How to cope with pain after chemotherapy sessions

I am new here and on my 4th day after my first chemotherapy session -post surgery. Had a terrible night of foot,leg,hand,stomach and face pain. What can I do to help myself feel better. Is Ibuprofen more effective than optalgin? What is best dosage please? The nurses say to take whatever works. Is this what to expect since there is no fever. Thanks.

Pinkylee

[Katmal-UK]

Hi Pinky. Welcome to the forum. Sorry to read you are having to go through chemo. Are you in the UK? When I went through chemo I ended up taking cocodamol and then tramadol to cope with the aches and pains. They do subside but return after each chemo and I have to be honest and say that I found chemo to be cumulative. What chemo are you currently on? Sending you a big gentle hug. Kathy xx

[Lindaura]

Hi Pinky,

Like Kathy, it is good to know what Chemo you are on to know what is appropriate for your regimen.

I know that during Carboplatin and Taxol, Ibuprofen was not advised, nor was aspirin, so Paracetamol was what I took and to my surprise, it was quite effective.

However, I suffered from terrible bone pain, which is a normal side effect of Taxol. Your face pain doesn’t sound normal.

Here is what to do, and do it now:

Call the Emergency Chemo line at your chemo suite.

Tell them everything. They will know what to advise.

Best of luck and best wishes,

Laura

[Caleda4]

Hi Pinky, Sorry you are having to suffer this pain after chemo. I had the same problem after my first chemo,but spoke to Oncologist who cut on drug by 25% & I found that the 2nd dose I had,that I did feel much better. Do be careful about pain killers,just make sure you can take the ones you want to take.

Take care & I hope that you feel better soon.xx

[Lyndy]

Hi Pinky

Lots of good advice here and most definitely report it to your team-they need to know and as others have said may be able to lower your dose a bit. Most importantly don’t sit there in pain- get some decent pain relief! Chemo is bad enough without being in pain xx

[Maus123]

Hi Pinky. I was told to try and stick to Paracetamol during my Carboplatin/Paclitaxel/(Avastin) Chemo regimen, if possible. Luckily I rarely experienced pain during chemo, but I would have moved on to Novalgin too, if needed, if permitted by nurses.

But it appears to be a serious side effect for you and needs to get managed somehow.

Can you try to speak with your oncologist instead of nurses?

Maybe, as was mentioned already, some dosage or brand adjustments are in order regarding the chemo itself. At least he could provide you with proper dosage guidance and instruct you which pain meds to take, which ones could be mixed, which ones can't etc. For general pain management information, you could also head to your GP, but I would start with my oncologist, and definitely talk to him before the next chemo.

Just as a side note, in case anyone was wondering: I believe (just from google'ing, as I'm not a medical expert!) Optalgin is known as Novalgin here in Germany , which is a Metamizol based - mildly anti-inflammatory - pain relief considered a bit stronger than Paracetamol or Ibuprofen. It's often prescribed as a post-operative pain relief here in Germany as example, or as a stepping stone before moving to opioids, but unavailable in some other countries due to possibly severe side effects. So far, I've not had any trouble after taking it myself, post-surgery.

Hope you feel better soon. Maus

[DouglasPouch]

Hello PinkyLee

I have just had my second chemo and have had similar side effects to yours from what you have said. I found my face was itchy rather than painful and a bit of anti histamine helped with that. Re pain relief for the aches my oncologist has said that using paracetamol and ibuprofen when needed is fine and also codeine if you don’t get too constipated with that (and ibuprofen and paracetamol don’t get rid of the pain). I also had a slightly lower dose of Taxol for my second dose and that has helped too. I find I can live with some aches as I take it that the chemo is having some effect..I hope you’re able to manage the pain soon.

X

[Maus123 in reply to DouglasPouch]

Good point about the dose reduction. I had my Taxol reduced to 80% as well, due to getting itchy and painful pustules all over my head (just realized there was some pain during my chemo after all.. right there; how fast we forget unpleasant moments...), after chemo #2. That helped. But I don't know if dose reduction is suitable for everyone... it might not be.

Good luck with the rest of your chemo! Maus

[TudorPurr68]

Hello Pinky. Where are you, UK? So sorry to read of your pain. I've been there, not face pain but all the rest. I was told not to take Ibuprofen as I still have a P.E. but I'm on oramorph and pain relief patch Buprenorphine 10 mcg/hour. Have you considered asking for patches? Mine has amazed me, I hope this helps. All the best Xx

[Litchick]

Hello Pinky, I’m so sorry to hear you are in pain post chemo. You have already had some good advice re painkillers and chemo dosage from the very knowledgeable and helpful ladies on this site. On a different note I found a warm ‘wheat bag ‘ helped, particularly with leg pain Might be worth a try.

Hope you feel better soon.

Best wishes. xx

[luluw]

Hi Pinky. I had the same leg pain as you. I was prescribed morphine eventually-paracetamol didn't work. In the end they cut the dose of Taxol by 25%, which did work. Hot packs on my legs helped a bit and I found that walking around eased it, or maybe it just distracted me! I'm back on chemo now but Carboplatin only. No pain at all, so it was definitely the Taxol.

Hope you find a solution soon

Lou xxx