Hello - My last chemoradiation treatment was 9 days ago. 30 treatments. I'm having so many more side effects since I finished than during treatment. Within a couple days I got a bad stomachache that lasted 24 hours, never happened before. The same time that ended my front left side pelvic area really was hurting. Hard to lay down without discomfort. Didn't sleep well at all. Saw the radiation doc and he said everything is inflamed from treatment and it just needs time to calm down. Urine test was done and showed a lot of bacteria. So now I'm on antibiotics....I wanted to avoid antibiotics at all cost if I could but had to go on them. Then two nights ago I had really bad back pain. I literally didn't sleep all night because i couldn't lay on my back or either side without pain. All this happened within 9 days of treatment ending. Very draining...I just really want to confirm that this back pain is due to radiation or if its something more. Hope to get answers tomorrow. I have an appt tomorrow with doc but I was wondering if anyone has had back pain on the left side? No fever. Thank you!
Hi mll ,
It’s completely normal for the side effects to peak in the days following the last day of treatment, mine peaked around day 11 post treatment, I was a little sore & quite inflamed (back & front) towards the end of my treatment but boy things really took off in that week & a half afterwards! Honestly I took pain relief (ibuprofen & paracetamol alternated) every 2 hours & only moved from bed to Epsom/Dead Sea Salt bath to sofa to bath & back to bed again during that period. As your Dr has said this treatment leaves you with so much inflammation, it causes all kinds of aches & pains. Hopefully your Dr today will be able to put your mind at rest concerning the back pain you’re experiencing.
I’m almost 5 years out of treatment, I still suffer some lower back & hip issues, I can’t say that this is solely a result of the radiotherapy but I think it’s mostly so, I’m having intensive physiotherapy & it’s helping somewhat.
I think we all worry every time we have a new ache or pain, our minds automatically go to the darkest place & think of spread of this awful disease especially when you’re so fresh out of treatment so I feel for you.
I hope your urinary infection clears quickly & your Dr can offer you some reassurance.
Nicola
I also suffer with a lot of inflammation, I have osteoarthritis & the physio has diagnosed me with GTPS (Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome) which is inflammation of the large muscle that runs over the outside of your hip & down your upper thigh.
Diet is a good approach & something you can have complete control over, I try to eat collard greens such as broccoli, spinach, kale, I eat quite a bit of oily fish but I’m also trying to lose some weight so I’m sticking with tuna or salmon on the most part at the moment, berries are also known for their anti inflammatory properties, I’m not a big fruit eater but love strawberries, I also tend to cook with olive oil & I don’t have a great deal of dairy as although it’s not the case for everyone I do find I feel better limiting it, I think one of the biggies with inflammation though is sugar & Easter Sunday apart (I do have an Easter egg sat waiting for me!) I try & limit the amount of processed foods (many are full of hidden sugar) & refined sugar in my diet.
Do you have a bath at home? I find soaking in a hot bath with Epsom salts is great especially if you can do this just before bed. If you can, have the water as hot as you can bare it & lie there until it goes cool. The magnesium in the Epsom salts is good for lowering certain inflammation markers.
If you’re interested in trying the dietary route there’s lots of information on anti inflammatory foods on the internet.
Hope that helps a little.
Nicola
