Acute back pain when I'm lying down

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Anonymous
Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
edited September 2014 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

Dear all,

Of course I'm thinking the worst.  It came on three nights ago, felt like my back was on fire inside, lower back only. Now the pain has moved down my lower back to my hips, mostly, but only when I'm lying on my side or back in bed. I'm typing this right now and (although somewhat medicated) I have no pain. Even with meds I had pain when lying down.

I am very active, yoga three times a week, gym twice a week, and walk nearly every day.  However, last Sunday through Friday I was grading student papers (I'm a Univ. lecturer) and sat for hours with my laptop on my lap, curled in a c-position in bed with not much support behind me at all.  My husband says I hunch too much.  On Friday, I went to the gym and then went directly to yoga. I've been feeling fatigued lately, but I've been putting in 12 hour days!  

Of course I hope it's the arimidex, and that the fatigue is also from arimidex combined with work, and that this is just a new symptom (my hips hurt from time to time on this med, from the beginning but never my back like it has.)

My worst thought is bone or ovarian cancer.  Of course that's where our minds go.

I see my oncologist in less than a month and my gyno day after tomorrow.  Other than lack of sleep because of the achiness in my very lower back and hips, I feel fine now that I'm sitting up.

Help, please! Talk me down, ladies. I have a "c" anniversary this month too, and things are starting to fly around in my head.

Love

Claire

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Comments

  • gemini4
    gemini4 Member Posts: 532
    edited September 2014

    Step away from the ledge!  :-)

    I think it's a case of creakiness related to bad sitting, stress, and perhaps the arimidex. I think you're so fit, Claire, that you're not prone to this type of injury.  However, I think as we age (and the hormone therapy enhances some of the symptoms), we feel these discomforts more acutely.

    My experience with low back pain is that it likes to make its way down the hips and thighs.  I think if ovarian "stuff" were involved, it would be presenting more in the abdominal area. 

    Of course I'm not a doctor, but your schedule and sitting habits sound like the culprit for your fatigue and aches. Can you ask your yoga instructor to recommend some special stretches (that you don't normally do) that might help ease the discomfort?  Maybe some P/T?  I have had a lot of issues with my low back, and the bodywork therapists I've seen always recommend starting with loosening up the hip flexors. Foam rolling also helps with the IT bands on the thighs (it hurts but really helps). 

    I hope you feel better soon, in all ways!

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited September 2014

    Thank you Gemini, I've been checking this thread every 5 " for someone to help me...I haven't taken any meds now for about 4-5 hours and sitting straight up I feel fine.  I'm exhausted from being up all night nearly, and my anniversary 9/29 is looming...I hope more will post but your words were pure reality, I appreciate them... <3

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  • kamm
    kamm Member Posts: 140
    edited September 2014

    Claireinaz- It's most likely the Arimidex. I've been on it for a couple of months and within two weeks felt a slight stiffness in my lower back and the back of my neck that I never had before. Started about 2 weeks after I started the med and has gotten a little worse as the weeks go on. Totally tolerable for me. I mostly feel it when I'm weightlifting. If it doesn't go away I'll try some Glucosamine. You might want to give that a shot as well. But for me it's def the Arimidex. Don't worry!

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  • coraleliz
    coraleliz Member Posts: 1,523
    edited September 2014

    My occasional achey back proceeded my BC diagnosis. Mine is mostly related to sitting. Like you I workout everday doing a variety of activities. I'm just not happy physically or mentally if I have to be sedentary.

    Here's what helps me,

    1)back stretches over a large exercise ball

    http://www.fitsugar.com/How-Stretch-Your-Back-Usin...

    2)hanging upside down. Your gym probably has a device to achieve this. Usually it involves hooking your knees & flipping over.

    3)foam rollering the entire back from shoulders to hips

    I actually see a chiropractor for my other athletic injuries(knees,feet,shoulders......). Just never for my back. My chiropractor is a cancer survivor. He got excited about a bump on my left scapula & referred me back to my MO to have it investigated further. It turn out to be nothing.

    Hope you find relief & can resume your active lifestyle pronto!

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited September 2014

    Okay, ladies, here's what happened: yesterday when I posted, I had taken a variety of pain meds.  But the last med I took was a claritin 24 hour, because I remembered, in my sleeplessness haze, that someone on these boards mentioned that just as claritin helps with bone pain brought on by neulasta, it can also relieve bone pain brought on by arimidex (something about an allergic reaction to the initial meds, not sure).

    I took that med very early a.m. and then got up a few hours later.  Walked around, and found I had NO pain. I posted because I was so freaked out by it all, but since then I haven't taken one aspirin, ibuprofen, tramadol, or tylenol 3. And have had NO pain.  

    What do you think of that? I'm mystified by it all, but think that perhaps it was indeed some new reaction to our lovely AL.

    Claire

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  • angelia50
    angelia50 Member Posts: 381
    edited September 2014

    I don't know if it works or not but after reading your post, I googled it and I'm going to buy some today and try it.  I mean, what is it going to hurt and if it works, it will be wonderful.  

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  • kamm
    kamm Member Posts: 140
    edited September 2014

    I've also heard that that works for some people. I take it for allergies anyway so it's a win win! If it works I say take it!

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited September 2014

    I guess I fit the mold of "new SE come with arimidex when you take for a while".  I had back pain like this once from neulasta, tramadol helped, but I took the claritin regularly through chemo and had no other problems.  I don't understand why arimidex gives us new SE and takes away old ones. 

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  • kamm
    kamm Member Posts: 140
    edited September 2014

    I wonder that myself. So many things about it doesn't make sense. Something as simple as changing the time of day that you take it  can make a difference for some people but it makes no sense that it should.Once you have a blood level it seems that it shouldn't make a difference. For me I had the usual wierd sleep pattern by taking it in the morning. You think that would be better because you have a lot of time to metabolize it and stabilize the blood level before you go to sleep but what I found was that I had less hot flashes at night and it allowed me to sleep for longer periods of time without waking. I still wake up once but I'm able to fall back asleep. But then other people do it and it doesn't make a difference. Same with SE's. Different SE's showing up for people at different times and some going away. I guess it's more complicated as well because there are two things going on here. You have the SE's of the medicine itself but then you also have the effects of the lack of Estrogen. Really makes it difficult to differentiate what's causing what sometimes. 

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