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Thread: sternum pain??

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    Default sternum pain??

    Anyone have this? Is this a side effect of the many meds. Dr not concerned. Should I be??

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    Can you describe it a bit? Is the pain under the sternum or on top of it? Does it feel deep or just under the bone? Do you feel it at rest or just when you rub the sternum? Achy, sharp, etc...? Any other symptoms with it-- nausea, sweating, short of breath, jaw pain, neck pain, dizziness, anything?

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    Have you had a recent ECG? Echocardiogram? If you experience any of the symptoms that Sangye lists please seek immediate help.

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    Stikker, I have this on and off. I did have a EKG and echocardiogram to check the heart. I am on Nexium and now the doctors think it is related to my Gallbladder. So it can mean many things. Sangye and LIghtwarrior are asking the right questions so we can figure this out for you. Keep us posted.

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    I never introduced myself. I was diagnosed the beginning of February and I 'm on 60 mg prednisone and 200 mg cytoxan. I have kidney and possible lung involvement. I was doing OK now that I controlled the nausea. Then leg cramps and this sternum pain started.
    The pain feels like it is in the bone. Doesn't hurt all the time. Doesn't hurt when I breath. It hurts when I move my shoulders(ribs maybe?) No other symptoms. Short of breathe but I always am. No recent testing done other than lung CT. Seeing specialist next week.
    Thanks for the replies. I have been lurking for a bit. Should have jimped in sooner.
    Stikker

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    Stikker, you may need your potassium checked, prednisone can lower the potassium and cause leg cramps. Sangye mentioned before that a blood clot can cause leg cramps too. When I had a blood clot in my calf, it was swollen and hurt to walk on. Are you on nexium or medicine to help with stomach ulcers?

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    Stikker-- glad you came out of lurking mode!

    The most likely culprits are :
    1) Heart issue-- Wegs or non-Wegs related; Weggies should have regular echocardiograms to check the heart. Wegs involvement is uncommon but does silent damage. A number of heart conditions could cause substernal pain. Some would have been ruled out with your chest CT.

    2) GERD/Acid Reflux-- pain from the esophagus is often felt behind the sternum. Some people have a burning sensation, but some only have aching. If you rub your sternum (don't use a lot of pressure) and it's painful, that's an indication of stomach irritation. (An MD will look at you like you're nuts if you say that. It's one of many neurolymphatic reflexes on the body. Comes from osteopathy and is used in some chiropractic techniques) The fact that you're on ctx and have had problems with nausea tells me your stomach is probably not happy.

    3) Gallbladder-- biliary colic (ie pain from an unhappy gallbladder).

    4) Musculoskeletal-- a chiropractor is the best one to assess and treat this

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    Stikker -- glad you came out of lurkdom. Welcome!

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    Stikker,
    I agree with all Sangye just posted. I had two weeks of stomach pain when I started Cytoxan until I started 40 mg a day of Protonix, not a day of pain of GERD/Acid refulx since. :-) Are you taking Calcium with Vitamin D? Side effects of the meds you mentioned include bone loss, you should probably be on Fossomax also. Nice to meet you, welcome to the group, I'm still a baby in this whole process, I was just diagnosed in December of 2009. This group is the place to learn.

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    Lightwarrior, pred doesn't cause bone loss that rapidly to warrant starting on Fosamax right away. Unless someone begins Wegs treatment with advanced bone loss, it's best not to use such drugs. They're quite dangerous, not well-proven and are known to cause complications like jaw necrosis at an alarming rate.

    Most Weggies will be down to low doses of pred rather quickly and bone loss will not be an issue. I know many docs routinely put patients on these drugs when they begin therapy, but not all do. My JH docs don't and my Mayo docs didn't, either. Of course if/when a Weggie has been on pred very long-term it may become necessary to use the drugs even with the known risks. I did a post on this topic called Thoughts on Bisphosphonates awhile back.

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