Relief from painful neuropathy in feet, legs, and hands.

HFTG61

I've heard some people talk about some cold therapy right before or during chemo, specifically on the feet. Any suggestions? I am in a lot of pain and I have lots more chemo treatments to get past. Once pain meds do nothing, so I had to get my big ice pack out the freezer, dig out my massager used for joint pain, and plug in the heating pad. It's slow going.

cmb

I did not do icing during chemo (hadn't heard of this before I read this board). However, see the link at https://csn.cancer.org/node/322196 for comments by others who did use icing.

I didn't develop the very mild neuropathy I have in the balls of my feet and toes until after my last chemo treatment. However, every three days after my carboplatin/taxol treatments I had severe leg pains that lasted three days. So the pain you're having now might have another cause, or be in addition to, neuropathy.

I suffered through the first time these leg pains happened, trying different pain relivers. When I told the doctor about the problem the next time I saw him he okayed me to take a prescription-level dose of Aleve. That worked the subsequent times for the most part. I was sorry I hadn't called when I first started having the pains. Others have used Claritan for these leg pains, which I found out about later.

I didn't have the leg pains during my phase 2 chemo, but I had other reactions instead. That time also the doctor prescribed some additional meds and fluids the week following the chemo.

So call the oncologist's office and let them know you're having pains and let them suggest what could relieve them now. My trying to "muscle through" the pain was unnecessary.

HFTG61

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1694663#Comment_1694663

CMB, much appreciated. My leg/ foot pain is down from a 10 to a mere 2, so the ice did help somewhat (gonna keep my fingers crossed for only a 3 day side effect- that would be do-able).

I am going to ask about Claritin & aleve for the future, tho I am already getting tired of taking so many pills already. Please have a blessed day.

thatblondegirl

Hi, HFTG61,

I’m so sorry you’ve been in pain! I’m glad it’s gotten a little better. Like many here, my GO’s office told me to take Claritin on the day of my infusion and for a few days after if I experienced bone pain. I didn’t have any terrible pain, but my legs felt heavy and achy a few times.

Because of this board I iced my hands and feet. I have a tiny bit of neuropathy in my toes, but only seem to notice it for a few minutes right after I remove a pair of shoes. I think if you on on the uterine page and type in “icing” in the search bar a lot of threads will come up where it’s been discussed! It can be a little bit of trouble, and it’s somewhat uncomfortable, but it’s better than lifetime neuropathy! My approach was to suffer the things necessary to avoid long-term side-effects. Kind of the “I can do this for a little while” and then be forever grateful that I did!

Wow…I empathize with the too many pills idea! I hate swallowing pills and usually avoid if I can! Hang in there! You can get through this!

❤️, Alicia

HFTG61

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1694671#Comment_1694671

Thank you Alicia. Yes, I best remember the "I can do this for a little while!"

This journey is difficult cause so many actions come flying at us all at once at every corner. But I do try to keep my eye on the "CANCER GONE" prize!

Lyn70

Hi, HFTG61

Claritin really did help my bone pain, a kind of all over ache not just in my legs. Claritin D made my heart race. I would not recommend it. l have occasional residual toe neuropathy 10 months after chemo. My toes get painfully numb in my shoes and at night in my socks. I find vigorously massaging my foot and toes restores the feeling within about 15 minutes. Fortunately my hand neuropathy did not last long.

My thoughts are with you. ((Hugs))

HeatherBE

I have started thinking that I might ask about physical therapy. My lower legs/feet are pretty numb most of the time, making me lose balance easily...super frustrating. It isn't really causing pain, just that buzzy feeling when your feet fall asleep. It just feels like that ALL the time. Didn't get this bad until after chemo was all finished. Anyone go the PT route to help with balance/mobility because of the neuropathy?

cmb

I didn't get neuropathy until after my last chemo treatment either. Mine is a very mild case - no pain and just the weird tingling sensation in my toes and the balls of my feet. It hasn't gotten any worse since it started almost 5 years ago. I don't usually notice the sensations unless I'm thinking about them.

