Pamidronate

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My mum has bone mets in her hip which was diagnosed in Dec 2006. Initially she had some radiotherapy. She has now been on pamidronate for approx 6 months at 3 weekly intervals. It seemed to really help at first but now she is in quite a lot of pain ( not that she admits to it ). She has walked with a stick for a long time now and seems to need it more than ever at the moment.
Any thoughts or views on pamidronate? Anyone been on it and now isn’t?
Any comments gratefully received!
Tracey xx

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Hi Tracey

I was on Pamidronate for 3.5 years and have only just changed to Zometa because the Pamidronate stopped working.

Has your mum had a recent scan to see if there’s any new activity and has she ever had radiotherapy to address the pain?

I wonder whether she’s spoken to her oncologist about it because there are a number of things that they can look at.

Good luck.

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Hi Tracey,

Like pinkdove I have been on pamidronate for some time now - since January 2003, but am still on it. My bone mets were just about everywhere and pamidronate has been very effective in keep it under control. I did have a lot of pain recently - lower back and hip - which lasted for some weeks so had all the scans repeated. The verdict was the disease is still stable, and the pain has gone now. I was told (and I don’t know your mum’s age) that some of the pain I was experiencing could just be down to my age and its associated problems!!! (I am 63). I would echo what pinkdove is saying and if your mum hasnt spoken to the oncologist then she needs to do so. They can then do various scans. It is important if she has not done so already - because if her hip is becoming unstable she needs something done before she injures herself.

dawnhc

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Thank you for your replies.
pinkdove- my mum had radiotherapy in 2006. May be a daft question but how did you know the pamidronate stopped working?
dawnhc- mum is 61. Will get my mum to ask about pain relief at her next appt.
Tracey xx

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Hi Tracey

I knew the pamidronate had stopped working because my back pain was becoming more severe and my Alk Phos (alkaline phosphatase - an enzyme found in cells that make bone) was beginning to rise again. I can’t really explain it but I knew something was active again! I had a much stronger blast of radiotherapy this time and although it took a lot longer to get over and for the pain to go it has actually done the trick.