neck pain

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wallan
wallan Member Posts: 1,275
edited June 2014 in Life After Breast Cancer
neck pain
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  • wallan
    wallan Member Posts: 1,275
    edited November 2007

    Well, I have a bone scan scheduled for my neck pain next week.

    The thing is, my neck pain is worse than a week ago.

    It hurts in the front/side and aches and aches.... sometimes I think it feels burny. I take ibuprofen for it. But now I am getting kinda a sickly headache with it too in my forehead.

    I sure hope this is nothing. I am really stoked today, because today is the first day of my new job.... I will be finished my Phd in jan probably, and I was able to land this job and I started today.... so please pray that my sore neck is only a pain in the neck....

    Wendy A

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  • Bugs
    Bugs Member Posts: 1,719
    edited November 2007

    Hugs!  Sounds kinda like nerve pain to me.  I will keep you in my prayers and have a great first day at work!

    Take care,

    Bugs

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  • sheshe48
    sheshe48 Member Posts: 338
    edited November 2007

    Back in Sept I had a stiff neck and it make my shoulders hurt too, it lasted about a week or so. Then went away on his own. I thought maybe a virus or something. It was very painful. Good Luck and I hope its not serious, and good luck with your new job.

    Dx 9/4/07 DCIS, IDC 1.6 cm stage 1, neg nodes, pos

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  • NoH8
    NoH8 Member Posts: 2,726
    edited November 2007

    I see a chiropractor for next pain and she works marvels through specific massage techniques. She helps with headaches too.

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  • SheriH
    SheriH Member Posts: 785
    edited November 2007

    I've had neck pain for about a year now.  I've had 2 mri's and they both show degeneritive disc disease.  Anti-inflammatories help, but sometimes it just hurts.  I hope you figure it out.

    Good luck with the new job.

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  • LizM
    LizM Member Posts: 963
    edited November 2007

    Wendy, I also have sore shoulders, upper back and neck.  It feels like the pain is in the muscles but sometimes it aches and burns.  I recently switched from Arimidex to Femara and I am thinking it is from the Femara.  I have had it for a couple of weeks. 

    Hoping your scan shows nothing and you can blame it on the Aromasin.  These AI's can do some pretty rough things to our bodies.  Keep us posted. 

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  • Paulette531
    Paulette531 Member Posts: 738
    edited November 2007

    Wendy...first off, congrats on the job and finishing your PHD...WOW, what an accomplishment!

    I had similar pain to what you are describing and  take ibuprofen (800 mg)...it helps but more than this, my neurologist said it is very bad posture. And I agree with her after having had every test in the world. I am working on the posture thing but a life long habit is hard to cure!

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  • LizM
    LizM Member Posts: 963
    edited November 2007

    Paulette, it is funny you mention posture.  I was thinking the same thing and a lot of what I read on the internet mentions neck, shoulder and upper back pain from poor posture.  I have been working on my posture and will see if it makes a difference.  I have always been tense in the shoulders plus I had reconstructive surgery with tissue expanders and rads which makes me very tight in the chest area.  I don't know if you are on an AI but what I have read makes me think that if you had an area that was already weak or you had problems, the AI's will make the pain worse because the loss of estrogen can make you more sensitive to pain. 

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  • Paulette531
    Paulette531 Member Posts: 738
    edited November 2007

    Liz...I was on Femara for a year and a half but was switched to Tamoxifan. (long story)...when I was taking Femara my problems were immense and I for one am of the mind that the side affects (some of them) are permanent. But getting beyond that, when I developed Bells Palsey (from Taxol) I was sent immediately to a neurologist and she was awesome. That was when she first pointed out how poor my posture was and how that related to arm, back, shoulder neck pain and headache. Before BC I had rather large breasts for my frame and so I became somewhat used to hunching forward while walking, standing, sitting, ect. and even after mast, continued the life long habit. When my neurologist pointed this out to me and worked with me on correct posture and showed me ways to get back in alignment, a lot of various aches and pains in the upper torso area began to vanish.

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  • honeygirl
    honeygirl Member Posts: 1,718
    edited November 2007

    Wendy , congrats on the new job and the Phd!!Smile That is awesome.

    Good luck with your scans. I had neck , back , and arm pain after my mast and recon. surgery. As I was healing , my neck and back got worse. I had a cervical mri. I had a herniated disk , causing a pinched nerve. Very painful. Nerve pain causes a lot of burning. I will keep you in my prayers. Melody

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  • LizM
    LizM Member Posts: 963
    edited November 2007

    Paulette, thanks for your response.  I took a yoga class yesterday and could not believe how much better my neck felt after the class.  I realized I have serious tension in my neck and shoulders along with extreme tightness. 

