My father was diagnosed 4 months ago with stage 4 and 2 different sites of mets on his back. He was put on Lupron, Zyt, and Pred. His PSA of the last reading is less than 0.2 but he started having some lower back pains last night. He said it felt more like muscle pain than spinal pain. He is stubborn though and I would just like to know what the signs are that the back pain is being caused by the cancer.
-Barron
I wrote a post about the same thing a few hours ago. May be we will get some answers from those who know.
My dad has same issues Gleason 9 stage 4 Mets to bone on zytiga prednisone lupron xgeva he complains his pain is in his muscles too not the bone??? I’m baffled I don’t know if he’s scared to admit it’s his bones and not muscles? I feel u same stubborn dad here too
I use aspercream with lidocaine at night. It shuts off the aches and pains. I also wash down an Aleve. I'm trying to avoid morphine. I've noticed people who take opiods don't seem to do as well long term.
It is not good at all once the bone starts pinching on the nerves.
The source of most of the pain will probably be inflammation of the tissues. Inflammation itself may come from different sources. In my case, a deterioration of some of the vertebrae in the thoracic spine leading to contact with the nerves in the spinal column.
You'll need a bone scan and or CT scan to know for sure. I remember my husband thinking it was muscle pain for weeks, only to find out it was bone Mets.
Probably not from PCa . Too soon. Scans won’t find anything at this low Psa. Every time we get an ache we worry about PCa . It’s natural but unwarranted .
Have Mets in ribs and spine. Hard to answer the question. Pain when coughing,stabbing, hurts to take a deep breath. Lack of strength in the lower extremities. Get him to get a CT scan with contrast and a full blood panel. Good luck with the monster 🙏🙏🙏
Thanks, Larry. Is there anything they can do to help with your pain besides pain killers?
I used Tylenol to cut the edge off it but had to resort to fentanyl patch’s to kill the pain. Once I was done with the chemo and started on Xtandi the back pain settled down. I do use morphine pills and have resorted back to Celebrex for old back and neck pain. Good luck with the monster
A key is to talk with oncologist radiologist, in many situations spot radiation will help pain. Act fast, as any growth may make treatment more complex.
I explained this to him today. But he is being stubborn because his PSA is below 0.2 and I think after getting sepsis a few months back and being in the hospital for a week, he just wants to avoid everything right now.
I understand, however In my scans showed many spots radiated, both legs, left shoulder and a spot on spine. The spot on spine was small but Doc (my radiology oncologist is outstanding) said spot on spine could grow impacting the spinal cord, then not much could be done. Encourage Dad to go, I have had a lot of tests too, this is not a big deal or painful processes. Will pray your Dad responds.
Be sure to get a MRI or CT. I have a hairline fracture that didn't show up on bone scans. Lived with the pain for months until it was discovered. Just had radiation which I hope will help with the pain.
Thank you for the reply. Hope the radiation does abate the pain.
Has he ever been prescribed Levaquin or Cipro? I have had both at the same time for biopsies and an ablation and the last time just the intramuscular shot of Levaquin prior to the biopsy rather than both because I had objected to quinolones and feared more damage. Well, just the shot of Levaquin caused more damage. The ligament in my back is worse again and I lost my left shoulder too!
A back ligament that had ripped in 1988, that had long since healed tore again as the quinolones ate it. It tore again as I got out of bed in February of 2015. The "I'll only use Levaquin" biopsy in January 2017 set back the healing I had worked for. The damage may be permanent now or only a limited amount of healing can be regained. My chiropractor, who is experienced has seen quinolones damage other patients.
Again, how many times has your father had quinolones prescribed and also, has he had them combined as has been done with me? What he feels could very well be just a torn ligament or tendon.
My bone scan of August 2013 reports just a bit of inflammation in my lower back.
My bone scan of February 28, 2017 reports degradation of both shoulders and my lower back.
That is what quinolones can do.
Cefdinir and Rocephin are alternatives to quinolones.
Considering the cancer we have and it's affinity for bone all those pains we feel cause anxiety. Recently I was working in my yard until I couldn't bend over. The funny thing is that I had a late afternoon chiropractor appointment which I almost cancelled because of the pain in my back. It was very painful but I managed to shower and drive to my appointment. The adjustment helped a bit but when I got home I went to bed. Sleep always helps me with pain. When I woke up several hours later the pain had decreased greatly and in a few days I was --okay-- I always know it's there but am hoping it is just the quinolone damage.
I expect that a pain resulting from cancer would be more or less unrelenting. There is only one way to find out.
Thank you for your reply. No. My father has never been prescribed that before. He said it feels better today but only comes about if he lays on that side for prolonged periods when sleeping. I know he has arthritis in his shoulder and also back.
Really hard to say. What does his Oncologist say?
Everyone is different. For example, in 2004, I was diagnosed with mets to T3 and L2. The only pain that I ever experienced was arthritis and sore muscles in my lower back.... Lupron will cause loss of muscle mass. Continued work of these muscles will cause soreness from “over use”.
If he is real concerned: he has already had a series of nuclear bone scans and soft tissue CT scans as a base line for his initial diagnosis, right? Because there is new pain, your Oncologist will have no problem justifying another set of scans for comparison.
