[Castaway]

Back pain after Zometa treatment changed

by Castaway on Mon May 09, 2016 9:16 am

Hello all,

Just wondering if anyone has had back pain that was only after a night's sleep, then getting out of bed. I can sleep all night, no back pain. But it's when I first get out of bed that the pain is very bad. I have to sit up for awhile, then slowly get up. The pain goes away after about 30 minutes if I walk around. Or if I take a couple Tylenol.

My oncologist has changed my Zometa from every month to once every 3 months. Seems like this pain started about when the Zometa treatment changed.

I am thinking of asking for a bone scan or survey. I had both about a year ago. Maybe a comparison would be helpful.

Any thoughts on this? Thank you,

George

[mrozdav]

Re: Back pain after Zometa treatment changed

by mrozdav on Mon May 09, 2016 10:55 am

Castaway,

Funny that you should ask this question. I have been experiencing something similar. I do not have back pain, but it seems centered in my left hip. I only have the pain (maybe a 2.5 on a scale of one to ten) when I am getting out of bed after sleeping for some time. It does not last for a half hour, however, but disappears as soon as I am up. I can walk for miles each day without feeling the pain. I am scheduled for a full body MRI at the end of the month to see if anything is going on.

I also have a persistent mild pain in my shoulder where I have felt an unusual protrusion in the last few months. An x-ray was done with the result that I have a sclerotic lesion in the area of my clavicle. I do not know what that means exactly, but no one seems concerned. All blood tests appear fine, but that is not always an assurance that all is well, right?

[NStewart]

Re: Back pain after Zometa treatment changed

by NStewart on Mon May 09, 2016 3:31 pm

I also have back pain and right sacroiliac (SI) joint pain when I get up in the morning. I sit and let it settle and then am usually good to go. I do take a couple of Tylenol first thing in the morning for the pain. Within about 30 minutes and moving around I'm good to go. X-rays and MRIs of my back and pelvis just show some degenerative changes that have been there for years. Keeping moving seems to be the answer unless I get over fatigued and then everything hurts.

I have my Zometa infusion every 6 weeks and have been getting it that way for a few years. The pain that I have isn't bone pain. It's seems to be joint and muscle pain.

I hope you both find the answers to your complaints,
Nancy in Phila

[Castaway]

Re: Back pain after Zometa treatment changed

by Castaway on Mon May 09, 2016 8:13 pm

Thank you both for your input. I do the same getting up in the morning. Sit up, wait a little while, then stand up. At times when I do stand up, it's a sharp pain. After I get moving, it pretty much goes away. I do see my oncologist next week, so I will let him know.

I realize all these tests are very expensive, like the bone survey and bone scan, but I would like to have them done for comparison. I never had an MRI. See what happens.

Thank You, George