back pain...help!!

i'm currently on tx for hepc and i'm having some serious back pain, and also pain in my arms but not like the severe pain in my back...is it because of the tx or is it dehydration? is there anything i should do besides drink a ton of water and take ibuprofin? i'm starting to wonder if a fluid iv at my local hospital would help at all...

[Bill1954]

Are you currently using epo (Procrit) or Neupogen? These can sometimes cause mild to moderate bone pain (arthalgia). What has your doctor said about all this?

Bill

[Magnum]

Have you asked your Gastro regarding Ibuprofen? I've been taking 800mg tabs as needed for my back pain but he suggests not using Ibuprofen but instead take the pain meds. Pain at it's worse can cause stress.  Stress weakens the immune system. Ask your Gastro... If your insurance covers it, get an MRI. Hot and ice packs help but they are just a temporary fix. They just camouflage the problem. You want to fix the problem. Could be something simple. Again, the MRI tells all... Good luck...

Magnum

[portann]

Do you have a history of back pain and is this current pain in the bone or the muscle?

Does it come and go and have you found a pattern for when you feel the worst?

My back pain during treatment was almost my undoing and it seemed to correspond to when my absolute neutrophil count spontaneously increased. It was pain inside the bone and I sometimes also had it in my thigh bones. It was so strange, that inside-the-bone pain. It made me want to shriek out, like a train was hitting me.

I was advised to take Tylenol for pain during tx - as most of us here - but never more than 2000 mg in a 24 hour period.  Whenever my back 'bone' pain got crazy intolerable, I'd take the Tylenol and it ALWAYS helped.

Ibuprofen has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties while Tylenol only has analgesic properties. Due to Ibuprofen's mild anti-platelet properties, though, I stuck to Tylenol on the advice of my hepa. The nurse did OK Ibuprofen but as a 'distant' second choice. Did your doc say it's OK to take Ibuprofen and have you tried Tylenol?

Hydrating is a good idea, as is alternating hot and cold packs.

What week are you in and what do your lab results look like so far?