Kasey Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Calling upon those of you who have had radiation....probably LOTS of you. Has anyone experienced any back problems 6-8 months out from that treatment? I have a couple of distinct back problems giving me lots of trouble and pain, BUT I THINK some may be exacerbated by radiation late effects. So I have been wondering if this is yet ANOTHER problem to deal with as welll. Not getting anywhere real fast here with local docs. Thought I would ask the experts...all of you... for some input. Thanks a lot. Kasey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Lamb Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Kasey,radiation can cause damage and or pain to our other cherished parts.I had to sign off no liability papers in order to recieve radiation the last 2 different times I recieved it.Unfortunately the drs.will usually deny it is from radiation tho. If I were you tho I wouldn't assume it is from that.Better to have it checked out. Hoping the pain is nothing serious and gets better quickly for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nushka Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Kasey, From my experience with radiation, almost anything can be left in its wake. I did not have back problems, but continue to have breathing problems that I associate with the radiation. I hope your back problems get better fast, but in the mean time I would have them checked out with a scan or two. Best of luck with this. Nina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowflake Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Kasey, After standing too close to the microwave for too many days in a row.... Radiation and back pain - could be. I blamed all my back pain on surgical healing, but I did radiation, too. I know it sure did scramble a lot of things in the front, some that are continuing today, so why NOT scramble things in the back? Those space rays do wicked things on the SciFi channel, too, ya know... My throat still has a tendency to close up on me...sometimes I don't notice it because I'm breathing and not swallowing, but if I happen to be swallowing, I'll end up choking - and if I'm SLEEPING and swallowing, I wake up in extreme panic because I can't BREATHE, can't swallow, am in a prone position and can't get to where gravity can help me...and FINALLY, I hack up whatever has slipped down my throat while it was "locked" and try to go back to sleep...yeah, like I can go back to sleep after that... By that time, my chest hurts from the deep coughing and I'm panicky about it happening again! ...and none of that EVER happened before radiation. Yeah, the occasional milk up the nose cuz I laughed while swallowing, but nothing that would just turn off the breathe/swallow mechanism. Back pain? I wouldn't doubt it, the nuking goes right through... If I grossed anyone out, I didn't mean to. I intentionally left out the more graphic details. Becky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindi o'h Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Hi Kasey.. I wonder also. I have "different" kind of back pain now. It is in the general area that was radiated. Although, sometimes it is on both sides. Sometimes I think it is from too much computer, not enough stretching and exercise. I know some great back quacks if you ever need...! oh yeah, I almost forgot. If you need someone in the medical prof. who knows their way around the spine, try a spine surgeon with a great reputation. They can come disguised as an orthopedic back surgeon, a neurosurgeon or a physiatrist. However, physiatrists seldom do surgery. Rather, they usually try to help to get you better by doing everything else first. Mine did. I avoided surgery with his help, while all the top docs insisted I wouldn't walk again without it! Physiatry is the hottest branch of medicine right now for medical students. It is 8 years of education beyond the 4 years of med. school, I believe. Try googling and see what you think and then see who you can dig up in your area. This is what I would do anyway. They know about pretty much everything. They treat the Whole person. Even people who are going through what you are. They can sift it out for you and put you on the right path to health and happiness. ie...out of pain! love, Cindi o'h cindi o'h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Kasey... I already had spondylosis (arthritis, in effect) in my neck/upper spine. And I have some degenerative disc disease in my lumbar spine. Radiation for my lung was nearly dead onto my spine, front AND back for 23 days to get the cancerous lymph nodes...and then they changed the "field" of radiation. I don't have back problems in the middle of my back, per se....but there is some damage that shows up on CT scans FROM the radiation! And sometimes...I get this mild discomfort in the middle of my chest and it's hard to tell if it's coming from the front OR back...but it's very close to that area that was radiated. So....I guess my answer is......it's possible that the radation could cause some late effect back pain. But I guess it's equally possible that it could be coincidental to rad...and just a matter of (sorry, honey) our bones getting old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nancy B Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Hi Kasey, I didn't have radiation to the lung but I started having back pain a few months after my surgery. I asked for a bone scan and it revealed no cancer, so I went for a bone density test. I have degenerative disc disease and arthritis in the spine. I still haven't decided what to do about it but just relieved it isn't cancer. Does an anti-inflamatory help at all? Hope you can find some relief from the pain. Hugs, Nancy B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna G Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 I don't know if it was from radiation or surgery or the combo but I had back pain for a long time finally they sent me to a back pain specialist and he found lots and lots of "trigger points" He said he could feel them in the muscle and would put his finger here and say this spot hurt? and I would say YESSSSSSSSSSSS! I guess they are like knots or lumps in the muscles. If they can't just "pop" them they inject them. Donna G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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