Back pain or bone mets

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hannahstripe
hannahstripe Member Posts: 27
edited October 2014 in Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned

I am probably being very paranoid but before I had breast cancer, I rarely have had any health problems, illnesses or aches and pains.  I have never broken a bone in my body. So my back has been hurting a lot over the last several days.  Not unbearable but very uncomfortable at times.  How do I know if I have just slept funny or hurt my back or if this is a recurrence in the form of bone mets in my back???

Any help or device appreciated.

D

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  • jenjenl
    jenjenl Member Posts: 948
    edited October 2014

    seems like the rule of thumb is 2 weeks of pain. They ask questions such as how long, is it getting worse, etc. 

    I've had chronic back pain since i finished chemo....so annoying!  How to trust your body after this crap.

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  • hannahstripe
    hannahstripe Member Posts: 27
    edited October 2014

    thanks for answering!  That is the hardest part - how do I trust my body?  I ask how will I know if I have a recurrence. I'm told I will just know. But how?  I think I am paranoid about every little thing now when nothing ever used to worry me......

    Thank goodness for this board and all of you on it.  No one else understands....

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  • TifJ
    TifJ Member Posts: 1,568
    edited October 2014


    I also go by the 2 week rule. My doctor told me that if the pain is not controlled with over-the-counter pain medication or is worse at night and 2 weeks have passed to call him and come in. I had awful lower back pain for well over 2 weeks so he sent me for a bone scan. Turned out it was some deterioration in my lower spine due to age ( I was 46 at the time) and stress from some physical therapy on my shoulder. This is the time where we all wish for arthritis or age issues!!

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

    Can bone mets be seen with x-ray?  I was walk/jogging a 5K about 5 or 6 times a week two years ago (I'm now 9.5 years NED), and my heel began to hurt.  It got worse and worse and I'm the type to push through anything.  Finally, I was hobbling so bad I went to an ortho.  They took an x-ray and saw nothing, squeezed my heel and said it was "shin splints."  I put on a boot for a bit, but it never healed.  Two and a half years later and I still have pain nearly all the time (but not constant, not waking me at night).  I've never got back to get the recommended nerve block because of available time and money (plus, I've been dealing with debilitating migraines with auras that involve cognitive loss of function temporarily and that took up my time and energy).  Now, I'm starting to have the same bone pain I had while taking Tamoxifen (lower limbs, arm and leg, but now only left side of leg). 

    I hate to be a worry-wart, and I'm already having no luck with several neurologists fighting these migraines.  I hesitate to ask anyone about the continuing bone pain. 

    So - what kind of tests do they do?  The type of scan one gets before taking Tamoxifen and Aromasin? A PET scan instead?


     

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