hand and feet pain

[ann07]

went if ever can i expect my pain to go away, since going through chemo and starting tamoxifen, i've been having bad  pain and stiffness in hands and feet. medication vicodin help some, also some stiffiness in knees. my doctor has no answers and keep try different medications that is not working. please have some anwers for me . pain started after taking tamoxifen in april, stopped chemo in march. what can i do or take to relief the pain. thank you.


This discussion is related to post chemo rheumatism.

[ann07]

my doctor suggested putting me into early menopause so that he can change the medication, what do you think. also will changing medications help?. i'm willing to do anything at this point because the pain is getting worst. have x-rays done yesterday on hands,wrist and sprin, waiting for results. thank you.

[PaulMD]

Hi there.

Due to the proximity of the symptoms and the intake of tamoxifen, it can be assumed that these side effects may be indirectly related to your intake of the tamoxifen.  I understand your doctor in trying to control and try different ways to control the pain rather than to stop the tamoxifen altogether since you would ultimately derive benefit from tamoxifen treatment.  If you are already post-menopausal, you can ask your doctor about switching to a different class of drugs called aromatase inhibitors (like arimidex or femara).  For the present pain, you may ask your doctor about additional drugs for neuropathic pain such as gabapentin or pregabalin.  Also, some alternative treatments can offer some pain control such as accupressure or accupuncture.  I hope your pain can be controlled soon.

Regards and God bless.