Bone Pains

[dvcarola]

My husband started to feel some severe bone pains in the spine recently, comes and goes, and to be honest, im feeling scared 😢 He didnt experience any bone pains when he was diagnosed 5months ago until just recently. He is taking Zytiga+Pred, Eligard (every 3mos) and Xgeva (monthly) and latest PSA is 1.44 from 33 prior to treatment (5mos ago).

Are these pains from bone mets or SE of meds? Im not really sure. But he does stationary biking 4x a wk, swimming 2x a wk, some walking. We will have PET PSMA scan next month (after 6months treatment) to check on his progress.

Appreciate all your inputs re best possible way how to manage bone pains. Thanks in advance!

-Vikkie

[Hidden]

Hi Vikkie,

My husband take morphine for pain relievers..

[dvcarola in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Jhazph, wow morphine is a very strong pain reliever, wishing the best for you and your husband!

[Hidden in reply to dvcarola]

Hi Vikkie,

Sorry to hear this, you better see your husband doctor for the best advise with this matter. anyway, your husband and i had the same problem and planning to move here in the Philippines soon, wondering where did you buy this special medicines for him?

can i get your number? can we meet somewhere? i'm here at Makati.

[dvcarola in reply to Hidden]

Hi Jhaz, i sent you PM, and yes of course we can meet 😊

[JamesAtlanta]

Sorry you and your husband are dealing with this. First, make sure you tell your doctor about the pain. Since the pain comes and goes, it may be something else. I suspect it’s a side effect. When I first started Lupron, I was incredibly stiff. My bones and joints ached. I found that stretching helped a lot. I eventually went to a physical therapist - which really helped.

Good luck dealing with this ... I know all this is a bit unnerving. Please keep us posted on his progress.

James

[JamesAtlanta in reply to JamesAtlanta]

Meant to also say that I had a met in my T8 vertebra, the pain started dull. Then progressed to excruciating. It did not come and go. It was a constant pain. So if his symptom is that it comes and goes, that’s not how I experienced it, and might be a further sign that it’s due to something else, like ADT.

James

[dvcarola in reply to JamesAtlanta]

Yes the pains started like numb or dull but progressed to excruciating pain but it comes and goes for now, when we asked the doctor last wk, he just gave my husband tramadol/dolcet 325mg for pains which is what he is taking now when he is in pain.

Thanks for your inputs James. I do hope it doesnt progress to constant pain because he still wants to continue working. Hope you get some relief as well from your bone pains.

[dvcarola]

Hi Nal, Alk Phos as of last wk was just 79 so i guess its still normal. If pain doesnt go away, will ask onco if husband can take muscle relaxant as well.

But its a bit comforting to hear that the pain might be coming from side effects and not from bone mets. Thank you for your usual help!

[AlanMeyer]

I have no idea if this will help but another thing he might try is a heating pad or ice packs, or alternations of the two. Be careful not to burn or freeze the skin.

I never tried high dose pain meds but I got about as much relief from nerve pain from 3 ibuprofen tablets (600 mg total) as I did from 50 mg tramadol or 5 mg oxycodone, and didn't have the funky side effects that the prescription drugs caused. More than 3 ibuprofen tabs would upset my stomach, but I'm a small guy (under 150 pounds) so my drug tolerance may be lower than larger men.

If you want to try these it's a good idea to call the doctor's office and ask if this sounds safe to him. His receptionist can probably ask him and call you back so it won't take up a lot of his time.

Best of luck.

Alan

[dvcarola in reply to AlanMeyer]

Thanks for the inputs Alan, I will try the heat pads and will check with my doctor re ibuprofen tabs. Im also doing some essential oils applied topically and it helps a bit i noticed. Helps him relax and sleep better even when in pain. All the best to you!

[Hidden]

Hello Vikkie,

Is your husband still experiencing bone pain? My guy is also Stage 4b, age 52. He is experiencing the same type of pain. It comes and goes. We get the results from his second bone scan tomorrow. We are hoping the bone pains are from the monthly zometa infusion. He takes tylenol as needed. He is also suffering from fatigue. Is fatigue an issue for your husband?

[dvcarola in reply to Hidden]

Hi Mihombre, i hope and pray you get some good bone scan results. My husband’s bone pain improved as he is experiencing it less and less now. I think my constant essential oil application helped. We will have a repeat PET psma scan by the end of December so hopefully the cancer has not spread any further 🙏 As for fatigue, it is not much of a problem but he do gets tired once in a while especially because he is a workaholic, sleeps late always due to work which I would always remind him that he needs plenty of rest. Altho the hot flushes he experiences from time to time.