feeling cold with chemo

ketziah35
ketziah35 Member Posts: 1,145
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
My mother is feeling cold in her feet and hands. She spent the day bundled up in bed with the winter comforter up to her neck.

What do you do when you get cold?

Ketziah

Comments

  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    #2
    Happens to most of us...Cold then night sweats...
    Have big blanket handy and also a fan or ceiling fan at night always helped keep me comfy...I had chills when on chemo and wanted to stay undercover most of the time at home...Love and Hope, Buzz
  • vhtqm1
    vhtqm1 Member Posts: 107
    #3
    keeping warm

    don't know what type of chemotherapy your Mom is on. but with some types your extremities can get very cold. even in summer time i wear gloves and warm socks quite often. i would make sure this isn't something more sinister like a fever. if your Mom is bundling up and can't get warm i would make sure it isn't a fever? take her temperature when this happens periodically to make sure. hope your Mom gets some relief.

    ed
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #4
    Happened to me....
    It was the chemo....but, like ed suggested, I called my oncologist...

    I bought an electric blanket, but then didn't like it, I'm used to the heaviness of blankets...so, I bundled...and wore socks, and didn't touch ANYTHING cold (freezer, ice) unless I had on gloves, or with a dishtowel...

    This, too, is fairly common, dear soul...but call mom's oncologist, just to make sure...
    (I used to start the conversation with "I know this is probably canceritis, but I have....."

    Hugs, Kathi

    (Mom sure is lucky to have such a great daughter!!!)
  • Kathryn_in_MN
    Kathryn_in_MN Member Posts: 1,252 Member
    #5
    Cold
    Especially if she is on FOLFOX, this is very common. Big fuzzy socks are a help. Heating pads, electric matress pad or electric blanket can help too. Gloves before touching anything colder than room temperature.

    I couldn't pick up a glass of ice water till 2 months post chemo. Touching metal and glass was harder - I used plastic a lot. I still need to wear my flip-flops or fuzzy socks around the house, and I'm normally a barefoot gal. But my neuropathy is triggered by cold, and if I go from carpeting to tile, it feels cold to my feet and they go nuts.

    Cold - shivering cold - followed by sweating - followed by more shivering cold, is common during chemo too.
  • ketziah35
    ketziah35 Member Posts: 1,145
    #6
    KathiM said:

    Happened to me....
    It was the chemo....but, like ed suggested, I called my oncologist...

    I bought an electric blanket, but then didn't like it, I'm used to the heaviness of blankets...so, I bundled...and wore socks, and didn't touch ANYTHING cold (freezer, ice) unless I had on gloves, or with a dishtowel...

    This, too, is fairly common, dear soul...but call mom's oncologist, just to make sure...
    (I used to start the conversation with "I know this is probably canceritis, but I have....."

    Hugs, Kathi

    (Mom sure is lucky to have such a great daughter!!!)

    Kathy,
    We luv her so
    Kathy,

    We luv her so much.

    -Ketziah
  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member
    #7
    Kathryn_in_MN said:

    Cold
    Especially if she is on FOLFOX, this is very common. Big fuzzy socks are a help. Heating pads, electric matress pad or electric blanket can help too. Gloves before touching anything colder than room temperature.

    I couldn't pick up a glass of ice water till 2 months post chemo. Touching metal and glass was harder - I used plastic a lot. I still need to wear my flip-flops or fuzzy socks around the house, and I'm normally a barefoot gal. But my neuropathy is triggered by cold, and if I go from carpeting to tile, it feels cold to my feet and they go nuts.

    Cold - shivering cold - followed by sweating - followed by more shivering cold, is common during chemo too.

    Also try grasping (as well as sipping) a hot cup of tea or
    coffee,etc...might help a little as heat spreads from hands .......steve
  • ketziah35
    ketziah35 Member Posts: 1,145
    #8
    coloCan said:

    Also try grasping (as well as sipping) a hot cup of tea or
    coffee,etc...might help a little as heat spreads from hands .......steve

    Can you drink hot liquids
    Can you drink hot liquids with chemo? Correct me if I am wrong but I heard not too hot and not cold, just lukewarm.
  • ketziah35
    ketziah35 Member Posts: 1,145
    #9
    vhtqm1 said:

    keeping warm

    don't know what type of chemotherapy your Mom is on. but with some types your extremities can get very cold. even in summer time i wear gloves and warm socks quite often. i would make sure this isn't something more sinister like a fever. if your Mom is bundling up and can't get warm i would make sure it isn't a fever? take her temperature when this happens periodically to make sure. hope your Mom gets some relief.

    ed

    Thanks. We have day
    Thanks. We have day planners. Mom's weight, BP, sugar levels, and temp is recorded each day along with the date and time she pooped with the consistency using the Bristol Stool Chart, odor and color.

    I know this is a lot. I know some too some people this may be excessive, but we are out to win this thing with no mercy.

    Ketziah
  • Kathryn_in_MN
    Kathryn_in_MN Member Posts: 1,252 Member
    #10
    ketziah35 said:

    Can you drink hot liquids
    Can you drink hot liquids with chemo? Correct me if I am wrong but I heard not too hot and not cold, just lukewarm.

    Warm or hot are fine
    It is only if she is on oxaliplatin that she needs to stay away from drinking liquids colder than room temp.

    I drank hot apple cider and hot herbal tea, along with hot cocoa. Warm/hot foods are fine too. Cream of Wheat, oatmeal, soups - all good for warming you up, and most "friendly" if you have some nausea issues.
  • just4Brooks
    just4Brooks Member Posts: 980 Member
    #11
    used to happen all the time
    and 7 months later it still does from time to time. I took a lot of hot baths! I'd get so cold Id shake but a hot bath worked everytime.

    Brooks
  • Linda Z
    Linda Z Member Posts: 25
    #12
    I have that too. Hands,
    I have that too. Hands, feet and sometimes lips. They cut the oxy back 25% last time and it was a bit better but didn't stop. I have to wear socks, sleep under an electric blanket. I take a blanket to chemo with me. Socks, gloves and hoodies look pretty funny in the middle of a heat wave but..........I'm fighting cancer and I intend to win. Best wishes to your mom...
  • jararno
    jararno Member Posts: 186
    #13
    Feeling Cold
    I am on treatment 6 of Folfox. The cold thing is the strangest side effect! I stay bundled up under a blanket with the air conditioner running and a ceiling fan on. Cold anything is bad...I usually drink room temp liquids as anything with ice feels like electrical shocks! Touching cold, metals, frozen items is very painful! Even using metal silverware can hurt. I found some pretty plastic "silverware" that looks real. I have been known to bring a set with me when I eat out! ( Vanity quickly goes by the way with cancer! )
    I bring a sweater everywhere despite the 99 degree heat as many stores, resturants, autos are cold enough to cause pain. At times the electric blanket goes on too, despite my husband thinking it is weird! Let her do whatever makes her comfortable as she will change her mind often! Bring a blanket to treatments too as sometimes I need one there.

    Best of luck to you and your Mom. Try to be patient! My family really doesn't understand how I feel...it is very frustrating at times!

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