Does bone pain come and go at first?

My husband had not been experiencing any bone pain (YAY) but he has been getting some pain lately in the approximate location of 2 of his bone mets. I am not surprised by this but here is my concern....He is getting some pain in the back of his thigh on both legs but it seems to come and go. I worry that this is the beginnings of new or previously unknown bone mets on his femurs. Is this how the pain begins?

The pain at this point is annoying only but if anyone has tips on how best to deal with it other than the inevitable spot radiation I would really appreciate it. Heat/cold/excerise/rest/advil/alleve????

Thanks for the quick reply Zufus. I was not aware of pain side effects from Lupron. I will do some googling on that too.

PSA at dx was 29 ( guess i should have that in my signature)

We are just starting to think of 3rd opinion. We have the Mayo and our home doc who we really trust and respect. We aren't planning a PSA test until April. Maybe we should reconsider.

My husband's method of dealing with this is to try not to think about it. I do all the thinking (the brains of the operation ha ha). He loved the idea of the 6 mnth injection as it allowed for removing prostate cancer from our daily lives for that time. I am not sure that he will want to add a sooner PSA test but I will try to bring up the topic

Nancy

Echoing what Zufus said -- we went through a small panic about a month ago when my husband's bone pain seemed to be coming back. When I revisited all the side effects of the many drugs he is on, I realized (I'd known it before but didn't really register it at the time), that bone pain, and aches in joints, esp. in the legs, is a common side effects of these meds.

For what it's worth, if he didn't previously have mets in his legs, I think it'd be a pretty big deal to have new mets there now. I'm obviously no expert but I would think if the cancer was coming back to life, he'd starting feeling it first in places the cancer had already colonized. My husband had a lot of mets throughout his trunk, but also one at the top of a femur, and that one seemed much more alarming to the docs -- my takeaway was that was pretty rare for the PCa to show up there in the early days.

I bet your husband is feeling his meds, not his cancer. I totally understand the PSA test dread, but if it were me, I'd want one sooner -- get it now and find out the PSA is low, and you can breathe easier. And if the PSA is on the rise, well wouldn't you rather know that sooner than later, so you can start punching back? I'd accept another ride on the emotional roller coaster that is PSA testing for those benefits.

I started  HT late in Sept. 2012 with a 6 month shot. My PSA going in was 5.2. I had a parallel set of tests (semi-annual visit with my GP, my uro visits are each 3 months) just a month later, and the PSA had dropped, and T was minimal. In December, PSA was <0.1. For my sanity, that late Oct. test was a real help.

So I vote that he might get an interim PSA - it could take the edge off the anxiety.

I have quite a list of Lupron side-effects.

- hot flashes, constantly, day and night

- severe muscle cramps in my legs at night. Am trying Megestrol (prescription), magnesium (otc), and potassium (otc), but nothing is helping yet

- joints hurt, but my scans show no mets there

- back hurts, scans are not yet conclusive for mets, but there are indications

- my daily walk (3-5 miles) has become literally painful recently

- complete loss of libido (expected)

- complete loss of willingness to get up in the morning. Have to really push myself to do anything

- emotions are a bit harder to control, but I have not piled up on the couch watching chick flicks, yet.

- gaining weight (as someone else said, I leave no cookie that finds its way into my house uneaten - I'm in dread fear of the folks selling Girl Scout cookies at the office when that starts), and am craving salty things

- body hair is thinning out - I'm considering buying a yard rake to replace the bathroom broom

- short term memory is like swiss cheese - full of gaps - had a conversation last night at a local store, the guy insisted I had already bought what I was shopping for, I was determined I had not, and left in a huff. Found the item in a shopping bag in the back of the car with a receipt from a few days ago. Yes, I called back to apologize.

The good news is the PSA is now undetectable. In a way I'm glad we did the 6 month shot, because there is no easy way out. I would have refused the 3rd one if I had been on 1 month shots. 

I noticed another thread today on a member who is getting along fine. I hope your husband's results follow his example, not mine, but just so you'll know what you might be seeing -

 

Hello, I am new here,first post.Not sure if I can respond specifically to your question. Just wanted to start more discussion. I too have Bone Mets, it comes and goes, I have in my ribs, spine and femur.I had felt pain in my femur ,maybe two years ago, not sure if cancer related at that time(probably was)because I was just diagnosed in November, 2012. I am considering my first radiation treatment next month. Although it has not been bad so far, (I am still working),wondering about the near future. Anyone with advice on more aggressive treatment or just as pain crops up? 

Littlenm I didn't mention the name of the cox2 drug sorry......it is called celebrex.Also for anyone else reading this post, especially those with bone mets,I'm am pleased to here that Alpharadin as recently got approval by the FDA and although it is not approved here in the UK as of the minute I will be watching for European approval as it looks promising at reducing bone mets.

You have read my posts about bone pain and subsequent radiation. How is it all going at this point? For me it seems my left hip feels sore sometime and especially after a short walk. I think its just that I put more pressure on my left hip now than before cause I tend to favor my right hip.

Other than fatigue is his pain subsiding to any degree?

I am new here, wife of 58 yr old who was diagnosed in 2002 and been through most every treatment available, this past fall found bone mets in spine, femurs and ribs. I need to know how to make my signature with his history, and possibly some help with your abbreviations and any other suggestions on navigating this support group. Thank you.

WorkofGod....Welcome to the site. Folks here can be very helpful and supportive so glad you have found us. You can edit your signature by going to "My Profile" in the top left corner. Then go to "Edit my profile". There is also a link to all of the abbreviations at the very top of the Prostate Cancer home page. Hope that helps. If you have a question it is usually better to start a NEW thread as you will get more answers

Nancy