Is any pain potentially bad or are there guidelines?

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RosesToeses
RosesToeses Member Posts: 721
edited June 2014 in Stage III Breast Cancer


In the last 5 months, I've had chemo fog issues with a brain MRI to rule out brain mets, followed by spine tingling with an MRI to rule out spine mets. Both scans were nice and clear, thank God.


So now, and for the past couple of weeks, my hip has been hurting. May be the tamox, may be the exercise I've been ramping up with, but again I don't know whether to worry about it being something ominous or not. Are there characteristic of met pain to look for that distinguish it from other stuff?


I feel like the girl who cried wolf, and I know it's silly but I worry that people are going to stop taking me seriously if I'm calling ever month or so with something new each time, and I worry that my insurance company is going to start refusing to pay if I keep this up. Plus, I'm starting to be afraid that this awful fear over every little twinge is going to be with me over and over for the rest of my life.


How on earth do you get a handle on what symptoms are acceptable and what's a really bad sign--or is there no way to tell and I should just start looking for a time-share near the MRI department?

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  • MelissaDallas
    MelissaDallas Member Posts: 7,268
    edited November 2013


    Roses, I'm sorry you keep having scares. I think from what I've read is to give it two weeks before worrying.

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  • Denise-G
    Denise-G Member Posts: 1,777
    edited November 2013


    Because I am 57, take Arimidex, and have plenty of pain, my pain tolerance before getting scared it is something greater has greatly increased. My mind no longer immediately goes to mets but age pain, Arimidex pain, and arthritis pain. Treatments really take a toll on the body. I've had to learn with a lot of pain or I would be getting an MRI weekly.


    Everyone is different...you will learn what is out of the ordinary. I think the wait two weeks advice is very good.

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  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited November 2013


    Roses, good question and something I struggle with myself. I have a seriously bad back and bad knees. I have had aches and pain, sometimes pretty bad pain, daily since I was a young teen. I told my docs that it would be difficult for me to guess what to worry about. I try to notice anything new and persistent. I also figure that since I see one or the other doc every 4-6 months (even more frequently the last 2 years), we will presumably catch anything when we do those follow-up visits.


    @ ). A year later, last month, I did routine CTs and this time they could see scarring on my lung from the rads, so I bet last summer's trouble was the beginning of that. I intend to point it out to my onc, whom I will visit next week.

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  • RosesToeses
    RosesToeses Member Posts: 721
    edited November 2013


    Thank you, Melissa, Denise and Momine, I appreciate the responses, not just for the good advice, but also because it helps a lot to be "talking" to people who understand how it feels to be in these shoes.


    It's been on and off for a while now, but I think I'm going to start keeping a log of when and how often it hurts and take it from there.


    Cancer really stinks, doesn't it?

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  • hopefour
    hopefour Member Posts: 459
    edited November 2013


    RosesToeses...hope the pain has subsided by now and you no longer need to be concerned! I have more pain in my hip that I lay on than the other. At first I was very concerned, but than realized it lessened when I didn't lay on that side ( also shoulder pain on that side). I also started anti inflammatory supplements that helped...anyway hope you are feeling better!

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  • aaoaao
    aaoaao Member Posts: 593
    edited November 2013


    I'm not a doctor but I do have bone mets so may be able to give a little insight into what to look for. Most bone mets pain doesn't just come on suddenly. The pain starts out subtle and increases as the met grows and destroys bone. At this point the pain usually becomes severe and pretty much constant. The increased exercise could be causing your pain since your body has been weakened by your treatments and will take time to recover. Also, tamoxifen can cause joint and muscle pain. You might want to try cutting back a little on your exercise routine for a short time and see if that helps to relieve the pain. Also keep track of when you feel the pain (in the evening after a workout or when you first get up) and the pain level (is it a 4 or 8), that will help you to see if it increases or not and what might aggravating it. However, if you are still concerned, get a scan to reassure you. Stress also affects the body and there is no reason that you should spend needless time worrying. I hope you're feeling better soon.

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  • RosesToeses
    RosesToeses Member Posts: 721
    edited November 2013


    Hopefour and aaoaao, it really cheered me to read your responses and encouragement. I did call my doctor and got an x-ray, the bones were good, but there's something worrisome in the soft tissue so I had a CT scan and will be in to talk about it tomorrow.


    Kind of a rough few days, but I'm glad I called (it did start real gradually but it's been getting more and more painful, a big increase in the last few days), and my team told me calling was the right thing, but to tell the truth, I'd be happy right now to settle for feeling foolish for calling over nothing!


    Fingers crossed for this to be better than it seems in the morning.

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  • RosesToeses
    RosesToeses Member Posts: 721
    edited November 2013


    And actually did get good news this morning! Inflammation, but not cancer--so I remain stage III (which I'll take!) No idea what the future holds, but grateful not to have to deal with this again today!

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  • fondak
    fondak Member Posts: 376
    edited November 2013


    So happy to hear your good news!

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  • hopefour
    hopefour Member Posts: 459
    edited November 2013


    rosestoeses...so thankful!!

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  • RosesToeses
    RosesToeses Member Posts: 721
    edited November 2013


    Thanks, fondac and hopefour! Feels like I dodged a bullet :)

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