numbness in hands and feet

thebob61 · May 2011

i have been done with chemo since jan. of this year. my fingers and feet are still numb. anyone else have this problem ? how long did it last ? i am takeing vit. b6 and b12 for this. thanks

abrub · May 2011

Give it time, lots of time....
Recovery can take months, up to about 2 years. I still have some residual tingling, and I've been done for 3 years now.

Alpha Lipoic Acid helps a lot (600 mg once or twice/day.)

jjaj133 · May 2011

I have been done since Feb.
I have been done since Feb. 2010. My feet still feel like they are wrapped in cotton. My hands are better. Hang in there.
Judy

Annabelle41415 · May 2011

Sorry
Sorry you are experiencing this, but unfortunately it is normal. I've been out of chemo for 17 months and still find numbness and tingling in feet and hands. I'm now on medication to help it. Went to oncologist last week and she said that statistics only show 1% of people have it but she said that she finds much more have it and it is lasting for longer periods of time. Hopefully it will get better for you. Warmer weather helps tremendously though. This is just my experience but people do recover from it.

Kim

pete43lost_at_sea · May 2011

hi thebob61
nice to meet you.
strange co-incidence we are talking the same subject in different threads at the same time.

see the folfocked thread and samE for my details.

in short I finished chemo 2 1/2 weeks ago. 12 cycles folfox.

neuropath was getting worse. you know tripping on stairs. getting blood blisters on feet, when you get stones in your sox and you don't feel them. then my hands startred going around 10 days ago.

today I woke up, and my hands, fingers are almost normal. I spent 30 minutes in bed rubbing my fingers together, to be sure i was not dreaming.

this makes me so happy.

even the feet, were having pind and needles like a few months ago.

My naturpoathic routine
was mitolift, calcium, vitamin b complex, n acetyl carnitine.
now I also take heaps of other supplements. I also suspect SAMeeeee may have had a role to play, as with 2 days of starting it my neuropathy has really improved.

I feel like dancing.

so goodluck and I hope your neuropathy improves. Nothing I have said is medical advice, its simpoly what i was advised to try by my naturopaths. I have seen 6 naturopaths in the last 3 months now.

hugs,

pete

plh4gail · May 2011

It's been 2 months since I
It's been 2 months since I had folfox and my feet started getting worse after I stopped! It feels like it is in my lower legs too. Sometimes I stumble, I think it's because my feet feel so funny

I hate it...it's very uncomfortable. My fingers are a little tingly, but mostly it's my fingernails that are numb and feel like they are going to fall off. AAgghh and ew! .....heavy sigh...good luck to you!

Love and hugs, Gail

I am taking the B6 and B12 too. My Dr started me on Lyrica three days ago and I don't see any improvement yet, maybe I will take 10! Kiddding!!....he also told me to take vitamin E so I am. And I take alpha lipoic, which someone else told me to try.

TxKayaker · May 2011

plh4gail said:
It's been 2 months since I
It's been 2 months since I had folfox and my feet started getting worse after I stopped! It feels like it is in my lower legs too. Sometimes I stumble, I think it's because my feet feel so funny I hate it...it's very uncomfortable. My fingers are a little tingly, but mostly it's my fingernails that are numb and feel like they are going to fall off. AAgghh and ew! .....heavy sigh...good luck to you!

Love and hugs, Gail

I am taking the B6 and B12 too. My Dr started me on Lyrica three days ago and I don't see any improvement yet, maybe I will take 10! Kiddding!!....he also told me to take vitamin E so I am. And I take alpha lipoic, which someone else told me to try.

Off chemo Nov '09 and still
Off chemo Nov '09 and still have numbness in my feet fingers a lot better but somethimes my fingers still tingle.
Hoping one day my feet clear up so I can get back on the trails but it does not look good now for that to happen.
I have been taking the B vitamins, alpha lipoic acid, vitamin e for some time now but I don't think it has worked to well but I still take them.
Mike

TMac52 · May 2011

TxKayaker said:
Off chemo Nov '09 and still
Off chemo Nov '09 and still have numbness in my feet fingers a lot better but somethimes my fingers still tingle.
Hoping one day my feet clear up so I can get back on the trails but it does not look good now for that to happen.
I have been taking the B vitamins, alpha lipoic acid, vitamin e for some time now but I don't think it has worked to well but I still take them.
Mike

Finished chemo in March
March 21 was my last chemo treatment. My hands are fine but my feet hurt like hell.
It got worse each week after stopping chemo. I hurt 24/7 I have a meeting with my Onc May 16th to go over the results of my May 9th scan. I will bring it up then and hopefully get something to help.
I hear everyone say they have numbness I don't I have pain on the bottoms of both feet.
Tom

thebob61 · May 2011

thanks to all of you for
thanks to all of you for your comments . i guess if this is the worst that happens it is better then the cancer . hey i can live with this ! thanks again.

pete43lost_at_sea · May 2011

thebob61 said:
thanks to all of you for
thanks to all of you for your comments . i guess if this is the worst that happens it is better then the cancer . hey i can live with this ! thanks again.

hi thebob61 they cannot hurt you if they cannot hit you
What I mean is evasive action.

I believe some cancer centers are following similar protocols to the canadian study.

Mine introduced it on my last chemo cycle but I did not get it.

just remembered that a clinical trial to minimise peripheral neuropathy seems to have been accepted internationally.
as my cancer center is starting its protocol.

just lookup peripheral neuropathy calcium folfox
http://www.floridahospitalcancer.com/clinical-trial/phase-iii-randomized-study-adjuvant-folfox-chemotherapy-comprising-oxaliplatin-leucov

http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/29/4/421.abstract

read, research and ask your onc. this can be a real shiiitty side effect that bugs people. so if it can be avoided then that would be good. maybe worth asking your onc about this.

hugs,

pete

bassman · July 2011

pete43lost_at_sea said:
hi thebob61 they cannot hurt you if they cannot hit you
What I mean is evasive action.

