I have a concern i would like to share and hopefully you will all say im being silly (please)
A few months ago i had severe back pain a few days after doing Zumba so i naturally assumed i pulled something, was in agony and got painkillers and diazepam from docs, within a week or so it got a lot better. I then had a couple of times after that where i overdid it had niggly pain in same area but not as bad.
Since diagnosis it had crossed my mind that this could have been related (as you do with every little ache/pain. Even though i was told lymph nodes not involved i read that cells can break away from tumour and travel by blood (yes evil google) so i asked my BC nurse who said if the pain has gone its highly unlikely its related.
This put my mind at rest sort of, but the niggly pain is back and clearly i havent been overdoing it cos ive been resting for over a week now apart from today where i had visitors and was up and about but didnt do anything strenuous.
Could this be related or am i completely bonkers, any thoughts welcome
Hi Clare,
just wondering… are you on Tamoxifen? I am and one of its less known se’s for some people is back pain, especially at the time of the month when oestrogen dips. I had a minot muscle injury and what I came to call tamoxifen-tail (achey coccyx)at the same time, put two and two together and made ten but my onc and BCN both said this was nothing to worry about, the ‘wrong kind of pain’ but that I was right to ask them. Happy to say the muscle injury has gone and the Tam-tail seems to be a bit less severe so far this month…
A lot of wise women on here speak of a 2 week rule - if it does’t resolve in two weeks speak to someone, GP, BCN, onc, an dif they brush it off keep nagging.
Hi. Pls don’t panic when you read this… but my back pain turned out to be a tumour, so if the pain hangs round then make a fuss. Mine was 5 mths of pain before scans nd it had spread further too. My nodes were clear at primary diagnosis. You are probably v v v different so DON’T PANIC but get it checked!! Sorry.
Im not going to panic i have had this underlying fear for a little while and not said anything to anyone apart from hubby who said im just over worrying but i just had this horrible feeling.
Anyway i have my consultation appointment on wed after lumpectomy so should know more about my situation and will mention this back pain then, can i demand a scan or anything if they fob me off again?
No im not on tamoxifen Revcat, is that the hormone tablet? im right at the beginning of my journey, had lumpectomy a week ago. All ive been taking is ibuprofen and paracetamol
Hi Clare,
Hopefully may be able to reassure you a little… I guess you haven’t been able to follow your usual exercise/dance routine recently? I have found that as I haven’t been doing my regular aquacise due to surgery, infection, seroma, etc my right shoulder has been playing me up like mad. It’s, according to GP, arthritis due to repetitive strain from my job, she examined me thoroughly last week, and I am unable to put my arm behind my back… I think I made it more painful trying to do the physio. It may be that as you are resting, the muscles which help support our worn out bits get a bit slack. That’s what I’m convincing myself it is now… I too had clear nodes, but I know how you feel re worrying about every ache and pain we get.
Good luck next week,
Jude x
Thanks jude, bless you there may be some logic to that because i have taken complete advantage of my two weeks off work post op and have been a complete couch potato (actually sofabed in living room potato) and apart from my excercises i have only moved to go toilet/bath/eat/drink and relocate to bedroom (what a slob!)
I only got dressed today because i had visitors and was up and about for a fair bit so perhaps my rested muscles were screaming out because they not used to it lol
Its good to rest up after an operation, so don’t feel guilty…I think are bodies are pretty good at telling us when to rest and when to start doing a little more… I wish mine would stop telling me I’m hungry though all the time
Jude x
I could be wrong but I thought cancer pain was there all the time. I think the two week rule above sounds very sensible. I have a touch of radiation fatigue that has had me slobbing around for the past few days. Today I felt much better and have been marching up and down the road to the shops. On the way back from the second trip I suddenly got a terrible pain in my legs–Oh No, I thought , is it a blood clot from the tomaxeifan? Then realised in the next moment that as I had only been taking it for a few days it was highly unlikely and probably cramp caused by the sudden burst of activity. so as you say it could be just tired muscles. I know if i spend too long on a soggy settee I can get sciatica.
Anyway do mention it at your meeting, perhaps you should wrack your brains now and write down the approximate dates when you had the pains so you have the info to hand in case your brain goes a bit mushy with the tension of the meeting. They will have your results infront of them and know if its likely to spread and if they have any doubts at all I would think they will have you straight in for a scan. GP’s tend to pooh pooh symptoms like this but the BC team leave no stone unturned.
It is possible to spread if the nodes are clear, but i understand it will have had to have made its own blood supply to do that so it can get through the blood (i think the posh term is vascular involvement) and thats the sort of thing the path lab will be looking for.
Good luck with the results day. And dont stop lounging around and looking after yourself.
Thanks oal, thats good advice about the dates, i think i can get specific dates from my fb posts (moaned a few times about the pain as u do) if i go back a bit
You ladies are very wise on here, appreciate all your comments x
