told that you have invasive cancer is a massive shock to the system and then you are suddenly on that rollercoaster that you never wanted to get on. I think your explanation is probably right. Big hug to you.
@mrsjelly - Not surprising that ‘A tale of two titties’ is an adult film! 
Mrs Jelly works though. I think predictive text did quite well on that mistake as I think we’ve all felt like Mrs Jelly on this journey. Isn’t it true that when you least need it, cancer stories seem to be flung in your face at every turn. I was taught how to silence cancer posts on my Facebook as I’d had to stop going on there, such was the volume of cancer ads being shot at me. Bloody algorithms. So glad you’ve been given some Mirtazapine; it works for me. You are in the worst part of it all at the moment, as I know you have been told. I carried on working from home as I needed the normality like @rrey. It was what kept me sane (just about) but just see what works for you. Keep on putting one foot in front of the other and if Mrs Jelly starts to wobble, then there is always someone here. @galdiolus is right that the treatments are fantastic for us now.
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@pennyp I also got the Paclitaxel hand rash. Mine went too the instant I finished it.
@farra My bone pain was definitely from the Filgrastim which I only got during EC. @belle1 is right to do exercise if you can. Definitely helps.
I’ve been handed a glass of Lanson at my desk and was going to say no but it’s too late now and so instead I will raise my glass to you all and wish you a Merry Christmas. Thank you all for being there for me throughout this year 2024 which we will all never forget. It would have been very different without you.
Love Salbert
xxx
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@farra My first taxane caused aches, particularly in my pelvis. Pain to the point that I went to get it checked out. The nurses said it’s not unusual after the first taxane. After my first all was well and no pain at all. Hope it goes well for you on the next rounds.
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Thank you everyone for the reply… @shannon27 @norts @marionse25 @salbert @belle1 @salbert @norts …
However didn’t have filgrastim…I had taxane,herceptin and perjeta infusions…few days after thst had the muscle pain especially in my back…it comes and goes…anyway having the 2nd taxane dose after 2 days…hope all goes well…my appetite somehow increased and started eating everything …feels good because during the EC i was nauseated all the time…worried though if my weight goes up more than it should 
… today was looking at my bald head and thinking will my hair ever grow back……missing my hair…I heard that some patients grow their hair once they start taxane treatment after finisbed with EC… some friends told me as well… but until today i don’t see any hair’on my crown yet.or maybe it will start to grow after completion of chemo???Hope everyone have a blast this christmas…
I had Paclitaxel and aches and pains were part of the side effects, I was told not to take paracetamol as it can mask a temperature ( I had 2 of these during my 12 weeks and one put me in hospital for 6 nights). I was given paracetamol in hospital as they could monitor me, it didn’t take the temperature down much.
I also had Epsom salts in the bath and found a daily walk of 10/15 minutes helped ( but not everyday). Hot water bottle or heat pad would help but as already said it maybe be too hot in Malaysia.
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I want to wish Everyone a very Merry Christmas and lets hope 2025 is going to be a kind year to us all 
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Merry Christmas to you all, praying and hoping 2025 is better for us all 
xx
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@farra - I’m on nab paclitaxel and the aches seem to be part and parcel of it 
… I’ve been told I CAN take paracetamol as long as I check my temperature before. I’ve found that the muscle heat patches are really helpful at reducing the pain level …like @norts my first one gave nd awful pelvic pain that felt like labour - It’s a bit better this cycle as it’s been reduced by 20 per cent
@salbert enjoy yourself! But at least you know you might be more tired . It’s a lot for the body to get over … so eight months or even more tbh seems perfectly reasonable… the steroids are beasts… I was power wrapping presents on Saturday and now I’m exhausted…fatigued and look like I have measles 
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Thank you @naughty_boob will try thhot bottle…thatsthe only discomfort i’m having now…other than that i’m ok with taxane…just to check if anyone ever had reduced efgr in their kidney functions during chemo…my efgr went down to 65 in mylast chemo…hope its temporary…
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I’ve not been on this tread for a little while but wanted to reach out today to say I’m sending my love to you all on this Christmas Day and to say you have got this you can grit your teeth and get through it.
