Rib Aches ect

Hi Jacky,
I'm sure no expert on this, but it seems that pain from bone mets would take a lot longer than a month to cause his discomfort. A lot of side effects fro his meds can cause aches and pain too. I read your sig line and made me wonder about what his MO is considering for future tx.
I noticed he is getting a B 12 shot. Is he low on B 12 or anemic? Is his psa stable or dropping? Is he on any narcotics for pain? Will he be starting chemo anytime soon?
Your DH might feel better if he had some pain relief.
Gary has been on the lowest dose fentanyl patch for a long time and he rarely has to take anything for breakthrough pain.
It's hard not to worry and attribute everything that hurts to PCa.
I will be thinking about you both and hoping for a good outcome with the stent.
Beth

Hey Jacky,

I had scan-confirmed rib mets when I started my treatment. Rib pain, in general, can be terrible. As an active young guy, I'd banged em up a couple of times so I was aware of the pain. Once diagnosed with mPC, I came to learn that the pain that rib mets can cause goes to an entirely higher level. A couple of times, I lost control of the pain and had to be hospitalized to get help. Firemen had to break into my house to get me; I couldn't even roll over in bed. Doctors often ask what your pain is like on a scale of 1 to 10 and that day, I learned what 10 was. I also learned that it is important to try to stay ahead of the pain with adequate pain killers. In my particular case, twice daily morphine sulphate for baseline pain relief and oxycodone for occasional breakthrough pain is now part of life. On those terrible occasions where we lost control, I learned that a steroid called dexamethasone gave me nearly instant relief where IV morphine and fentanyl did not work very well. Oh, and very regular use of miralax to counteract the opiate induced constipation is very important.

All that said, I have no idea if Steve has rib met pain or not. My guess would be that since the scans didn't show anything, his recent aches are probably just from everything else he has been going through with the surgery, etc. It is very easy to read all about various side effects and symptoms that can come with this disease and its various treatments and to be swayed into thinking you are having them. I've been very guilty of that at times, for sure. I would also think that since he is on hormone treatment now, the Lupron should be working to prevent new metastases in his ribs from developing or old ones that might have been missed on previous scans from growing.

My advice would be to keep an eye on it, let Steve's doctor know if it keeps being a problem, and for him to take the Norco that the doctor prescribed (and be wary of the constipation that will accompany it). Pain relievers have a purpose. There is a lot going on in his body right now, magnified by the stresses of surgery, but pain can be dealt with. Hopefully, this rib pain will ease and things will get better soon. As always, I wish you and Steve all the best.