Intermittent hip pain
Hi all,
Not sure why I'm posting this. I have medical anxiety, I guess.
I have had on and off hip pain for about a month. It came on kind of suddenly from what I remember. It comes and goes, feels like it is in my buttock sometimes, down outside of my thigh others--aches at times, twinges at other times, often I feel nothing. When it began I couldn't sleep on my left side without aleve, but now I can--seems to be subsiding a bit, but still there. I can't figure out how to bring it on: walking doesn't at times, but sometimes when step I feel a twinge.
I can sleep without aleve now, and can sleep on it most nights for quite a while-sometimes I have to adjust my position a bit. Sometimes it doesn't bother me at all.
Standing on it doesn't hurt; sometimes sitting does, sometimes not.
Saw my oncologist last week: all labs normal. She said she didn't think it was anything to worry about (thought it was exemestane), but said for my peace of mind I could get a bone scan. I'm reluctant to get one (I've been radiated enough I think--was a fallout victim in 62 when I was 3, and I think that was what brought on the c--) at this time. She said, quote, "I'm not worried about it", but then ordered a bone scan.
I went to see my osteopathic surgeon, and he did a bunch of exams, tested flexibility, did x-rays, and said he couldn't find anything serious other than a bit of mild arthritis. He thought tendonitis/soft tissue injury, but didn't give me a concrete dx. He thought it would eventually go away and that if it didn't or got worse with a bit more time, to call them. Wouldn't anything serious show on an X-ray?
I should mention that I had been walking my dog in snow boots that I don't normally use to walk in when this happened, and I had gone to a new exercise class when it came on, and when I tried some new yoga poses a few weeks ago I felt it hurt a lot on the left side where I'm feeling pain, but I was already having hip pain when that happened. The new pose made it feel worse so I had to stop.
Am I crazy to still be worried?
Now I feel kind of stupid, reading what I just wrote, Feedback appreciated. Thank you, all!
Claire in AZ
Comments
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claire - I had sudden onset hip pain that was worse sitting and laying down - interfered with sleep, did not hurt as much standing or walking. I could not trace it back to a specific incident but it became worse over time, my mind went to the dark place, so I notified my MO and he ordered an MRI. I had bi-lateral hip and lumbar spine MRIs - two full hours in the machine, eeeks! It showed no cancer, but did show trochanteric bursitis, stress tears in the gluteus medius muscle (hip), and fluid in the hip joint. I had helped my youngest move to Georgia and her apartment was on the 3rd floor. I didn’t sustain an injury that I was aware of and didn’t carry anything heavy, but did go up and down the stairs quite a bit, and mild pain started a week later. Apparently, it took a week for the irritation and fluid to start causing trouble, but as time elapsed the pain worsened. The fix was physical therapy with ultrasound, strength training, heat, and myofascial massage at the USF Sports Medicine department. I started twice a week for a couple of months, then down to once a week, every other, then on my own with the exercises, massage and heat. It took more than six months to resolve, but I have zero problems with it now. Hope this is helpful!
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Here's a reverse story: I had hip pain before cancer, and now it's gone. I think a lot of these pain/arthritic/inflammatory conditions can be eased by proper nutrition and supplements and getting sugar, etc out of the diet. Once I began eating a super clean diet and taking Omega 3 and curcumin among other supplements, my former aches and pains melted away. I think it is very worth considering an anti-inflammation diet and appropriate supplements. (Personally I used a naturopathic physician with experience supporting cancer patients undergoing chemo.)
My understanding of met pain is that it is not intermittent but constant. I hope you get to the bottom of it soon, and get relief.
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Hi Santabarbarian/Special K-
Good advice; thank you. Do you think that the Xrays of my hips would have showed any serious problem? I'm sure my doc has seen serious concerns regarding potential cancer in his experience-he's been at it for a while, and deals with all kinds of osteo pain.
(SpecialK-good to hear from you again. You've been so helpful since I joined bc.org in '11. Hope you are doing okay!).