I didn't go for physical therapy for this, but I started taking yoga and stretching classes after treatment ended, versus the more aerobic classes I had taken previously. My current classes do include exercises/movements to improve balance.

However, no one in the classes is as good as the 80+ year old woman whose been doing yoga for over 40 years. She can balance on one leg at a time and be rock solid doing it. Everyone else in the class is very envious of her skill, but of course we might all be doing better if we had done yoga for 40 years too!

RainbowRita

It has been awhile since I've posted to this board. Apologies ladies, just a lot of "catching up" to do and I didn't allow myself much time to recuperate, so had a lot on my plate for awhile. But hey, I'm back and I'd like to respond to this post about icing and dealing with pain from neuropathy.

I did do some icing with cycles 4,5 & 6. Didn't know about icing before that as I hadn't found this discussion board yet! ;-) I don't know for sure if the icing made a difference, but I figured it sure as heck couldn't hurt.

One thing I discovered that really helped with the pain from the neuropathy was that I have to keep my hands and feet warm...and I mean really warm or else the sensation of coolness would really get my extremities "complaining". The more chilled my feet and hands get, the more they sting. Even now, I still wear thick wool socks and fuzzy gloves to bed so that the neuropathy pain doesn't get my fingers and toes to start stinging.

I really think that wearing socks and gloves to bed makes a difference between my getting a decent night's sleep or waking up because my feet and fingers are stinging...and that was true even in warmer weather. For me, in addition to the near constant stinging sensation in my toes, I'd have random stabbing pains in my feet, ankles, wrists, hands either just as I'd be falling asleep or soon after and then I'd be wide awake. I would just fall asleep again and then random "zing" would wake me up again. I found that the most frustrating. I had such a hard time getting decent sleep. Oddly, most of this started happening after I was done with chemo. I had thought that by doing the icing I had dodged a bullet, so to speak in regards to bad CIPN, but like cmb, turns out the symptoms were just a little delayed.

I've had a terrible time wearing any type of shoes or boots that didn't make my feet sting aside from basic Crocs (the "clown shoe" version) or wide-width sandals. It was hard for me to get decent exercise because my feet would start to burn more and more the longer I was walking. I am so happy to say that this has gotten MUCH better!

It was seven months ago when I had my last cycle of chemo and time probably helped to some degree, but I also went to physical therapy for awhile and I am still having acupuncture treatments; although not as frequently now. Sure was glad my insurance covered acupuncture (had to be pain-related for coverage) I know those don't always work for everyone, and I used to be a sceptic...but I am a firm believer now that it can help. I recommend at least trying acupuncture for CIPN. It made a world of difference for me. Now it is only rarely that I get the stabbing pains and my right foot/toes no longer sting all the time. I can once again wear some of my shoes and boots again for more than 2 minutes. :-) Funny fact, it is now in my health records as to when I could wear "cute shoes" again as the acupuncturist recorded that comment of mine when she did her notes that day. I had to laugh when I read it. So for some at least, there are some things to try to limit the discomfort of Chemo Induced Peripheral Neuropathy. Good luck! Hope you find some things that work for you. 😊

cmb

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1695365#Comment_1695365

Glad that you found some solutions that helped with the neuropathy and have shared them here. I know that others will find them useful too. My original oncology nurse told me that neuropathy can go away up to one year after treatment. But if it continues beyond that, it's likely permanent. Since my neuropathy wasn't too bad, I was hopeful that mine would subside within the first year, but no such luck.

ConnieSW

My neuropathy was very mild ( several toes just didn’t feel like they belonged to me) and only noticed when I first got into bed at night. It’s been nearly 10 years since I had chemo and I realized recently that the neuropathy was gone. So, I guess there is always hope.

jan9wils

I didn't know about icing until after I had completed chemo. My first round I did not have neuropathy but after the second I had it and it was bad. It continued to get worse a year after I had concluded that round. What finally helped me was acupuncture. My insurance did not cover it but it was worth every penny. It has been more than a year since I have had acupuncture and I occasionally have a little bit of tingling/numbing in the very tips of some of my fingers and toes but the burning stabbing pain that was in my hands and feet is gone.

Jan