How to find relief for strong body pain in first week of second chemo

Did you take Zyrtec in combination with the pain meds?

I hope you will be feeling better soon. With your treatment
finished, do you need more medical care?

there was no suggestion like that by my oncologist-
I'm doing fine now, very little and limited discomfort in my lower legs- no meds needed-

Yes, I am scheduled to start Keytruda next week. I don't know how the side effects will affect me as of yet. I still have leg pain from the Chemo eventhough I finished chemo 5 weeks ago. I also take ibuprofen and tylenol. The oncologist is conservative with the pain medication. I hurt most of the day and night. I also have severe neuropathy in both hands and feet, caused by the chemotherapy. It has severely affected my quality of life. I can't even put my earrings in my ears.

@carmenc1955 I feel that we go through so much stress and emotional pain with diagnosis. And now with your course of treatment based on your oncologist’s recommendations the pain includes the ongoing aching and pain from the treatment. I didn’t have chemotherapy so I don’t know what to suggest. I’ve read the posts of other members here who have tried acupuncture ( @mommacandy) and I had a long conversation with my massage therapist about the skills of a well-trained acupuncturist. Some of the women have written that they have prescriptions of tramedol or OxyContin and have used these sparingly and wisely. I get why your oncologist might not want to prescribe a lot of pain meds but goodness, how much can one person endure?

Have you searched Keytruda in the search bar at the top of this page? You will likely find out about the experiences of others who have had Keytruda as treatment and may get some other ideas.

You write you hurt most of the day and night. I would advocate strongly with your doctor to get some more effective pain medication, like oxycodone, taking it does not
mean you become addictive. I used it, 5mg, when the pain was worst and as prescribed. It was the best remedy. The prescription was for a limited amount and no refill.

Thank you all for posting about this. I wasn't prepared for that joint and muscle pain to interfere with sleep as it did. I have had only 1 cycle so far. Will this pattern repeat after each one? I'm scheduled for 6...21 days apart.

the pattern repeated for me, usually the pain kicked in 2 or 3 days after the infusion, then I was in pain for 5-10 days or longer with various pain levels, when I was hurting the most, sometimes during the night, I took oxycodone, the pain lasted longer as the cycles added up-
but everyone's experience is different, I was keeping a journal about my symptoms, pain medication, pain level....you have the power to see it through like me and many others-

i fortunately had an oncologist who wasn't hesitant to give me pain meds...he gave me oxycodone and even 5 mg morphine ...he started me on tramadol (i can't take anything with tylenol in it so tramadol was obvious starting drug which for me personally was no different relief than taking 4 naproxen which you're not supposed to do lol) along with oxy and then morphine and i took each based on level of pain on any given day.. like i said in another thread once they added Neulasta to the mix and i'd get the headache from hell it took the morphine to take the edge off...there's no reason to suffer...if you're in pain tell doc you need better pain control and if its interfering with sleep tell them so...you have to advocate for yourself..

@jeanknoll986 Treatment that interferes with sleep is the worst. Sleep is one of the few activities I'd say is at the top of my list of favorite activities. I know that sounds rather odd but I love restful sleep when it comes.

@charlotte12 and @mommacandy both provided advice and support. When do you next meet with your oncologist so you can discuss the join and muscle pain you experienced?