CinAZ
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Xrays would show a huge met, but not a small one. I had similar pain, and like Special K, it was bursitis. It was incredibly painful and intermittant.
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Thank you,KBee. I have never not done what my oncologist said (she ordered the bone scan). But she did it on my behalf, and didn't much react to my report of intermittent pain. If she doesn't think I have anything to worry about and only reacted to my fear it might be "something", then I'm confused about ordering one at all. I think she would have jumped and told me to get one asap if she were concerned. First time ever she acted like she was in a hurry and treated me somewhat perfunctorily during the appt.
She also ordered a DEXA scan for me next week to see how my osteopenia is doing, so more exposure to radiation. I have been getting Prolia every six months as a dual osteo prevention and to prevent any potential bone mets-but now my insurance won't pay for any more unless I'm dx with osteoporosis. Would a DEXA show mets in a hip?
She said I could get Zometa in place of the Prolia for osteopenia, every six months-but I dislike the 30 min infusion administration of that drug for some reason. Prolia was so much easier.
Would any of you turn down a bone scan if you were in my shoes? What's the chance a bone scan would show a false positive? I've never had one before. I know ILC has a higher tendency to met into soft tissue like stomach, ovaries, etc. instead of bones...
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A few years ago, I started with similar pain. I knew L5-S1 was shot, but this was different. PCP and I thought Mets, sent me for mri. Showed arthritis,stenosis, degeneration, and the bad disk. Forward 3 years. Sharp pain going lateral. He poked around, said it was sciatica. A Medrol pack and 2 shots in my butt, it went away. A year later, currently, the same thing.
I just had a PET/ct 3 weeks ago. Fortunately I didn’t light up there. UNFORTUNATELY I did light up in the axilla. So I did reoccur.
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Id try lowering my inflammation for 30 days....diet, vitamins and supplements... and maybe see a sports medicine chiropractor or PT, and try the natural approach in those areas. Then, if pain persisted I'd check it out w scan Go for the most-likely solutions first. And ask your MO if she supports that approach, so in case you are misreading her she could clarify.
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I have recently had similar pain. An ultrasound was ordered and bursitis was diagnosed like SpecialK and Kbeee. I had a steroid injection into my bursa and it feels a lot better. With a history of cancer our drs have a much lower threshold for ordering scans so even if they don’t think it is likely to be a cancer recurrence if we have unexplained pain for more than 2 or 3 weeks and haven’t had a recent scan they will likely order one.
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My osteopathic surgeon suggested I do PT and see a chiropractor. I kind of wish he had just given me a cortizone injection, because that helped with elbow tendonitis I had several years ago. He seemed reluctant to inject me--conservative I guess.
As for clean eating, I'm vegetarian, organic, little to no dairy, mostly plant-based. I do 3-5 hours of yoga a week and the PT stretches I found online were ones I do in yoga already...
I think I'll get the DEXA next week and then reassess about the bone scan. It's a job to balance being micromanaged, and taking care of our health...
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dexa scans only show bone density. X-rays don't show mets inside bone. I had 3 sets before the MRI without contrast on lower back lit up like stars. Get the scans
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I was not offered a bone scan, but if offered one, I likely would have done it for peace of mind. Pros and cons, and there is no right or wrong.
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JoE777,
Thank you-would you get one if you had the type of on again, off again pain as I described above? It was worse about a month ago--when it set in (was still intermittent), and has subsided (can sleep on my side now, no pain or pain relief), but hasn't gone away completely. When I walk it's gone unless I step wrong. When I sit for a while and move, I can feel a twinge. But it doesn't feel like a deep ache like I'd expect if I had a bone met.
Does anyone know about false positives on bone scans? Likelihood? I have tremendous medical anxiety because of my own dxnes (a one in 40 mill dx of an adrenal tumor and b.c) and the fact that I lost my husband to cancer after being married 3 months, when I was 37.
