Oxillaplatin & Neuropathy

daileym
daileym Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
My treatment for colon cancer ended about 6 weeks ago. My fingertips and feet are pretty much numb from the oxillaplatin all the time. Just wondering what others may have experienced with the neuropathy and how long it might last. Thanks, Mark

Comments

  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    Mark,
    I had neuropathy after both my rectal and my breast cancer chemo....I am 4 months out from last infusion...I have no numbness left. BUT I drink at least 2 quarts of water a day...and did during my infusions as much as possible...flushs things...
    Hope this helps!
    Hugs, kathi
  • DK2006
    DK2006 Member Posts: 126
    Hi Mark,
    I finished my folfox treatment on June 9th, about 6 weeks ago, and I still feel tingling in my lips (sometimes) when I have ice cold beverages. Otherwise, my neuropathy is gone. I have to admit that my neuropathy wasn't so bad after my oxaliplatin was reduced by one third at treatment #8 because of an allergic reaction to oxaliplatin. My energy level has returned and I'm exercising. (I'm trying to get back in shape for a mountain bike trip to Moab in mid-September.)
    How are you feeling besides the neuropathy?
    What kind of follow-up will you have? I have a CT scan, bloodwork, and a meeting with my oncologist in October.
    Best wishes,
    Donna
  • lfondots63
    lfondots63 Member Posts: 818 Member
    Hi Mark,

    I have neuropathy in my feet and some in my hands. I'm supposed to get treatment 9 on Wednesday but I'm telling them no more. Because I'm diabetic the neuropathy worries me. It is all the time now. Flushing like Kathi said should help some. Try taking a b complex vitamin (natural of course) to help some more. My chemo nurse told me that. It might take some time for it all to go away. That is why I'm stopping now. Not good for a diabetic to not feel her feet. LOL. Take care and tell us how things work our. Also congrats about being done chemo.

    Lisa
  • pepperdog
    pepperdog Member Posts: 96
    My sister-in-law completed 12 Folfox treatments in early April and she still has some residual neuropathy and the 'chemo stumbles.' I don't know if age is a factor; she is a very active and vibrant woman in her mid-sixties. She has been a charge nurse for over 25 years and says it's not uncommon for chemo effects to remain for up to a year, and some effects may never disappear entirely.
  • cardinallady
    cardinallady Member Posts: 12
    Excellent question! I have been wondering the same thing. I had my last treatment 3-21 and am on Xeloda (oral chemo). My hands and feet have gotten worse which is what my doc said would happen before it got better. It's now boot and glove. I have learned to adapt in many ways. I was hoping someone would say it went away by a certain time. Pam
  • jams67
    jams67 Member Posts: 925 Member
    I still have neuropathy also. Stopped chemo. for stage IV in April. It's worse than it was then. Not sure just where it stops, but I think wrists and ankles. I am also having trouble with my planter fascitis which adds to the walking problem. From what I understand, the neuropathy will either go away or it won't. All of it just reminds me that I'm alive. jams
  • NanD
    NanD Member Posts: 58
    Hi! I hesitated to answer because I can't give you the answer you'd like to hear. I completed 12 cylces of folfox 1 year and 3 months ago and I still have some neuropathy. That's the bad news. The good news is that it is very mild. I never stumble-in fact I play tennis in USTA leagues and still win a lot- and I am typing this as easily as ever. You will improve gradually to the point that the little bit of numbness is just a reminder of how far you've come from where you are now. And I am still cancer free!
  • JADot
    JADot Member Posts: 709 Member
    Had 8 rounds of Oxa and then an anaphlactic shock. So had to stop it. Had very minimal nuropathy. I took 200mg of V6 which I think really helped.

    Good luck to you!
    Ying
  • Betsydoglover
    Betsydoglover Member Posts: 1,248 Member
    It seems we are all different. I had 6 cycles of Xeloda / oxaliplatin / Avastin for Stage IV CRC. The oxaliplatin - after the first cycle - caused me acute neuropathy - the usual cold liquid thing, but also total numbness (and pain if touched) in the arm in which I received the IV). A bit of finger numbness, but only for a day. The arm numbness was the big issue, though it was acute rather than chronic and gradually diminished over three weeks in time for the next cycle. But, I had no persistent, post-chomo neuropathy. So, I really can't help except to tell that there is clearly a huge variation in response. Your neuropathy may go away in a few weeks or may take several months to resolve. Wish I could be more helpful.

