Stay strong!

before I was diagnosed in January of 2010 I was told I had osteoperosis, which was odd for a man in his early fifties. My back is the place where the myeloma has done most of its damage. Even though I'm doing well against the cancer, my back will never be the same.

Thanks @ Strengthrufaith, @ Rich, I was diagnosed with a some Osteo in my lower back as well (@35 years) at the same time I was diagnosed with MM.

Had another recation to something (food related, even though I didn't eat anything different). Woke up with Swollen Eyelid (Doc told me take Benadryl... Is anyone else had any reactions to food that you typically didn't have a problem with? I think I'll se an allergy specialist in the next week.

Hi! Kathy,
How are you friend?
Are you back on Rev?
Sorry to hear of your pain.
Have you been on Gabapenton (spelling a little off) before?
I have been twice, its great stuff.
1st time for neurothopy and 2nd time for nerve pain from shingles.
It definitely made my lower back feel alot better : ) and my hips, knees, etc.
Ed

Hi Ed,

It's great to hear from you. Yes, I just started back on the Rev for maintenance. I didn't want to take a chance in relasping as it would have been straight to transplant. I've never heard of Gapo???? nor was it ever offered by my docs. I just made that part of the new Norm for me. Other than that, I'm doing good. My eye is almost back to norm and the Benadryl kept me sleeping most of the day.

Kathy

Hi! Kathy,
Gabapentin, the drug I mention is a generic brand of neurotin, It is a great drug, it has many uses. Many cancer patients use it for neurothopy (no spell check : ) I have a customer (not a cancer patient) that is on it for a bad back, he is retired, non operateable back because of disc breaking down. Supposedly it is not addictive, I will say when I went off it I felt ever ache and pain for a while : ) but other than minor arthritic pain doing fine. If I get more pain I will go back on it for a while. I started out on pill a day, then two pills, then 3 pills a day. How does the Zometa make you feed. My last treatment I was very achey, even with slow drip, tylenlol, and plenty of water. Did you have smoldering MM? I am glad now that I did the transplant, it wasnt too fun then, but it will be 2 years since transplant. God has been so good to me : ) Well, I have to be going. Have a good day : )
Ed

That's weird about your eyelid. I noticed that between the cancer and chemo and other meds, even though I'm doing well, my body just isn't the body I was used to. Lots of changes. I feel like I became an old man overnight. Hey, at least I'm still alive and walking around.

@Ed, I had stage III. Like I said, my very thankful for that near fatal car accident, because otherwise I might not have known (yes, regular check up at doc every year). I'm almost scared to eat now, lol...But, don't worry these extra 40 pounds are driving me crazy.

@Rich, I must have aged about 40 years (1 year for every pound)...But are you correct (@being alive). I got up and did my cleaning and cooked with my one eye..It finally cleared on Monday and I had a good day.

My mom is experiencing a lot more pain with the Revlimid 10mg. Of course, before the treatment, the pain was excruciating. The doc said that should be expected. My mom says she can "feel" the chemo working in her bones. She takes oxycodone for her pain. It helps a lot, but lately it's been taking a while to kick in. Does our body "adapt" to pain meds? Are we supposed to keep changing them?

Yes over time a tolerance to the pain meds will occur requiring an increase in dosage to produce the same result.
At some point when you no longer need the drugs you will experience some of the effects of withdrawal.
Bear in mind that pain meds will slow your metabolism and slow the healing process a bit especially when taken beyond real need.
However pain in excess will also slow the healing process and reduce quality of life.
So do not fear addiction, you have a valid medical reason under supervision of a physician to take them and while it is possible to become addicted which is a behavioral issue, becoming physically dependent can be managed with a doctors care and some determination.
The goal is to get the best quality of life and you will be able to do more of whatever you enjoy with pain properly managed.

Bamboo you are correct. The only person is that I'm allergic to all codene and others. Even after being prescribed anti-nausa med, it doesn't work. Prescribed Motrin does and it's not good on the kidneys.

A good physician will provide you with pain medication that does not do the damage that long term use of over the counter drugs can cause.
Chemo is a challenge to all of your organs, myeloma is very hard on the kidneys. Avoiding damage will allow you a better outcome.
I was very impressed with the results obtained from the smallest dose of oxycontin (10mg) which is a 12 hour time release and one gave me 3 days of relief as it broke the pain/spasm cycle going on in my back.
Motrin is a terrible drug to use with myeloma and I would avoid it .

MY HUSBAND HAS BEEN ON THE PAIN PATCH FOR MONTHS NOW..AFTER THE TRANSPLANT I ASKED THE DR IF HE SHOULD TRY AND KEEP THE PATCH OFF..DONT KNOW IF HE HAS PAIN OR NOT BECAUSE THE PATCH IS ALWAYS ON..CHANGES IT EVERY 3 DAYS..WELL AFTER ONLY ONE DAY OFF THE PATCH H STARTED TO HAVE PAIN..I DONT KNOW IF IT WS A SIDE EFFECT OF NOT HAVING THE PATCH ON OR IT WAS THE MYELOMA..BUT HE PUT IT BACK ON.. I AGREE ABOUT NIT WORRYING ABOUT BECOMING ADDICTED..I'D RATHER SEE MY HUSBAND IN NO PAIN...

My best guess is that any reduction in pain management medication really needs to be done with medical supervision.
Developing a tolerance to pain medications makes coming off of them a bit difficult for some people even dangerous.
If the drug has become more of a crutch than a useful tool then your doctor can help you adjust to what really works.
I am lucky, if I am involved in something interesting I can tune out an amazing amount of pain and discomfort but I will not allow pain or discomfort make healing more difficult and will use the drugs when needed.
Or maybe I am both blessed and lucky, and I would draw three cards to that hand in any poker game.

Thanks everyone for your comments. Managed to get thru the back pain. Doc visit today went well and I'm still in complete remission. During my initial visit, when I first started, I tried several different pain meds all of which made me extremely sick to my stomach as well as several anti-nausa meds to take before taking the pain meds. Moving forward, the pain is every now and then and most times I just try to muster thru and sleep. I have not found any pain meds that I can take without becoming extremely sick. It's weird because now I'm allergic to so many things. I'll be seeeing a specialist in the next coming weeks.

Take care everyone and thanks again for all your comments.