Claire
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Thanks for the feedback, ladies. I think I'll give it a week and see if I have at least 24-48 hours without pain, and then go forward. I don't have that deep intuition that there is something wrong like I did when I was first dx, but I also know not to ignore pain--even intermittent--that continues.
Claire
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It sounds like a good plan. Your anxiety is understandable. I also am willing to wait when I do not have that horrible gut feeling. My gut has been correct 100% of the time.
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Claire, I would skip the X-rays, anti inflammatory meds, physical therapy and bloodwork and go straight for the MRI if I had it to do over. The MRI found the 5 tumors in the sacrum iliac joint. The next step was a pet scan from the cap of the skull to mid thigh that revealed multiple nodules in both lungs that were mets with no symptoms. Hate to freighten you but better to be safe and tha sorry.
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claire...I am so sorry to hear about your loss. How devastating. No words.....
Hip? Okay...my experience...here goes.....
I am extremely athletic..walk most days 5 miles +. I know I have multiple disc herniations, probably due to Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. For several years my hip hurt, mostly while sitting. After a long walk....somewhat. My FORMER pain managment doctor wanted to give me an epiduraI in my back. I decided to get a second opinion. I went to my neurologist who had previously diagnosed my tarsal tunnel syndrome that I was suffering with for EASILY 10 YEARS and he took an x ray and said at 61, I had the hips of a 40 year old. He thought I had bursitis and passed me off to this wonderful pain managment doctor. I told him my hip mostly hurt when i slept and I could no longer sit. Believe me when I say, I COULD NOT SIT. Do yu have any idea how much sitting we do during the course of the day!? We atart out by sitting up in bed, toileting, breakfast, car ride......yikes.....doctor's office? I could not sit at all. He then gave me a shot in my hip and said if i didn't feel better, he would order an MRI. SO........guess what happened next.....
The MRI said I had a small spot where there was bone on bone....whatever that means.....and....it looked like I had a tumor growing in my other leg....near my other hip that wasn't even hurting....
Next thing I know and two MRI's later, I had surgery in one thigh, near the left hip, for a 5 cm INTRAMUSCULAR MYXOMA and then a few weeks later, I got a new right hip.......
None of the MRIs nor the x ray showed the true extent of my arthritic disease of my right hip. It was severely diseased.
Sooooo......why didn't ANY of the imaging reflect the problem? The doctor said....
It could have been....
The way I was positioned
The machine
The technician
Or my anatomy
What.a.mess!
I had suffered for so long and now.....
FROM THE MOMENT THEY PUT ME IN A CHAIR FOLLOWING SURGERY, I FELT GREAT!
And....I have felt great ever since. It is almost a year since my surgery and I am WONDER WOMAN!
and.......one last thought....
My maternal aunt and her daughter, my cousin, both had their right hips replaced at 61. Coincidence? Hmmmmmmm......
Claire...your hip can be hurting you for a host of reasons. Go to a good hip surgeon and let them figure it out! It might be a benign condition that a little PT and/ or some steriods will help.....or you might need a repair....
My advise....DON'T WORRY! Tell yourself you are not going to let the thought of cancer win. Your new normal will treat you gently. You deserve better than being reminded of the possibilities and the past!
The DH has a very rare genetic metabolic muscular dystrophy. As he recently said as the keynote speaker on orphan illnesses, he has lived long enough, at 65, to get the illnesses of old age...and that is a blessing. He had cardiac bypass several years ago and is enjoying getting older....
Take pleasure in being 62. Welcome all of the illnesses that advanced age brings....remember WE ARE SURVIVORS! We are not afraid of cancer. We are not afraid of growing old and what that involves!
My advise? Find a doctor whose advise you respect and let them figure it out for you!
Gentle hugs....
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Claire... are you on an A.I. right now? Or did you finish your five years?
This sort of pain is exactly the kind of thing that these drugs cause...