Gourd Dancer
When i talked to him today, he explained that his lower back pain has abated. He only gets it from sleeping on one side for too long at night. He said it wasn't as bad last night and it's getting better. I remember him complaining about the same thing a few months back in the same location. So I think it's either the arthritis that he has in his body or it's one of the tumors that was already diagnosed in his back pinching his nerves when he lays on his one side.
Thank you for the reply.
Good morning- as scary as it is for you & your Dad, I would get the pain checked out. He can rest easy if he knows it’s arthritis & treat it if it has metatized. Prostate cancer is a mind game, we have found that it makes you overthink & rethink everything. That alone is exhausting 
My Dad was diagnosed in January 2019. We thought he had a kidney stone. Pain in his back which radiated to his groin. He was trying to manage his pain with Ibuprofen & Tylenol, finally we talked him into going to the Dr. Long story short, he had a hairline fracture in his right hip (bone Mets) with lesions in L4-L5, ribs & hips. He’s recovering well from his hip surgery, but now the pain has moved to his back. It is so frightening to watch as we know what the pain is from. Every day we just hope & pray for a good day and that he is on the right treatment plan. Does anyone out there have to watch their Calcium intake? Before diagnosis, my Dad’s was at 12, it’s now 9 after treatment, but he watches his calcium intake. He’s so worried about that number that he overthinks every single Mg of calcium. His taste buds have changed immensely from, I’m assuming, the Hydrocodone —as that started prior to the Zytiga & Lupron. It’s hard to get 2000 calories a day. He eats healthy nuts to try to add extra calories each day - Best of luck to you & your Dad ...🙏🏼
When I was first diagnosed, I had a met on my backbone (T12 bone lesion, confirmed by biopsy). I had no constant pain, but when changing positions, particularly getting up from sitting, it felt like someone stabbed me with an icepick. Not in the middle of the back, but off to one side, and several inches lower than the lesion position. Within a few weeks after my first Lupron shot, the pain disappeared completely and has not (yet?) come back, 1.5 years later. I have no doubt that the pain was caused by the met, despite its confusing location.
My psa is 0.2. Extensive bone mets, t-12 compression fracture. 2 years in. Episodes of aching back. A lot of bending will make me ache. But it goes away. You didn't mention xgeva? Stiffness in morning sometimes. Not a real issue now. Using celebrex 200mg 2 times, day. Gabapentin 300mg 1 morning, 2 bedtime. Series of bone ache issues through last years, attribute them mostly to medicine and not mets. Of course we are all guessing and relating our stories. If it gets to a certain point ask dr. for sure.
Update 9/20/18
Very Severe back pain thought to be sciatic flare up. MRI with contrast detected several lesions along spinal column, one tumor compressing spinal cord. Started steroid, dexamethasone, last Thursday, pain greatly reduced. CT Scan later today 9/24/18, begin IGRT radiation treatment, 16, tomorrow and then other drugs or a new clinical study. By the way, PSA only increased from .0, undetectable to<0.01 in 6weeks. Let the battle resume. And, testosterone is .0. Mine is a tricky bastard. Possibility mine has mutated from andeocarcinoma tumor to Neuroendocrine tumor, or maybe a secondary cancer. A different beast, only about 1% are being found to do this. CT scans soon and biopsy to identify the monster. Be vigilant. Prayers.
Update Oct 13, 2018
Scans done, 14 IGRT radiation treatments done on spinal column, 2 to go. Biopsy soon, meeting with Oncologist on Tuesday. Over 2 years on ADT. The journey continues.
Update Oct, 15 2018
Results of CT scans, abdomen and pelvis clear of any metabolic activity, yet, MRI with contrast revealed Mets to spinal column. CT does show a nickel sized spiculated nodule in the left lung upper lobe, possible Mets, possible primary lung cancer. Find out tomorrow about biopsy, but Radiologist did indicate he could do a special radiation procedure on the mass in only 5 sessions. Damn,
the journey continues. Such a long and winding road.
Update Oct 16, 2018
Oncologist said he hasn’t seen a case like mine in 32 years of practice. Next step is PET/CT scan next week and possibly start Jevtana in a couple of weeks.
Update Oct 30, 2018
Another Lupron injection. Holding off on Jevtana, May start late January. On January 23, 2019 I will have Axumin PET/CT Scan.
Meet with oncologist on Jan 29 to decide future treatments.
Update Jan 29, 2019
Met with Oncologist today. Results of Axumin PET/CT Scan showed no evidence of metastatic disease. PSA still .01, therefore no Jevtana at this time. Did get another Lupron injection and told to come back in 90 days. I’m blessed.
He is stubborn, hmmmmm where do you live?.... I could send some friends, you know the ones with the bent noses to pay him a visit. Tell him these "wise guys" are great with knee pain... and with that knee pain he'll forget his back pain.... and then you'll see how fast he goes to see his Oncologist. So,
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n Sunday 02/17/2019 7:02 PM EST
What should I expect at the end?
Cancer in the blood 
Is my husbands treatment working?
prostate cancer that does not produce psa