I believe some cancer centers are following similar protocols to the canadian study.

Mine introduced it on my last chemo cycle but I did not get it.

just remembered that a clinical trial to minimise peripheral neuropathy seems to have been accepted internationally.
as my cancer center is starting its protocol.

just lookup peripheral neuropathy calcium folfox
http://www.floridahospitalcancer.com/clinical-trial/phase-iii-randomized-study-adjuvant-folfox-chemotherapy-comprising-oxaliplatin-leucov

http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/29/4/421.abstract

read, research and ask your onc. this can be a real shiiitty side effect that bugs people. so if it can be avoided then that would be good. maybe worth asking your onc about this.

hugs,

pete

Numb hands and feet
Hi Pete,

What do you think helped your numbness the most? Was it the mitolift? I've been numb for 4.5 years and doesn't seem to get any better. I take a ton of herbs and vitamins and nothing seems to help. I don't take any prescribed meds.

Thanks

Henry

coolvdub · July 2011

bassman said:
Numb hands and feet
Hi Pete,

What do you think helped your numbness the most? Was it the mitolift? I've been numb for 4.5 years and doesn't seem to get any better. I take a ton of herbs and vitamins and nothing seems to help. I don't take any prescribed meds.

Thanks

Henry

Normal
I have been done with chemo since Feb 2010. Still have numbness in the feet the most and just a little in the hands. It does get better, it's just a really slow process for some of us. Good luck and hang in there.

Don

Kenny H. · July 2011

coolvdub said:
Normal
I have been done with chemo since Feb 2010. Still have numbness in the feet the most and just a little in the hands. It does get better, it's just a really slow process for some of us. Good luck and hang in there.

Don

Im in the same crowd
Im in the same crowd here.
Finished round 12 folfox in APR and like some of you the nueropathy has gotten worse. Been taking B complex & no help.
Also Dr prescribed Gabapentin for it but did not help also. Had to stop taking it as could not take the side effects (dizzyness,drowsiness ect) have gone back to work full time now and need to be alert.

Have been dealing with it ok for the most part. Just mainly bad numbness in feet and hands, hard to do small tasks like buttoning shirt, tieing shoes, starting screws ect. but no burning or pain involved.
Had a post chemo scan done last tues & go get results next tues the 12th, will let you all know what the Onc has to say.

relaxoutdoors08 · July 2011

Kenny H. said:
Im in the same crowd
Im in the same crowd here.
Finished round 12 folfox in APR and like some of you the nueropathy has gotten worse. Been taking B complex & no help.
Also Dr prescribed Gabapentin for it but did not help also. Had to stop taking it as could not take the side effects (dizzyness,drowsiness ect) have gone back to work full time now and need to be alert.

Have been dealing with it ok for the most part. Just mainly bad numbness in feet and hands, hard to do small tasks like buttoning shirt, tieing shoes, starting screws ect. but no burning or pain involved.
Had a post chemo scan done last tues & go get results next tues the 12th, will let you all know what the Onc has to say.

Wishing you the Best on your Scan
I finished my last Folfox in April as well. Nueropathy got worse but on warm sunny days it is better. The Oncologist said their is nothing to do for nueropathy but time.

Just had my 3 month post treatment scan and NED with CEA .7 but they found an enlarged ovary. Next week Ultrasound to make sure it is just a cyst.

Thinking good thoughts for good test results next week for both of us.
NB

pete43lost_at_sea · July 2011

bassman said:
Numb hands and feet
Hi Pete,

What do you think helped your numbness the most? Was it the mitolift? I've been numb for 4.5 years and doesn't seem to get any better. I take a ton of herbs and vitamins and nothing seems to help. I don't take any prescribed meds.

Thanks

Henry

i w3ish i knew henry
hi henry,

i really hope your neuropathy improves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the numbness is a moving target, and its getting better slowly for me.

I would say living well, healthy and hard.
i am walking bare feet, over rocks, paths and beaches.
I am diving with thin gloves hanging onto reefs and rocks, mamanging my dive gear and my camera gear.

i would say physical theraphy, using the fingers and feet is helping a bit these days.

still taking largentine, lgutatemine, alaphalipoic acid, b6, b12, mitolift and all my other supplements. i think the neuropathy is improving, its been 3 months since i finsihed folfox.

i really really wish i could give you a good answer. initially i thought SAMe had helped, but then i went into hospital for the reversal and my neuropathy got so much worse.

hugs,
pete

scouty · July 2011

7 years since chemo for me
The first year or so after chemo stopped was really tough. My neuropathy had gotten so bad I couldn't feel me feet hit the ground and had to lean on things to walk around my house. I walked with that old age shuffle, if you know what I mean.

My significant dietary changes helped start me out but the things I think helped me the most were just like Pete says, using the hands and fingers and feet and toes. Walking in the grass, sand, dirt barefooted is great for the feet. I started walking and now run 3 days a week and can really tell if I miss a week or so of it. Stretch out and exercise your fingers and toes several times a day. You will see improvements.

I still make a conscious effort to get extra magnesium and potassium while limiting my sea salt (I don't use table salt anymore)intake to limit the cramping especially during the hot summer. Cutting back on added sugars and processed grains which convert to sugar will help too.

My toes still get cold even in the summer and probably always will but I am light years better than I was 6-7 years ago! There is much to be said for healthier eating and exercising even when you've gone thru what I have and are as old as I am (56).

Lisa P.

numbness in hands and feet

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