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Hi all,
I hesitated for a few weeks to even post this message, because I knew at least one person would tell their horror story. That is the kind of thing that can take me to the dark, horrible place of abject terror. I'm already taking Lexapro because I have generalized anxiety disorder (since I was a kid). But I hoped someone would give me some insight...which a lot of you did.
Jennie, my signature line reflects I'm on Aromasin-since 2015 (thanks for thinking of this!
), and I will be on it indefinitely, according to my MO during our visit last week. Some research points to 10 years for high risk like me, and she thinks more research will eventually prove to keep us on it indefinitely as long as we can tolerate it. So far I've had little to no problems (I've gone from Tamox to Arimidex--which was AWFUL, to Aromasin). She also mentioned my hip pain "sounded" like exemestane issues. I've been on some kind of post tx med since 2012. The osteosurgeon said it appeared as tendonitis, not greater trochanter pain syndrome, which is what they call hip bursitis these days. I"m going to hot yoga today (getting back to my normal exercise levels-I laid off to see if that did anything to the pain), and see what that does.
I slept all night with no pain. I got up this morning and felt a twinge when I moved. I'm sitting down now and feel no pain. I lie down on my back, and no pain. On a pain scale overall WHEN I feel it--2 out of 10? Most of the time it's barely noticeable, except when I move my hip or step a certain way, which I can't recreate. Believe me I've been trying to figure out how to get the pain to come on, in hopes I can zero in on where it is. At times it's even down the front of my thigh like a slight muscle ache-- and then goes away.
Thanks Kbee for your voice of reason. I suppose if it's worst-case scenario, a few more weeks won't make a difference.
Thanks for walking with me through all this, and for your patience.
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Joe77, I asked before, but I think it got missed in all the other posts--what were your symptoms? Constant pain? Intermittent? Getting worse? Subsiding? Could you walk a couple of miles and not be in pain? Where was it exactly?
Thanks!
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Claire, so sorry you are having an issue that is causing you stress, anxiety and concern.
I'm no doctor but your issue sounds like sciatica. The pain can be anything from mild to excruciating and the intensity of the pain is no indication of degree of involvement.
I hope you can get resolution so you can let go of the worry.
I had hip pain on the cancer side several years ago. It was so bad I had to hop on one leg to get to the kitchen! 4 weeks later, things got better. I have sciatica on and off but this was different. I never did get a scan or have it checked out and it resolved. It's been at least 3-4 years since. I suspect I had an inflamed bursa but I'll never know. Post back and let us know how you're doing. Best to you!
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claire...when i walked long distances I got a drawing pain down my upper thigh. It also hurt if I pressed my finger into the hip where the thigh pain begain.
I am taking my walk now and feel GREAT!
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Claire, intermittent at the the beginning, couldn't stand in one place -washing dishes. Wrap around pain from hip across lower abdomen after standing. Hip and lower back tender to pressure. Couldn't sit on that side. Deveopled pain on the outside of the hip and down the front of my thigh. If I sneezed or coughed the pain was excruciating. This all came on gradually and progressed from feeling like a little arthritis in the hip and back. Over a period of 6-8 months I stopped walking my 4 miles a day. Hope your ok
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I had to have back surgery about 20 years ago, due to unbearable back and leg pain. NOTHING helped, tried PT (made it worse), cortisone, codeine every 3 hours. I honestly would have committed suicide without the codeine; it didn't help the pain but kept my mind fuzzy enough to sort of cope. Finally had spine surgery for torn disc, and it turned out part of the disc had detached and wandered over to the sciatic nerve and was lodged against it. The great doctor I had, a neurosurgeon, was able to track and find that through a tiny incision on my back. First thing I said in recovery was "Holy shit, I don't hurt!" I'd gotten to the point I couldn't imagine that. VERY fast recovery from surgery, but since I had gotten scared and refused a next-day surgery opening when I first saw the surgeon, I had to wait three weeks and it caused some nerve damage that took some months to straighten out. My co-workers would even point out, "Hey, you're tired because your foot is dragging." It eventually went away.
