"She is complaining about her aching bones," said Winnie (not her real name) who was giving me a general update on her colleague who was previously diagnosed with breast cancer.
"Aching bones?"
"Yes. She told me that the oncologist had to change her hormone medication a few times because of the aching bones."
"Side effects of tamoxifen?"
"Possibly. Hormones. Osteoporosis?"
I had reasons to be worried. My tailbone had suffered some mild discomfort lately so I googled for detail. This is what I learned.
Tailbone pain — pain that occurs in or around the bony structure at the bottom of the spine (coccyx) — can be caused by trauma to the coccyx during a fall, prolonged sitting on a hard or narrow surface or degenerative joint changes.
Tailbone pain can feel dull and achy but typically becomes sharp during certain activities, such as sitting, rising from a seated to a standing position or prolonged standing.
In recent months, I had been sitting on the floor handcrafting on a low table, lowering myself heavily on my derriere, thinking of course, that the pounds of flesh there would buffer against any impact. I had not known that I was subjecting my tailbone to any immediate peril. To remedy the discomfort, Serena (not her real name) gave me two doughnut shaped floor cushions. It helped to some extent but I was beginning to experience a dull ache when rising from the floor.
That there could be some link between tamoxifen and tailbone aches did not cross my mind at any point so the proposition laid out above was worth the proverbial two cents..
No comments:
Post a Comment