Sunday, April 24, 2022

Joint Pain

For a few months now, I've been experiencing slight hip pain. I also noticed that I'd wake up with pain in my finger joints. A couple of months ago, the pain in my hips got a lot worse. I'd have trouble getting out of bed. Going downstairs, I'd have to do it two-footed. However, the pain would go away after a few minutes of movement.

I felt like I was 80 years old. I thought for sure I had arthritis. Then I found an article saying that up to 50% of women on aromatase inhibitors (AI) experience joint pain. They can also experience muscle pain. Several months ago, possibly around the time I started taking AI, I noticed I had difficulty getting up from a crouched position. It's not clear to me whether it's due to pain or weakness in my thigh muscles.

About a week ago, the joint pain started easing up a bit. I can get up from bed almost like a normal person and don't have to walk two-footed down the stairs anymore. But it still hurts climbing into bed and getting in and out of my car. For the first couple of minutes afterward, I walk funny. Getting up from a crouched position, like when putting on my shoes, is still difficult. And sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night, my left hip hurts when I move my legs.

According to the article I read, the pain goes away for most women by 18 months. I'm only 8 months into my AI therapy, and I'm supposed to take the pill (anastrozole) for five years.

Saturday, April 9, 2022

Shoulder Still Frozen

Had my fifth physical therapy session on Tuesday. There's been no improvement in sideways motion of my shoulder, so I decided to stop the sessions. I'm hoping my shoulder will suddenly go back to normal this summer when it will have been two years since my frozen shoulder started. If not, I'll either request PT or see an orthopedist again. I had an x-ray done in February and saw an orthopedist then, but nothing out of the ordinary was found.