Oh, the cause? A long road trip vacation where I sat in the passenger seat every day with my knee resting against the door.
I'll take my three cancer surgeries over the pain I had before getting that surgery.
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Hi ladies,
Sometimes I think our posts are more group therapy sessions than anything else.
!!!!Hip pain slowly subsiding, it seems, but my left lower back hurts and from time to time so does the buttock muscle on that side and down the back of the thigh, like a muscle or tendon or something like that. I've been sitting a lot (driving and working on my computer) which I know isn't good. I am trying to get up and stretch more. It's the time of year I have to do a lot of grading, and sitting is part of that.
It feels so much better after I go to hot yoga. I tried to bring on pain in the poses and could do all of them without any pain--even going down in full splits, which I just learned to do last year.
The problems are definitely situational. And I haven't taken any aleve in days.
1-2 times a day, when I step or turn a corner, I feel a slight twinge that feels like it's in the joint-but not the bone.
Go figure. I thought I'd get the bone scan and made an appt, at least for a baseline, since my MO just sent a letter saying she's retiring and I'll have to find someone else now-and thought it would be a good idea. So today my hip doesn't hurt.
Claire in AZ
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Thanks for updating us. I'm so glad you are having some relief. It sure sounds sciatic in nature but agree, once given this ugly diagnosis, we tend to meander to the ugly place very quickly.
You need to do what will give you peace of mind. None of us walks this path in a similar fashion but if it calms us and reassures us, then that is what we need to do.
Report back how things go for you and thanks again for keeping us in the loop.
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Thank you Wallycat, it's good to hear from you. As a high risk person (my MO says) it just exacerbates my medical anxiety. I scheduled the scan, but now the "catch" is in my sacrum and not all the time and not debiliating. Hip pain is gone.
I'll decide to cancel the scan when my MO calls with results for my DEXA, which I just got yesterday. I'll update her and see what she says.
CinAZ
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I had a bone scan shortly after my surgery due to pain in legs that would often be so intense that sleep or rest in general was near impossible. The results showed no metastasis however my pain has spread to my hip, lower back, knees and left foot. Deep down I know this is menopausal symptoms or just age related wear & tear however on those days which thankfully are becoming less, it is so difficult to not do the "but what if... ". Secondly I lost vision in my left eye, particularly peripheral, albeit for just 20 minutes and suffer quite intense sinus like headaches regularly despite no known issue with my sinuses. My vision is worsening and I have sensitivity to light but I'm no spring chicken so again, logically it's most likely age related but again "what if....". So I decided I could worry myself into a state of panic or contact my doctor and let her decide if it warrants further investigation. Most days I cope well and try to put it behind me but my biggest struggle is getting the balance between vigilance and paranoia. I know this is not directly related to your post and clearly I have offered no advice of value but I do think it's common and only natural to fear a reoccurrance. I just hope you are offered the best care from your medical team and your family, friends and the many experienced women here will have invaluable advice and understanding. Much love & strength to you all as you continue to navigate living with cancer and all that entails.
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I’m currently in the waiting room for a bone scan for intermittent hip pain. What a time to open this page and find this conversation on top 🤦🏻♀️ I told my doc I thought it was probably not metastasis but it’s gone on long enough and is nagging me. It’s a low level anxiety that I can usually ignore but now it’s hurting when I haven’t worked out in more than 2 weeks. So she put the order in for the scan to be extra cautious. Ugh.
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I had intermittent hip pain all the time the first 3 years after chemo. I was always living terrified until my lymphedema specialist told me that most hip pain in women is from bursitis which is the #1 cause. I looked on Youtube for some simple exercises which I did. They were easy and within a week or two, pain was gone.
The mets scare is real, and I do not mean to downplay it. But try those exercises for bursitis before you panic!
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Denise-G, was there a specific Youtube video you used? I can't even lie on that side at night because of the pain. I've had a steroid injection which worked for a few weeks, but I don't want repeated injections, and no one mentioned any exercises. Thanks!
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