I have been suffering with lower back pain for some months now, it would come and go, but now it is there most of the time and I feel a pressure on my spine when sitting. The trouble is I suffer from fybromialgia and take Arimidex so am in constant pain. This pain in my lower back is a continuous pain, it does go sometimes and gets bad in bed, but today its been bad on and off have been given stronger pain killers and it helps for a while.
I carn’t wait to get my appointment through, but would appreciate knowing what type of symptoms others had before being unfortunately diagnosed with bone mets. I’ve been looking up info and it just says pain. I’m hoping its arthritus or something like that. Thanks xxxSarniexx
I don’t know if this is any help, by I have a small spinal tumour and had no pain related to it at all. I got occasional pain in the same area, but it was muscular lower back pain from over doing it, and my scans showed a bit of degeneration in the spine that is normal for my age (51). I hope your pain will turn out to be innocent. If it isn’t - please PM me because there is a lot of variance in the approach to an early mets dx, and you need to make sure you are getting the best possible treatment. Good luck - hope you don;t have to wait too long for results. finty xx
Hi Sarnie, I have Fibromyalgia, and I have arthritus in my spine,hip, knees etc. I am also on Arimidex and I can understand the pain your in. I was having different pains to normal in my lower back and my knee, when I was in bed it felt like somebody was hitting the bottom of my knee with a hammer. I told the physio and she happens to be a physio for people with BC at another hospital near me. She told me Arimidex was a marvelous little pill and it did its job, but the pains in joints and muscles etc where bad. I mentioned it to my oncon and she sent me for a bone scan because of the BC, but thanfully it was ok it is Arthritus. So I went back to see my GP and he said the problem was in my hip, and he gave me an injection. Thankfully I am now sleeping till about 4am, before I was up at midnight. And the pain is a lot easier, I still get pain from it, and I know the injection will wear off, but it is helping at the minute. I hope your scan is clear, BC is enough to deal with on its own without the Fibro and the Arthritus. My GP always says to me ‘I know having breast cancer is awful, but dont forget you had a lot of problems before that’ The problem I have is, I know you get pains in all different places with the fibro, but now any new pain I think it is the BC back.
Anyway Sarnie I hope your scan goes ok, and the pains are down to your Fibro and Arthritus.
Love Heather xx
It must so difficult when you suffer from other things, to be able to differentiate between that and breastcancer related stuff. I was diagnosed with bone mets 8 yrs ago and at that point it had spread throughout my body. Strangely though I had no pain worth speaking of prior to the dx. The first thing that I remember happening was that I got sciatica really badly. Bad enough to have the hospital get very quick appointments for the various scans. I think it is just different for each of us, but you are wise to get the different type of pain checked out. Good luck.
Hi everyone, ive not been in here for a while just thought id pop in for advice.I had dx 2yrs ago it was only a small tumour i had radiotherapy no chemo but ovary abilation i was on arimidex at first but was changed to exestamine after suffering lots of pain in my body nothing has changed in fact its got worse. I had a bone density scan after my treatment which showed i had osteoporosis in my hips and osteopenia in my spine about 4 weeks ago i was in excrutiating pain in my back and decided to visit the doctor as normally i wouldnt bother i was sent for an xray which the result showed abnormal parts in my vertibrae I had a quick appointment with my onc yesterday who has explained what it means and is sending me for tests for bone mets to rule out secondary causes for my sudden back pain im now really scared its going to show the worst. I Have also got to go back to my gp to get refered to a orthopedic doctor.has anyone else had similar experiences?
Hi veggiebab - I’m sorry you have had to join the bone mets club. It is very shocking to get a secondary dx, but I hope your onc has reassured you that there are some very effective treatments for bone mets these days. There is a thread that you might like to read titled “Bone mets - please join in”. I’m glad you don’t have any pain - where are your bone mets?
Hi veggiebab
We all understand what a dreadful shock getting a mets diagnosis is, as Finty has said. I also have bone mets and was in no pain whatsoever when they were found by a routine scan (before I needed an op for a local recurrence). Since then, 2 and a half years ago, I still haven’t had any pain so I hope you also have the same pattern. I felt I could cope more with my diagnosis once my treatment plan was sorted and also this forum was, and still is, a great source of information, reassurance and support. It really helped me in those early, dark days to understand my condition and know there are many treatments available.
Good Luck and keep us up to date or ask any questions.
Nicky x
Hi veggiebab, I’m so sorry to hear your news…my story if it helps a little. I was diagnosed with both breast cancer and bone mets when my hip spontaneously fractured 8 years ago. I had a recent bone scan which shows, 8 years on, my bones have healed dramatically, thanks to the many treatments available for bone mets and I have no pain. This is a supportive place…Take Care…x.x.x
And Good Luck to all having bone scans here…x.x.x
Hi Finty, Nicky and Belinda.
Thank you for your positive comments. It makes me feel much better and positive about it.
My oncologist hasn’t discussed treatment yet. There is a suspician I have bone mets in my scull too. AGGGHHHH! I still have o have an MRI scan next Wednesday.
I can’t believe all this has happened in just 2 years.
Hi veggiebab - have you read my rather long comment on the Spinal Tumour and Surgery thread? It might have some relevance to you. Cyber knife can be used on skull mets if they are not too extensive.
Hi - It is Sadie here. I started the ‘Surgery and bone mets’ thread a few days ago. Thought I would introduce myself as we seem to be travelling this bit of the journey in parallel. Unfortunatley I do have pain and it is difficult to keep on top of it at the moment. My Dr has prescribed new pain killers - but the surgery is now shut and so will have to wait till Monday!! My CT scan was clear, so it looks like it might be isolated so today is a good day!! Anyway, Im happy to share info with anyone who is feeling that life really is unfair at times!
Just looking for the thread - ‘Bone mets - please join in’. I can’t seem to find it, can you point me in the right direction please. Im new to this. Thank you.
I have just found that thread and bumped it up for you, as hasn’t had a comment on it for a while. If you look under Latest Posts, under the drop down from Forums, you should find it near the top. At the beginning of the thread there are quite a few encouraging posts from people introducing themselves. I hope it is helpful and reassuring.