    Betsy
  • vinny3
    vinny3 Member Posts: 928 Member

    Excellent question! I have been wondering the same thing. I had my last treatment 3-21 and am on Xeloda (oral chemo). My hands and feet have gotten worse which is what my doc said would happen before it got better. It's now boot and glove. I have learned to adapt in many ways. I was hoping someone would say it went away by a certain time. Pam

    I am in my third session with Folfox and have some tingling of the fingertips which persisted between treatments but the cold intolerance so far has cleared after about a week. My onc today gave me Magnesium IV before my treatment and I am taking two magnesium pills a day (about 133 mg each) but obviously it isn't preventing the tingling so far.
    Pam, are you getting any peeling of the skin on your hands or feet. The Xeloda can cause a hand/foot syndrome which can be helped by taking 100 mcg 3 times a day of B6 (according to my onc).
    ****
  • KFalvey
    KFalvey Member Posts: 118 Member
    Hi Mark,
    I took Oxaliplatin last year from March until Sept.; eleven doses total, skipped the last one because the neuropathy was so bad. Then about 6 weeks later, it got much worse in both the hands and feet and I had alot of muscle pain and weakness also. It continued to bother me severely for 2 months, then either I got tired of complaining or it got a little better, I'm not sure. It stayed in the hands until February when it started to go away. It is almost completely gone from the hands now, but still is in the feet. My Dr. said the nerves are longer going to the feet and will take longer to repair. I'm on FOLFIRI now and I'm feeling it getting worse in the feet again. Hopefully it won't get much worse. It can take up to a year to completely go away and I've heard of more people than the doctors admit, that it has not ever gone away. I'm still taking Alpha Lipoic Acid tablets daily and L-Glutamine powder (10g) twice daily and I think it helps to minimize the numbness. Good Luck and congratulations on completing your treatments. Kandy
  • scouty
    scouty Member Posts: 1,965 Member
    Hi Mark,

    Seems you are getting quite a nice cross section of what one can expect (almost anything). I did folfox and avastin for 8 months in 2004. My last chemo was 10/28/04. My neuropathy is much better then it was back then but almost 2 years later I realize my feet will always get cold very easily as will my fingers and hand. Both tend to cramp after a good exercise workout if I have not had my share of sea salt.

    It could be worse, so I try not to complain too much.

    Lisa P.
  • dannyxx
    dannyxx Member Posts: 8
    hi

    i know this is too late for people who ahve already suffered from neuropathy but this was sent to me from a cancer survivor who has tried pretty much every chemo .she said it does work.my father is about to start his chemo and i wondered if anyone else had tried this

    Prevention of oxaliplatin-related neurotoxicity by calcium and magnesium infusions: a retrospective study of 161 patients receiving oxaliplatin combined with 5-Fluorouracil and leucovorin for advanced colorectal cancer.

    Gamelin L, Boisdron-Celle M, Delva R, Guerin-Meyer V, Ifrah N, Morel A, Gamelin E.

    Department of Medical Oncology and Oncopharmacology, INSERM U564, Anticancer Centre Paul Papin, Angers Cedex, France.

    PURPOSE: Oxaliplatin is active in colorectal cancer. Sensory neurotoxicity is its dose-limiting toxicity. It may come from an effect on neuronal voltage-gated Na channels, via the liberation one its metabolite, oxalate. We decided to use Ca and Mg as oxalate chelators. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: A retrospective cohort of 161 patients treated with oxaliplatin + 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin for advanced colorectal cancer, with three regimens of oxaliplatin (85 mg/m(2)/2w, 100/2w, 130/3w) was identified. Ninety-six patients received infusions of Ca gluconate and Mg sulfate (1 g) before and after oxaliplatin (Ca/Mg group) and 65 did not. RESULTS: Only 4% of patients withdrew for neurotoxicity in the Ca/Mg group versus 31% in the control group (P = 0.000003). The tumor response rate was similar in both groups. The percentage of patients with grade 3 distal paresthesia was lower in Ca/Mg group (7 versus 26%, P = 0.001). Acute symptoms such as distal and lingual paresthesia were much less frequent and severe (P = 10(-7)), and pseudolaryngospasm was never reported in Ca/Mg group. At the end of the treatment, 20% of patients in Ca/Mg group had neuropathy versus 45% (P = 0.003). Patients with grade 2 and 3 at the end of the treatment in the 85 mg/m(2) oxaliplatin group recovered significantly more rapidly from neuropathy than patients without Ca/Mg. CONCLUSIONS: Ca/Mg infusions seem to reduce incidence and intensity of acute oxaliplatin-induced symptoms and might delay cumulative neuropathy, especially in 85 mg/m(2) oxaliplatin