I’m through chemo and radiotherapy now and onto my hormone therapy and Phesgo injections. Life is starting to get back to a little more normality and I’m setting myself goals.
I’ve pushed myself and auditioned to be in Sister Act April and will be playing sister Mary Lazarus and I can’t wait!
Keep going ladies you are all doing amazing and I look forward to hearing about how you are doing over the coming months as you start to move forward. Xx
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Wow @louc congratulations finishing your treatment so far and in getting the part in Sister Act. That is so exciting. Where will you be based? Is that the role Lesley Joseph played?
Merry Christmas and here’s to a better 2025.
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Well hello everyone, it’s been an awful long time since I posted, but I did want to wish you all a Happy Christmas.
Following 7 rounds of chemo in 2023 (3 x EC and 4 x docetaxel) I had surgery on 15th December last year, so Christmas was all a bit of a blur and the best gift was getting my drain out before Christmas Day! Chemo totally knackered my taste buds and they weren’t really recovered at Christmas 2023. Feb saw 10 days of radiotherapy and the Phesgo kept going for 18 doses so every week until Sept 24. Then I lost my mum to end stage Parkinson’s Disease on 1st October.
Why do I tell you all this again? Well this thread is so popular, some of you might not have read back to when I was in treatment and on here almost every day. But fast forward to this Christmas and I’ve had the most amazing Christmas Day with my Dad (brought out of his care home for the day), my 2 siblings, all spouses and Dad’s 4 adult grandchildren we share between us. The contrast with last year was so enormous I just had to tell you there is light at the end of the tunnel and things do get back to a more normal life.
I’m still under the hospital. Letrozole seemed to be giving me the runs. I thought for many months it was the Phesgo but it didn’t stop when I ended that treatment. We agreed I’d take 4 weeks off and things improved dramatically. Anyway, now I’m on anastrazole instead. I’ve been taking it 2 weeks, so early days, but so far so good. This of course was all for the ER+ bit of my BC.
Then someone asked who does and doesn’t get zolendronic acid, so I thought I’d do a bit of research. It seems it’s just for we post-menopausal BC women, whatever our HER2 status. I started on Ibandronic acid tablets, and whilst they didn’t disagree with me physically, the lifestyle changes in terms of morning routine were not at all good. I’m on other morning tablets and need to be out of the house by 8am and want to be good and stop skipping breakfast so often. It just didn’t add up so I was switched to zolendronic acid infusions. I’ve had 2 so far and no really noticeable side effects. I guess the nurses struggle more than they used to to find a vein - I did all the chemo and stuff without ever having a line or port. Oh and because I’m on bisphosphonate, I also have to take a calcium and vit D tablet every day. So that’s how I sort the potential for vit D deficiency which I read further back some ladies asking about.
In early Dec I had my first post cancer mammogram. That was a bit scary. It definitely was more uncomfortable on the lumpectomy side than before surgery, but it was bearable. Then the wait for results was interminable (I’m told it’s called scanxiety) but I did eventually get an ‘all clear’ letter.
Several people asked me in Christmas cards if I am ‘back at work yet’. I’ve just not the heart to say I didn’t really stop apart from 3weeks immediately post surgery, but because that included Christmas and New Year, nobody really noticed!
Oh and early in Jan I have an EChO heart scan to keep up the monitoring of my heart post-Phesgo.
Various changes I’d hope might go away, I suspect I now have to accept as permanent- the wierd numb sensation in my armpit each day when I put on anti-perspirant and probably most troublesome, the pins and needles like nephropathy in my feet at night. A hot water bottle is the best I’ve managed to find for that so far.
