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Zometa Infusions — your experience?

Posted by monimoa @monimoa, Jul 6, 2024

I am now a little over one year from the end of chemo, radiation and surgery, and one year into taking an AI. I’m in my early 50s and chemo put me into osteopenia. In response to the bone loss, my oncologist recommended Zometa. After being initially put off by the list of risks, I eventually agreed to my first infusion. It was administered 1.5 weeks ago.

I’m noticing that the side effects of the infusion are different from what a few reputable medical websites report and from what my oncologist said I should expect. I’m wondering if my case is unusual or if my experience is pretty common.

For instance, I was told that the infusion would cause flu-like symptoms for 3 days. It did. No surprise. What I was not expecting is the pain that started on Day 5. The type and location of the bone pain changes every 2-3 days, and I can’t shake the low-grade fever. I’ve had two instances so far with my blood pressure getting too low and I’ve almost fainted (I’m not on any BP meds and my numbers are always “normal”).

Those of you have had Zometa treatments every 6 months—what’s been your experience?
How long might it be until I feel better again?
Is this what all Zometa infusions will feel like in the future?
Any Zometa life-hacks you’d recommend?

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dot66 | @dot66 | Nov 12 11:33am
In reply to @7cindy7 "I had a lumpectomy (stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma) February of 2024. This was followed by..." + (show)
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I had a lumpectomy (stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma) February of 2024. This was followed by 4 rounds of chemotherapy and 30 days of radiation. My tumor was estrogen positive and I have been on anastrozole (aromatase inhibitor) for 14 months. My recent bone scan showed that I had gone from osteopenia to osteoporosis, most likely due to the aromatase inhibitor which limits the estrogen my body produces. My oncologist strongly suggested Zometa by infusion once every 6 months for the next 3 years. I did not want to take it because of side effects I had read about. She pretty much insisted because they said the aromatase inhibitor is the "heavy hitter" in my cancer fight and if I don't want to do anything about the bone loss it causes, they may not want to treat me with the "heavy hitter" that is keeping my cancer at bay. I finally said I would go along with the treatment. I had my first infusion 5 days ago. 24 hours after the infusion I felt the flu-like symptoms everyone talks about. The aftereffects felt like when I went thru my rounds of chemotherapy but without the hair loss. The headaches and aches have now passed but yesterday a sadness and inability to concentrate has set in. I am 71 years old and have never been depressed in my life. I never saw psychological difficulties in the handouts given to me as one of side effects. I am seriously pushing myself to get out of bed and into the shower. Another serious push to get dressed. Feeling weepy and fighting tears for no good reason. I did a deep dive on the internet and saw that sadness and depression is a common side effect. Wish I had known beforehand. Can't wait for this feeling to pass. Has this happened to anyone else on this forum? If so, how long did it last?

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@7cindy7 I’ve been getting these infusions for months. I read here to ask them to slow down the infusion to around 45 minutes. I asked for a longer one, and have not had any more problems with nausea/vomiting. It’s worth a try! Good luck!

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