peterz54
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Posts:12
after 12 treatments of FOLFOX 6 with Avaston at about 400 mg my wife has started on Avastin only. the initial dose 4 days ago was a about 1100 mg. Today she exhibted extreme shoulder pain (very top of shoulder) for the first time.
I have read forum posts by patients at other sites which seem to correlate Avastin usage to shoulder and joint pain, or to generalized pain.
What is the physician's perspective? is Avastin the likely cause, and if so, are there interventions other than pain meds?
thank you,
peter
Forums
Reply # - July 14, 2012, 02:44 PM
Reply To: Avastin & Shoulder pain
I've seen a higher rate of generalized muscle and joint pains on Avastin (bevacizumab) than I think I'd see otherwise, which I think is really related to diminished wound healing from it. Though normal wear and tear isn't exactly a wound, the soreness you get after a workout at the gym is a product of breakdown, inflammation, and regeneration of muscle tissue from the exertion, and a low level of that is ongoing in the background of our daily lives. Some of my patients on Avastin have related feeling like they just did a tough workout at the gym even when they didn't, and I think it's just an amplified sensation from the daily wear and tear of muscle tissue. I don't know of any intervention besides analgesics.
It's also possible that Avastin could lead to a lower threshold of a more significant tear, but I'm not aware of any data to say that happens.
Good luck.
-Dr. West