My hair is back and thick. It’s not as all-over grey as I feared and I think for the time being I will keep it nice and short, it’s so practical to manage. I had a bob before and the hair drier and straighteners were never far away, but now it’s shower & go 
So all this is a little update on me. A HER2+ve diagnosis is definitely a long haul, but I’m grateful for so much treatment on the NHS being possible and ultimately in the eyes of the NHS they tell me and I must accept and believe I am now cancer free.
I pray all those of you in here still in the thick of your journeys get to that same place
I have and wish you all a happy and peaceful new year.
Xx
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@suedot i have loved reading your post this morning. I am 5/6 through chemo last one first week January and then mastectomy early Feb. Radiotherapy TBD, but “unlikely”
My taste is horrendous and dinner was not great for me yesterday but I spent precious time with my family and kept reminding myself just one Christmas. So it was great and perfectly timed to read your message for me xx
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Hi @suedot Lovely to hear from you and your positive post. Fantastic news that your annual mammogram was clear.
I too had a horrible Christmas 2023 just 10days post finishing chemotherapy, I had very little energy, tried to help prepare food, ate a little but couldn’t taste it and went to bed in the afternoon. My adult children came home but not partners due to fear of infection and that partners were mixing with several other family groups.
Fast forward to December 2024 and what a contrast. Spend Christmas at one child’s house, so need to travel and stay over 2 nights. Invited partners. Didn’t have to worry about infection and felt good. (still have some on going issues but nothing compared to last year).Able to plan, shop and prepare for Christmas. Did most of the cooking on Eve, Day and Boxing Day and walked over 14000 steps each day with the dog.
Just remember it’s just one Christmas, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The year will fly by and you’ll wonder where it all went. I was signed off work from May 2023 and took redundancy in August 2024, I’m still not working due to my ongoing issues but I also feel I want my year back that was taken by cancer. I do volunteer on this forum and the local foodbank. Who knows what the future holds? I’m not worrying or planning anything just going with the flow and it’s nice. I know I’m lucky to be able to do this financially and it’s not available to everyone.
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Hello everyone
@farra - my hair started to grow back when I was in the last few weeks of Paclitaxel. I didn’t think it had but then one of the nurses said if I put my glasses on I’d probably be able to see the fine hairs sprouting back and to my delight, she was right. I hope yours comes back soon. It’s a good feeling.
@louc - Great to hear from you and to hear that you are through the worst and have landed a part in Sister Act!! How absolutely fabulous. You must post a pic of yourself in your nun’s habit when you are up and running. I am so jealous that you get to sing I Will Follow Him. I just love that number. I have it belting out on my headphones when I am out with the dog and if there’s nobody about then I do the soprano harmony. How wonderful and great for others to read who are in the midst of treatment.
@suedot - Hello dear old friend. What a wonderful post from you too. It’s so valuable to give people hope that life does return to normal and there will be Happy Christmasses again. Even after the most miserable, wretched year that you went through, proof that it is possible to smile again and actually enjoy Christmas means everything. I’m so happy to hear that you had such precious quality time with your Dad and family. Thrilled to hear you got an ‘all clear’ letter and I’m with you on the wash and go with the new short hair thing. I don’t know how I ever had time to do all that dyeing, blow-drying and straightening. What a palaver! And you @naughty_boob - you had a lovely Christmas too. I’m so happy for you, my dear friend. I enjoyed every moment of mine. It was a year ago today that I had the news that the cancer was in my lymph nodes, that I needed yet more surgery and all the scans and went into freefall mentally. That ruined Christmas and so this year has been appreciated more than ever before. Lots of proof in these last few posts that there is light after the darkness.
Have a great Inbetwixtmas everyone.
Love to you all,
Salbert
xx
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@salbert thank you…ivechecked my hair…there are some fine hair everywhere but scattered around…i still have bald spots here and there…hope it grows soon…cant wait…
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Im soon to have my last chemo on 8th january then surgery in february, i wiĺl be on phesgo till september does anyone know what the side affects are while on phesgo, will i still lose my taste and appetite
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