I don't understand my pain

TerryAlford

Does anyone still have pain in their ribs, under the arm, etc. I am told this is just the way it will be from now on, but I only had stage 1 breast cancer. Radiation was complete 1 year ago 3/21 and I can't stand to be touched or hugged because my rib cage hurts..all the time. I exercise to strengthen muscles and just fight the pain at night. I am not a weak person, I am just alone in this...doctors just say wait till the year has gone past, well I am there and it is worse! Does anyone share in this pain? I know I am lucky by only having stage one and I am surviving but the depression and continuous pain is getting me down. Terry A

KathiM

Left shoulder. 1 year June. Can't lay on it to sleep for very long. Hummmmm, seems to be better when I ramp up my calcium....and watch the heavy lifting....
Please keep me posted...I will you, too! I am due my 3-monther in April, I plan to ask my onc about it...

Hugs, Kathi

wimpy

Hi

I just wanted to add my two cents. I am a three year survivor now and I had considerable pain as you describe for the first year to two years and then it mostly went away. I put it down to the shock that the tissues and bone had taken on during treatment that s-l-o-w-l-y heals. Mostly the shock to our system heals much more slowly than we would like.

babs49242

Hi Terry!
I have pain where I had Rads too(I'm 3 yrs this month from having my last rad treatment). One needs to think what Rads did to your body and bones..practically fried it. I also pumped up my Calcium intake..but not too much otherwise one gets calcium deposits and those are no fun either.
Best wishes & many GENTLE hugs.
Cindie/GA

LesleyH

Hi Terry,

I have odd shooting pains in my torso. They usually don't last longer than 5 minutes. But if I don't do my yoga in the mornings...the pain is terrible. I have an exercise that I do that really helps me. Stand about 2 feet from a wall with your legs slightly apart. Place your hands flat on the wall and then lean into the wall bending your elbows. Start with 4 times and increase slowly. Also, increase the distance from the wall.

I think you should get chronic pain checked out. It sounds as though you have an abnormal amount of pain.

Hugs.

Lesley

phoenixrising

Hi Terry, I don't know if this helps or not but surgery, rads and the taxanes can cause nerve damage and that takes a very long time to heal. I had a mastectomy in July 06 and it still frequently causes me a lot of pain. Ask your
doctor if they would be willing to try you on
Gabapentin. This is often used for nerve pain and helped me with the excrutiating bone pain I experience on Taxotere.
Hope this helps
jan

Susan956

Terry,
I had considerable pain in my shoulder and lost feeling almost in two fingers... as it turned out my saving grace was a Chiropractor... who just happened to get me into deep tissue massages. It made a hugh difference for me. I could barely use my arm on my treatment side until he started working with me. He does both adjustments to my neck and the massages... it has me while not back to my normal two years after diagnosis... but farrly close.

Don't know if it will help... but hey it is an idea...

Take Care...

Susan

lovonna

I'm 14 months out on my mastectomy/tram flap reconstruction and 5 months out on radiation (had to do radiation due to reoccurence)

Right shoulder pain and rib cage pain, more pronounced early mornings. Excercise helps mine, plus increasing my calcium intake.

My doc did prescribe a muscle relaxer (mild) I take only if I am having a real painful bout. Seems to help some.

Take Care, Hugs, LoVonna

duggie

Hi, I have had pain everyday of my life for two years. Nerve and joint damage.
If a doctor has not experienced what you are feeling, do not expect them to understand. I would like to communicate with you about this. No one person can understand anything unless they have been through this. Have you had trouble remembering names? I have had Taxol. This has caused more problems then it was worth. I had very rare side effect from this.
I hope that all is well with you. Hang in there.
Barbara

prayerangel

duggie said:

Hi, I have had pain everyday of my life for two years. Nerve and joint damage.
If a doctor has not experienced what you are feeling, do not expect them to understand. I would like to communicate with you about this. No one person can understand anything unless they have been through this. Have you had trouble remembering names? I have had Taxol. This has caused more problems then it was worth. I had very rare side effect from this.
I hope that all is well with you. Hang in there.
Barbara

It felt like the Taxol was killing me. It attacked every area where my arthritis hurt really bad. 4 hours after my first Taxol I had to be rushed to the hospital, because of the intense pain. My oncologist put me on steroids and pain meds while I was doing the Taxol. I also had "chemo brain" which lasted 18 months. I was afraid I'd lose my job because my memory was so bad. Now, the Taxotere is causing me so much pain.
Best of luck.
Karen

KimInBeirut

Terry,
FINALLY, I found someone with the exact complaints as mine - severe rib pain, under arm pain, etc. I finished radiation 3.5 years ago, and my ribs are still bad. Because I'm military, I made sure I noted it every time I went to the doctor. "Any complaints?" "Yes, my ribs are still killing me. It's hard to run my PT test, because I can't breathe from the pain." Over and over now for the past 3+ years. After reporting it enough - and insisting it be noted in my records - the determination was that the radiation caused inflamation to the cartlidge in the rib cage, and in my case, it just never healed. At first, the oncologist kept denying the radiation had anything to do with the pain; but finally, one of the oncologists said, "a very small percentage of people do end up with rib damage and pain after the radiation." I had 38+12 treatments (yes, I know that equals 50, but the docs said it had to be 38+12, because no one gets 50! Go figure!), so they did admit that I was likely one of those in that small percentage. I'm not sure I can offer you any advice, because I, too, exercise a lot and nothing has helped. My doctors finally prescribed a life supply (so it seems) of prescription strength Motrin. "Here, take these for three days prior to a PT test and you shouldn't feel it too bad." :-) Our military loves their Motrin!! I realize this didn't help any except to say you're not alone out there, nor are you crazy that you're actually having rib problems. I have found, though, that putting a tennis ball between my rib and the chair helps sometimes. At first, it hurts BAD, but after a little while, it seems to ease the pain a bit. Let me know if you find out about anything else that helps! Kim

dleh

duggie said:

Hi, I have had pain everyday of my life for two years. Nerve and joint damage.
If a doctor has not experienced what you are feeling, do not expect them to understand. I would like to communicate with you about this. No one person can understand anything unless they have been through this. Have you had trouble remembering names? I have had Taxol. This has caused more problems then it was worth. I had very rare side effect from this.
I hope that all is well with you. Hang in there.
Barbara

I never thought that I would have so many problems after the fact. I did so well during my treatments that I thought I had been through the worst. The worst didn't come until after I was finished all my 36 rad and X4 A/C chemo. The pains that have followed are unbelivable. It has been 1-1/2 yrs. now and I'm still going to the doctors for joint pains. My hands, wrist, elbows and knees feel 100 yrs. old now and I'm only 46. Does it ever go away?

donna