post 1st chemo

[Hota]

I had my first chemo session on Thursday. Today I am experiencing shooting pains in lower abdomen and legs . Has anybody had the same experience ?

[Bananasmoothie]

Hi, I had pain like that after my first chemo. It started on day2, was absolutely unbearable on day 3, but then gradually resolved on day 4. Apparently it's called Taxane Acute Pain Syndrome. It was so awful that I was terrified I'd get it every subsequent cycle and honestly didn't know how I'd cope. My oncologist didn't really understand and thought it was just joint pains (which I also got but were tolerable!) It was a fight to get anything stronger than paracetamol and brufen.Thankfully the shooting pains were much better with cycles 2-6. I still had them but they were bearable. I started taking regular aspirin and brufen at the start of day 2 and continued to the end of day 4. I took liquid oxycodone for any breakthrough pain. I also really limited any exercise on days 1-4 as I'd gone on a walk on my first cycle and wondered if that had sparked it off. To be honest I generally felt so unwell on those days that I couldn't do anything anyway! I had to start regular laxatives on day 1 as the anti nausea and oxycodone played havoc. I also took a couple of magnesium tablets every day throughout as my levels were borderline; it's a good laxative; and low magnesium can cause muscle symptoms.

I continued getting shooting discomfort for a few months after chemo had finished. I'm now 5 months down from my last chemo and still get low abdo and groin discomfort if I've been walking for about an hour or more.

I'm so sorry you've had these symptoms; especially if you've found them severe, but it's nice to know I'm not the only one as there seems to be very few mentions of anything like it on this forum!

Take heart that things are likely to improve. Hopefully there'll be replies to show it's more common than I thought! Please don't feel you have to do what I did - most people encourage exercise and I was just doing what worked for me.

Wishing you all the best x

[Bananasmoothie]

Oh and I also took Clarityn days 1-4! x

[Redditch]

Chemo is poison. It's always hoped that it kills your cancer before it kills you, but there's no doubt that the side effects are pretty gruesome. You've been poisoned. Pain, loss of feeling, increased sensitivity to heat cold light food, etc are all possible and all possibly permanent. Chemo is brutal. Stay positive as much as you can. You have opted for this route. Take care of yourself, don't even try to do everything you'd normally do.

[Trickysite in reply to Redditch]

"Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative" (as much as possible). Is anybody as old as I am and can remember this joyous song? That's how I try to approach things. I have had shooting, electric, sharp pains which last a few seconds all over my body. It was most pronounced after the first chemo and lasted about 24 hours that time. Ever since, I have had them but much milder now and getting less frequent, plus involuntary twitches of legs and feet, in bed at night, but that is now completely gone. My last carbo taxol was November, and have been on 400mg olaparib since January. I mentioned it to my onc but he said nothing. I put it down to neuropathy as I also had/have numbness in fingers. Not to mention heavy legs which make walking difficult but I don't give up on it. The fact that some of it has calmed down, albeit very slowly, gives me some hope that the shooting pains will eventually disappear. And, maybe the numbness in fingers and heavy legs might improve too. The body can take years to heal, I know from past experience. But I hang on to the fact that all the time, the healing process is slowly going on. But so slowly, it is not noticeable on a day to day level.

[Purplepansies54]

Hi thereSorry to hear you are in pain. Yes I also had shooting pains in my stomach and down my legs on my first chemo and was admitted to hospital. They just said it was a side effect. I took dihydracodeine at night when it was bad and paracetamol during the day. It did eventually stop. It was also much less on chemos 2,3,4,5 and 6. I hope yours ease soon.

[doodoolatrice]

Yes I had this as well at night and was told its a side effect. I took 2 co-codamol before I went to bed and it really helped. I would happen for a couple of nights each cycle. Z

[Hota]

Thank you ladies for your replies. It is difficult to know what to expect on your 1st cycle

[Alice77]

Hi. I also had severe stomach pains after my first chemo session and had to take naproxen and cocodamol to get to sleep at night. The good news is that the pain did not recur once I was on the third cycle and in general the side effects became much easier to manage as time went onSo try to keep cheerful and rest assured this is a normal reaction to chemo...although it terrified me at the time and the helpline nurse did not seem to take me seriously.

[Hota in reply to Alice77]

Thank you Alice for your encouraging post x I hope you are doing ok nowx

[Driebergen]

I also had shooting sharp pains in my abdomen after my first chemo. However, I did not have those pains after 2nd and 3rd chemo.I hope you will feel better soon!

[OvacomeSupport Partner My Ovacome Team]

Good morning Hota

Thank you for your post. I am so sorry to learn that you have been experiencing shooting pains in your lower abdomen and legs following your first chemotherapy treatment on Thursday. I can see that several members of the forum community have shared their thoughts and experiences, which I hope have been helpful.

Have you had the opportunity to discuss this symptom with a member of your clinical team? Contacting your clinical nurse specialist, 24/7 chemotherapy helpline number or your GP should provide you with individualised advice about this problem. They may be able to identify the cause and suggest ways to manage the pain.

I hope this eases for you quickly. We’re here to support you so please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you would like to talk through anything. You can reply directly through this forum, send us an email via [e-mail] or call our support line on 0800 008 7054. We’re here Monday – Friday, 10am – 5pm, to help with questions, provide information resources or just have a friendly chat.

Best wishes

Annie - Ovacome support

[Newstart22]

Hi I’ve had 2 cycles now & with both I had night time stabbing pains randomly in my arms & legs on days 3/4. TBH I just rode it out & took ibuprofen telling myself it’s just a couple of days & visualising each of those pains killing the bloody thing off 👏Hope yours is not too bad & everything goes good 🤞🤞🤞

[Hota in reply to Newstart22]

Thank you. I’m finding the lack of energy hard and I’ve had some sickness. I’ll be glad when it’s all done. Hope you are feeling ok

[delia2]

Yes I had exactly that but not til day 5. We like to think it’s the cancer dying. Xx