Bone Mets Thread
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Terre I had my second knee replacement just three months ago and while it is still healing it is so much better than having bone on bone! I sure hope that cortisone injection works for you to relieve some of the pain.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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How is everyone feeling today? Whildchild? Terre?
I'm getting better at living with the pain. I hope to do some exercise today (stationary bike). I look forward to the arrival of my hemp oil.
Mom and I are getting better at bandaging my arm.
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dunesleeper,
I'm a little behind in my reading. I hate when anyone is in pain, but especially at stage IV, which is enough emotional pain itself. Have you seen a pain management doc yet?
Caryn
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Regarding the knee pain on meds, I just wanted to say my knees did much better on Aromasin. I had bad arthritis on Femera, although this drug kept me stable for 4 years. It may be worth looking into switching meds. I had a great orthopedic doctor that helped relieve the pain and stiffness in my joints.
Terri
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Thanks, Terri and Chrissy. I've talked to my MO about switching AIs. He's reluctant to change me if I'm still stable and if we haven't exhausted other pain relief options. We'll see what today's bone scan says. Assuming I'm stable, then we're going to try non-generic Celebrex (or similar) and see if that helps. The generic stuff works to an extent, but I am sure queasy on it. One would think that being queasy would help me lose weight, but sadly, eating helps ease the quease.
I've asked my GP about a knee replacement and he basically laughs at me. There's about a 3 year wait here, and that's if you're on crutches or in a wheelchair, so my pain threshold isn't high enough to warrant it according to the health system. The cortisone shots do help quite a bit and I'm overdue for one. May see if he'll do both knees as my right one is now bothering me as well. Dune - hope you're getting some relief and seeing a pain management specialist. Mine isn't debilitating, just enough to make me slow and grumpy and wake me up at night about every 2 hours. Annoying!
Hugs to all,
Terre
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I didn't have to take any pain meds last night. Yay.
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dunesleeper,
Celebrate, even when it seems like a small victory!
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Whoo hoo Dunesleeper! that's great!
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hi ladies I was reading another thread and thought id come here with my question. I see many women who had bone mets but are now Ned. My confusion is my Onc says that with bone mets the scans will always show something. So my question is how is it determined that someone ned of bone mets? Thanks
Margie
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Gosh I don't know Garlikbread, but I sure hope I can be NED sometime soon!
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The scans will always show where the mets were, but if you are NED, they are not metabolically active. Similar to how a broken bone, even when healed, is visible on imaging.
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I got my hemp oil today and started taking it. I hope I can stop taking the pain meds soon. I want to poop normally. LOL
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thanks ex for your response. Last question, so will the radiologist that reads the scan known if mets are active?
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dunesleeper,
I hate narcotic pain meds, though they serve a purpose, at times. But they make me horribly constipated.
Garlikbread,
Yes,the radiologist can distinguish between active and necrotic mets.
Caryn
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LOL @ Dune. I hear you! Of course, with antianflammatories, constipation is not my issue. Don't know which is worse.
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I always wonder how/why people get addicted to pain meds. It doesn't make me high, loopy or sleepy, just constipated! That alone is enough to keep me away from them unless absolutely necessary.
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I have been taking my pain meds way too liberally exbrnxgrl. I do like how they put me to sleep at night. However, I hate the constipation. I hate it because it is uncomfortable, but also because it screws with the feedback poop gives me. A proper poop lets me know I am eating the way I should be. I know it is funny to be talking about bowel movements, but it really is not so funny when that is not working right.
I will take some pain meds with me tomorrow, but I'll see how I do with some ibuprofen and hemp oil. I wish I could get some good instruction on how to take it. I took one tablespoon twice today. Then I read elsewhere about taking drops of the stuff. They are probably talking about a different kind of hemp oil.
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Being constipated is truly horrible for me. I had two natural child births and I'd rather do that again than be constipated. It truly is misery for me so I do whatever I need to do to avoid it and that always includes ditching the narcotics as soon as I can. However, I know there are times when it's necessary (hmm...complete pneumothorax and three chest tube insertions. I would have done heroin if offered!).
May we all be as pain free as possible.
Caryn
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Where do you get hemp oil?0 -
I will fully admit I am physically addicted to my pills and I do take them still. I have too. I'd rather just use the fentynal patch but sometimes it's not enough. I have RA too. A good dose of Mirlax and ducolex save me from constipation. I agree exbrnxgrl it's the worst!! It's even worse after c-section!! Lol! Ugh. Pain free however we get there is the goal!
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I got mine on amazon, from Canada. It seems to be working. I told the onc about it today and she said maybe the hormone blocker is doing its job. That would be quite a coincidence, but as long as the pain is gone I don't care. I wish I knew more.
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Bone scan results are in..."degenerative arthritis in shoulders and knees. No evidence of active metastasis." Time to celebrate!
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YAY!!!!!!!! So happy for you!
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Thanks dlb!0 -
Party time!!!! I'm totally happy for you!
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yay Kiwi!!!!! Whoop whoop!!
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Thanks Dune and Kite! I'm more relieved than anything; have had a lot of hip/leg/back pain lately, right in the cancer former "hot spots", so I've been a bit tense (understatement of the year!). Your support here on these boards is a huge help in getting me through!
Hugs to all,
Terre
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So happy for you KCM! Dee
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Happy and hopefully it is just degenerative disease. However, I had a bone scan a year ago, which showed degenerative, arthritis/otho ... but, while doing the scan I stayed twice as long at the imaging center cause they weren't sure if it were bone mets or arthritis. Afterwards I was asked to do a few regular x-rays and they concluded I had nothing more than arthritis. I was also told that both arthritis and mets are similar on a BONE SCAN. Both show activity. Now...looking back it is obvious every area they weren't sure about being arthritis or cancer was wrong. Most of it was bone cancer that could have been caught a year ago, and possibly I would not have cancer now in my organs. Also...during the bone scan I complained of the pain and pressure I had around the sternum. They concluded a year ago...arthritis ... now bone mets. I never heard of arthritis in the sternum. Plus it was the hiler lymph nodes that was pressing against the esophagus.
It is water under the bridge now. Because of the mis-dx I've decided no more bone scans. If they can't tell the difference between arthritis and bone mets it seems useless scan.
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Thanks, GG.
Hinds - thanks for the info. From what my MO has said, the value of various types of scans varies from person to person. Bone scans have been accurate for me thus far. I had a CT scan and bone scan in Feb which showed arthritis in my shoulders and knees. I've also had x-rays which show that my right knee is bone on bone; definitely arthritis. My initial bone mets were also diagnosed via x-ray.
At any rate, we (the MO and I) decided on bone scan this time because of where my pain is showing up and the type of pain I have. Apparently much of my pain is "typical Femera pain spots" according to my MO and this jibes with what I've read. It's also in areas where I've previously been diagnosed with arthritis. My tumour markers are also stable and my blood work is "perfectly normal" according to the GP and MO. When I was diagnosed, my blood work was whacked - calcium high, iron low, etc.
I asked my MO how the told the difference between arthritis and mets on the bone scan and he explained it to me and showed me my initial scan which showed arthritis (knee) and mets. So he's quite confident that it's a good diagnostic tool for me.
Sorry to hear it didn't work for you, Hinds; what a shock that must have been!
Hugs to all,
Terre
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