New knee pain after a year on tamoxifen.any ideas?

Life after a breast cancer diagnosis Recovering from treatment
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I had lumpectomy ,lymph nodes removed,chemo (Fec T) and 5 weeks rads.I now have lymphoedema in breast/underarm and round the back along with fibrosis.I am have just started private treatment to help free up scar tissue,expensive and painful but worth it! I have been on Tamox since March 2015

I already had back problems,I was due to have a procedure done on /near discs in back just before i got cancer diagnosis,so this got put on hold,since treatment disc degeneration has worsened.I was already on oramorph,diazepam and now tramadol for pain relief.

Sorry it is so long winded but maybe it is relevant to where I am now!

About 7/8 weeks ago both my knees started to ache a bit,each day,sometimes only slightly but now it seems nearly everyday and waking me up at night my knees feel “tight” and crampy and some days the crampy feeling goes down my shins and up my thighs.Ithurts going up and diwn stairs,squatting,getting in floor,standing too long and even walking.I have tried freeze gel,voltarol on my knees,i have upped my oramorph but apart from sitting with my knees up on cushions a few times a day with ice packs,it is only a temp relief.

I have been coming home from work crying and i cannot stand the thought that this is the new me.

I said to go this week that i thought it coukd be tamox but he said no and that it is more likely mechanical problem with the joints in the knee.I have Got private physio booked in a weeks time but I just feel so hopeless.The more I read about tamox the more i feel is it worth it,I live my job but I can’t cope,I will be 50 next week.I had thought I will try the physio and if it doesn’t work,when I see my onc in two months time I will ask to have a break from tamox to see if it’s that.

Anyone else have any ideas as to what could help? I don’t sleep,hot flushes/cold flushes are getting worse but I have acupuncture before for these so I am going back for more.

Sorry for rambling but I have had enough .

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Hi Picklepants

Why not give our free Helpline a call?  0808 800 6000.  Our nurse specialists are able to answer any questions as well as be their as support.

There are also a lot of threads in the Living with & beyond breast cancer category that may be of additional help and interest to you.  If you use the search box at the top right hand corner, enter the word tamoxifen and search there are many threads there for you to read.

Best wishes
Anna
Digital Community Officer

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Guys,

 

I am new member into this forum. Opened my account here few minutes ago. Hope I can get help from here. I am also suffereing from knee pain over 5 months continuously. I did try different things but no one can give me relief from severe pain. Now I am totally depressed. 

 

What can I do now to get relieve? Thanks!

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I would like to try something special which will help me to relieve pain. 

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That’s really great. Pain could be managed in a better way with Chiropractic. Chiropractic care has been the leading natural and non-invasive approach to treating chronic spinal pain conditions for the past 100 years. You can read more at chicagolandmedical.com/services/physical-therapy/

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Hi picklepants, sorry to hear about your troubles, in my experience it has felt a bit like my body collapsing after treatment! Sounds like you’re at the end of your tether.

Similar to you I had a lumpectomy, (but all lymph nodes out), fec and taxol. My discs are also degenerating which I found out in one of my scans, and if I sit too long my feet, legs and back all seize up.

Last year I had some really sharp knee pain that just didn’t go away. At first I attributed it to the Zoladex/tamoxifen combo I’m on, but it really worried me so I mentioned it at my next appointment and the doctor referred me for a bone scan (I was a bit surprised I thought he would just say it was a side effect). Anyway scan came back all clear thankfully it’s osteoarthritis and since I knew it was not anything more sinister I’ve been able to deal with it better if that makes sense? I think the key is to find out exactly what is wrong then you can treat it.
Also I’ve suffered with the hot flushes and permanent sweaty face and I found that accupuncture has really helped, although in the heat I’m still rubbish!! Re not sleeping, Im not brilliant either, so find that audio books can help as they stop me thinking…

That’s been my plan anyway - be clear on what the problem is and then try different things to help. I have found sports massages to really help my aches ans pains, also for a time went to an osteopath and that really helped too. Just depends on how you feel really. Also as time goes on your body will hopefully be a bit better/recover. It’s gradual though and kinda sneaks up on you.

Sending you a big hug. Xxz

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I hope you are off the Tamoxifen .I ended up hardly able to walk with pain in my right knee, just after a few months of taking it !