Unexplained Leg Pain

Karynic, I really hate that you are in so much pain. Here is my thoughts, I sure don't want to scare you. I had one bone met of the ileum and had that radiated in 2013. Summer of 2015 my hip, leg started hurting. It was so bad I would cry at night time. One time it even caused me to pass out. They xrayed and did a CT, both were normal. Even did a Pet that showed nothing new. After 3 months with horrible pain and it progressing with how bad it hurt they sent me to an orthopedic that did a MRI arthrogram. That showed a small hairline fracture through the acetabulum. From there things got worse until I finally had major pelvis reconstruction. I was a CT tech, trust me if the MRI didn't show anything a regular X-ray will not. X-rays are less sensitive. But I think from my experience, I feel like things are happening deep in the bone causing our pain, we can feel it but it's not big enough for imaging to pick it up yet. I sometimes feel like with time whatever will show up. I think I would definitely go to an orthopedic to see what they think. Wishing you the best

Hi

bone scans and density scans often indicate arthritic changes especially useful for spine and hip socket degenerative changes which can also give bursitis

hope your symptoms quickly get sorted

If the MRI does not go down the femur far enough then ask for it to be xrayed. Doing a hip MRI would typically get about half of the femur. If plain rims are normal ask for MRI of the femur. It is very possible to walk on it. I walked on mine for 3 months. Thanks for asking about me, I'm hanging in there. Finished my round of chemo, he doing 2 more rounds then he is going to scan to see where we are. So far it has been really tolerable. Wishing you the best.

I had pain in my leg this summer, similar to what you are describing.... that started out like muscle pain but then progessively got worst. AFter a bone scan and xray, doc said it was cancer in the femur. LIke 7 cm??? I didn't believe it. Based on MY research, I think it was some sort of bone weakening or fracture casued by zometa. I FINALLY got my consult with a orthopedic oncologist and he agreed with me!! (I almost jumped up and HUGGED him)))! HA!

I had a FEMUR stress fracture. Let me tell you, it got worse...It was hard to detect on normal scans, MRI barely show it. They even did a bone biopsy to prove it wasn't cancer. I ended up with a rod in my femur to stabilize it. Back to normal, but I am and will always be susceptible to breaks now.

My strong advice is to get a referral to an orthopedic Oncologist. This is a KNOWN side effect from zometa. I also have had several fractures in foot.

I put myself on cruches right away.... I didn't want to have a full break in the femur. Very painful. Being proactive on this is key. If it was cancer I wanted to radiate it right away. Be the Squeeky wheel. Call monday and demand a referral.

message me if you have anymore questions. This issue hits close to home because I felt my main oncologist blew me off about it.

Cliff,

I still have reactions to the bisphosphonates, like Xgeva. Not as bad as the first infusion, but still pretty harsh.

Has your Doctor given you appropriate pain medication? If so, take it! It also helps to be absolutely sloshing with fluids the day before, day of, and day after your shot. It helps your kidneys process the stuff out of you faster.

You might ask about moving off Xgeva and doing the infusion version, Zometa. My doc has kept me on it as it excretes faster than the Xgeva, so I have less duration of pain.

Best of luck. These are great drugs for maintaining bone density, and seem to have some protective effect against the actual cancer, so it would be great if you could stay on them.

Jennifer

Just seeing this now, Kay, and haven't read through everyone's responses. But I can share with you that I also had pain that sort of shot up my right leg and had me hobbling around on a cane. It started around the time I was dx'd w/mets and progressively worsened over almost 3 mos., until I ended up in the ER in absolutely excruciating pain, only to find out that I actually had pathologic fractures in my femur and pelvis that required a titanium rod in my femur and a total hip replacement. Since that time, I have suggested to several mets sisters who were experiencing leg pain to have their femur & pelvis checked with an MRI, to see if that's possibly what was going on, and each time it was. So it's not uncommon. Obviously I can't say for sure that's what's going on with you, but there's enough of a risk that you absolutely should ask for an MRI. In my case, the pain was not where the fractures were until it got so severe I couldn't move and was literally screaming and crying at the same time -- probably when the fractures totally gave way. But prior to that, it was just worsening pain in my shin, shooting up my leg, so I had no reason to suspect something was going on where it was. Hopefully, that's not what's going on, but the way your pain is presenting definitely raises the suspicion of a fracture.

Please keep us posted! Hugs, Deanna

Cliff, I went from Zometta to X-geva, for convenience , quick shot verses once waiting 2 hrs for zometta infusion. Back to zometta because it was better tolerated.

Deanna, your experience sounds like mine , but I refused to go to the ER. When I text my family that I was having a hard time & was in great pain, my husband text me back saying I was a rock, & out of 6 grown children only 1 responded, my austistic son , w/"I love you mom" I called my husband after that, crying & yelling very loudly, "I am not a rock!!!" I laugh at it now, but my poor husband didn't know what to say. He finally asked if my son was there yet to pick me up, & I said yes, he just got here, but instead of coming in to get me, my 24 yr old son went across the street to play basketball. I had to hobble to the door to yell at him. One of the downfalls of having 5 sons, 1 daughter & a husband who don't like to talk about my cancer. Thank you BCO for giving me a place to vent & learn from others goingthru similar experience of Stage 4 BC.

cliff...Hadn't seen your comment last night...What you"re describing happened once to me -- the only time I asked to try the Xgeva shot in my tummy vs. the back of my upper arm. For some reason, the bone pain was much worse after getting it there, especially in my legs. So depending on where you get your shot, you might try an alternate injection site. Also, some patients use Claritin before and after their Xgeva shot to ease any bone pain.

X--rays don't always show everything. I wouldn't be surprised if the MRI reveals more, but be sure they do your entire pelvis, as well as the femur, in case the pain is referred. And keep in mind that readings can be a bit subjective. Depending on what the MRI report finds, a next step could be re-reading of both the MRI and recent PET by an ortho doc or second opinion radiologist.