    Honegirl, what kind of treatment did you receive for your herniated disk?  Sometimes my pain which is in the muscles and moves around to different areas of the neck, shoulders and upper back has a burmning sensation. 

    Wallan, I didn't mean to hijack your thread.  Still thinking of you and hoping your pain is no more than side effects of the AI  or a similar problem to what the ladies above have mentioned.

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  • wallan
    wallan Member Posts: 1,275
    edited November 2007

    Thanks everyone for your info.

    It may be bad posture. This wouldn't surprise me one bit. And, I do think aromasin contributes... I have  sore, stiff joints now and then, especially my elbows, which I know is caused by the aromasin. 

     I wouldn't be surprised if this is another side effect.

    I am still nervous about the bone scan though. It has been 3.5 years now since dx and I know that cancer can lurk without symptoms. You would think that the passage of time would alleviate my fears, but really, I think if I am going to get a recurrance, wouldn't it be likely to show up around now? So the bone scan will be the most nerve-wracking one for me yet...

    Having said that, I am trying to stay positive... at least to keep my family happy....

    Wendy A

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  • JoanofArdmore
    JoanofArdmore Member Posts: 1,012
    edited November 2007

    Wendy, forget it! Cancer doesnt lurk w/out symptoms.At least it CAN, but this is why our oncs watch us, and why they pull tumor markers with our bloodwork each time we see them.

    And if your onc is one who doesnt take TMs, even regular bloodwork is enough, for THEIR trained eyes.They know the signs of trouble!These docs are GOOD, and they're not going to let ANYTHING lurk!

    Yeah, Wendy, it is probably just another blessing from Aromasin.After all-our bodies are covered in muscles & joints for Aromasin to make hurt!

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  • LizM
    LizM Member Posts: 963
    edited November 2007

    I came across this information on how to fix your own neck pain when I googled neck pain.  I did some of the exercises over the weekend and my neck pain is better.  It is all about posture and stretching the muscles in the chest, shoulder and upper back.  I didn't realize how bad I rolled my shoulders forward and it is definately a work in progress keeping my posture correct.

    http://www.drbookspan.com/NeckPainArticle.html

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  • wallan
    wallan Member Posts: 1,275
    edited November 2007

    Well, I had my bone scan for my neck pain and my elbow pain. results next week are in.

    They had to take unexpected extra pictures of my head... I don't know why. I hope the girl was just inexperienced.  They took extra pictures of my neck and elbow because of the pain there, so the extra pictures of my head were in addition to this..

    Anyways, for the last week or so I have been really exhausted. I mean I can hardly get out of bed. And I have a bit of a cough now and a heavy feeling in my chest. So I am assuming it is a virus. But I wonder if my neck pain and this is connected. Or, is it just aromasin again.

    I am really getting tired of feeling sick and tired.

    Wendy A

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  • LizM
    LizM Member Posts: 963
    edited November 2007

    Hi Wendy, I was thinking about you this week.  Glad to hear you had the scan done.  I'm sure this is not an easy weekend for you.  Hang in there and I will keep you in my prayers.

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  • TenderIsOurMight
    TenderIsOurMight Member Posts: 4,493
    edited March 2008



    Wendy, we'll all be thinking of you this weekend, sending good vibes. With a PhD just around the corner and a new job, you don't need this. Congratulations on an incredible accomplishment. Wow!



    Yep, I have all this too. Bugging me at night since September. So, I looked up bone pain and AI, and am posting links to audiotape series of Neil Love's BC update. Maybe it may help some to relax.



    But I know my posture is bad and have a PT I'm going to go to. My posture seems worse since the joint and bone discomfort has been driving me. Wonder if I'm compensating some by relaxing my skeleton inappropriately by slouching rather than being a "stand up straight kind of girl"....



    To listen to comments on bone discomfort and AI (but I can't remember which audio tape of the three):





    1. http://www.breastcancerupdate.com/download-audio/surgeons/2007/2/BCUS207_Rugo/BCUS2_2007_Rugo_03.mp3



    2. http://www.breastcancerupdate.com/download-audio/surgeons/2007/2/BCUS207_Rugo/BCUS2_2007_Rugo_04.mp3



    3.http://www.breastcancerupdate.com/download-audio/surgeons/2007/2/BCUS207_Rugo/BCUS2_2007_Rugo_05.mp3



    Take care, Wendy and all,

    Tender

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